04 stepside Silverado question

[drakon543]

ok another question for the chevy guys. question from a good friend of mine.
he has a 2004 stepside Silverado and wants new factory taillights. some places he looks say 99-03 and hes having trouble finding 04 ones but the 99-03 looks right. however if he looks at the aftermarket "fancy" ones there is a different part number for 03 taillights and 04 taillights. can anyone give me some info on this will the 03 fit or what would i have to do to make it fit for him?

 

[Staggered 02]

They'll physically fit. What's probably different is where the bulb connection attaches to the rear of the housing. That can be fixed one of 3 ways. 1. the ghetto way by opening up the housing and getting it to work which will meet the intent but it won't fit perfectly. 2. Swap the rear housings but there is a slight risk of cracking or not sealing correctly resulting in leaks. 3. cut the connector and replace it with one for the later model ('04 and above).

The regular bed Silverados (99 - 02) tails had the same issue when wanting to convert to the 03 and above tails. I cut the connectors and spliced new ones purchased from Auto Zone. I'm sure that most auto parts stores stock the connectors.

Have your friend double check the connectors and compare the housing interface(s).

 

[drakon543]

thx we were mainly just conconcerned it would physical fit. ill have him order anything else to make sure it works electrically. his original tails are just really faded so there is no rush he just didnt want to order them and have to return them.