quick taillight compatibility question
 

i've got a 98 with the amber at the top of the taillight. i tinted 'em, the man's giving me a hard time about it with my state inspection. planning on hitting a local junkyard and picking up a cheap crappy pair.

ideally i'm going to get the newest ones i can because i like the ones without the amber on them but i'll take whatever i can find.

what is the range of years i can use the taillights off without any modifications?

thank ya

93-00 i think, then it went to a 2 bulb set up. i think. but i don't think it's real hard to modify your tail light pigtail to work with two bulb lights, which would make anything 93+ available.

thanks, i've been talking to a guy at a local junkyard over the phone. he's got some '97s on hand and he's swearing that they won't fit but from what i'm seeing on google images it's the same shape and screw setup as the 98-00s?

Tail light housing from 93-current is the same even though there are 2 and 3 bulb setups. The swap has been covered numerous times. I haven't had to convert but like mentioned, it's simple to convert.

yup 93+ but for 2000+ you'll have to mod either the tail light housing or do the wiring mod and convert to a two-bulb set up.

No inspection station has given me crap about my taillights, where at in St. Louis?

cool so 93-00 fits like a glove no mods? probably gonna go pick up a pair of 97s tomorrow for like 25 or 30 bucks.

@Justin i'm in north county. i've called a ton of places and they all say that they can pass smoked taillights but not blackouts/film/heavy spraypaint tinted ones. something about they've gotta take a picture now of a few things to keep on file. supposibly down in the city they'll pass it but i don't feel like going down there. they tried failing me for my turn signals too cuz they're not all the way amber. i had to show them my DOT certification that they're legal. been a big huge headache to say the least.

so yeah.. 93-97 doesnt fit mine... light socket is too small for the bulb to fit in and the arrangement of the signals is different.. just wasted $35 i guess.

If you want direct plug in, 98 and 99 are the ones that will work for you. The newer 2 bulb setups will work but like Pedro said you either have to modify them or do a wiring conversion. I am running '06 tails on mine with my three bulb setup since I didn't want to do a hack job with the trailer harness that people use when doing a 2 bulb conversion.

You just need different bulbs.
The socket's are all based on the bulb that goes into them.
go back to that JY, and grab lights from an 93-97 ranger and take the bulbs too.

Are you sure about that as I also own same vehicle.

There is a how to on the site to make your setup two bulbs.
Its pretty much just switching one or two wires and making your bulb a newer style bulb.

They should all use 3156/3157 bulbs no matter what year they come from.

If the sockets don't drop right in the housings, you can trim a bit of the housing to accommodate the different bulb sockets.

In my 96, I'm running modded 01 tails where I have 2 bulbs (led's actually) in the red brake section for brakes & turns.