Replacing burnt out headlight in an 08 gmc sierra?

[charger9069]

My headlight burnt out and I figured id might as well change it out now while the weather is nice and permitting...I know that in an 07 new body style, on the drivers side you reach in and turn the headlamp and the light will pop out but i was just wondering if the 08s were built the same way? Thanks in advance.

 

[Molson02536]

My headlight burnt out and I figured id might as well change it out now while the weather is nice and permitting...I know that in an 07 new body style, on the drivers side you reach in and turn the headlamp and the light will pop out but i was just wondering if the 08s were built the same way? Thanks in advance.

Here are GMs instructions

* Remove two forward wheel house bolts
* Open Hood
* Remove two upper fascia bolts across top of grille
* Remove the lower rear fascia bolt from the support bracket
* Loosen the two fender to fascia bolts from behind wheel well liner
* Pull the outboard end of the front fascia straight out until it disengages the fender bracket, pull forward and downward enough to remove the headlight
* Remove two upper headlamp bolts Grasp headlamp on the upper inboard side and lower outboard side and pull straigh to release pins from fender panel
* Pull outboard side rotating to release headlamp from radiator support bracket
* Disconnect electrical connections

Long story:

Ok, here we go Driver's side!

Tools needed:
small regular screw driver - to help get the pop pins out
7mm and 10mm sockets 1/4" drive is fine
1/4" drive 6" extension
1/4" swivel
1/4" drive ratchet or I used my cordless drill with the extension in the chuck
10mm combo wrench

Time:
50 - 70 minutes

Bulbs:
High Beam: 9005LL
Low Beam: H11
DRL: 3157K
Turn Signal: 3457NAK

1: Take out all 6 bolts along the top of the grille.

2: Take out the 2 - 7mm screws, 3 push pins, and 2 pop in pins in the wheel-well

3: Pull the wheel well lining towards the tire and remove the 2 10mm bolts that go up into the fender. When you remove them the bumper mounting bracket will come out. Also note that this image shows the location of the 3rd headlight bolt as well as a bumper mounting bracket.

4: Remove the 3 10mm bolts holding the headlight in. 2 are on top and the third is behind the bumper as shown in the last image. I found that I was able to pull down on the bumper and use the extension with a swivel to take the 3rd bolt out.

5: Pull the entire headlight forward. You will notice 2 guide pins that go into the fender and a part that snaps in on the inside of the headlight. Pull it forward just enough to clear those pins and unsnap the inside.

6: Pull the inner corner of the headlight out while pushing down on the bumper. Take care of the snaps along the edge of the headlight as they get caught on the bumper and can scratch it. TAKE YOUR TIME AND LOOK AT WHAT YOU ARE DOING, this is the hardest part. As you get the inner side of the headlight out rotate the headlight leaving the outside stationary. The reason for this is the bracket that was held by the 3rd headlight bolt hangs down there. You have to get the inside of the headlight out then you can move the outside in and clear the top of the headlight and the fender.

7: Once you have the headlight out, disconnect the wiring harness and remove the headlight

8: Change what ever it was you needed to change and put them AMBERS in the DRL's!!

9: Replace the headlight the same way you took it out. It seems to go in much easier then it came out. Don’t forget to reconnect the wiring harness!

10: Repeat steps 2-9 for the Passenger's side.

11: Put everything back together in reverse order. I suggest testing the lights after you put the 3 10mm headlight bolts back in. (the same ones you took out in step 4)

Hope this helps someone out there.

 

[DownSouth]

Good writeup, it should not be that hard. The weather here is also fantastic.

 

[Kickstart173]

Thanks Molson, it did help.

 

[Z15]

I was able to change out my headlamps on my 2008 Sierra SLT E. Cab Z71 from under the hood. The drivers side was easy but I had to remove the air filter housing on the pass side to gain access. I changed all 4 to super white PIAA and it tool less than 1 hr including R&R the air filter bo housing. I also found it was a lot easier on the hands to use a good pair of slip joint pliers to hold the bulbs to R&R them.................

Mike
2010 Sierra E. Cab Z71 All Terrain
2009 Cadillac CTS4 Luxury

R&R - remove and replace

 

[Kickstart173]

I should also expand the job a bit, my 08 had 4 bolts that hold the housing the first side took about an hour.
I spent a lot of time trying to see the lower bolt/bolts which you can't see very well until you remove the front cover that's over the bumper. (3 bolts come out to the front and the other one comes out the side)
The drivers side took about 15 honest minutes to complete once I knew what to look for.
No where near as easy as my 02 sierra, 2 pins and out comes the the housing.

 

[Z15]

I can't believe you are going thru all that to R&R the headlamp bulb on a Sierra Pickup, 07 to 11 same.

from owners manual

Headlamps
To replace one of these bulbs:
1. Open the hood. See Hood Release on page 6‑15
for more information.
2. If you are replacing the bulb on the passenger side
remove the Engine Air Cleaner cover. See Engine
Air Cleaner/Filter on page 6‑21 for more
information.
3. Reach in and access the bulb sockets from inside
the engine compartment.
4. Turn the bulb socket counterclockwise to remove it
from the headlamp assembly and pull it
straight out.
5. Unplug the electrical connector from the old bulb
by releasing the clips on the bulb socket.
6. Replace it with a new bulb socket.
7. Plug in the electrical connector to the new bulb
socket.
8. Reinstall the new bulb socket into the headlamp
assembly and turn it clockwise to secure.
9. Close the hood.

Mike
2010 GMC Sierra E. Cab SLT Z71 A/T
2009 Cadillac CTS4 (AWD) Luxury

 

[Briguy88]

I was pretty discouraged that it looked to be an hour plus project to change a headlight bulb, based on the above process. Well, it turns out that with a little luck (and the right sized hands) the headlight bulbs on an 08 Sierra can in fact be changed without removing 1/2 of the front end from the truck. There should be an asterik in the owners manual about having the right sized hands and luck!

One bit of advice, start on the passenger side to get an understanding of how the retention clips on the electrical connectors work. Much easier to work on the passenger side once the airbox is out of the truck. I did have to disconnect the wiring on the driver side before attempting to remove the bulb since GM didn't feel the need to leave an extra inch of wire in the harness to allow for the bulb rotation on the driver's side. Total change out time was about 25 minutes.

Good Luck!

 

[Z15]

I found that using a slip joint pliers makes it easier to grab onto R & R the bulbs. I wrap tape over edges to protect bulb.

 

[kaktallica]

I'm in total agreement with Briguy88, I checked this thread before I did this R&R and it worked out exactly as he says.....even including needing smaller hands and GM being too cheap to add the extra inch of wiring to fully rotate the drivers side bulb to remove it! Thanks for the tips/help cause I really didn't want to have to remove half of my front end also just to change these bulbs out.

 

[bartleyl]

08 GMC 2500HD Duramax Drivers side headlamp (lo beam) replacement

I'm in total agreement with Briguy88, I checked this thread before I did this R&R and it worked out exactly as he says.....even including needing smaller hands and GM being too cheap to add the extra inch of wiring to fully rotate the drivers side bulb to remove it! Thanks for the tips/help cause I really didn't want to have to remove half of my front end also just to change these bulbs out.

Totally agree. The first time I had to change headlamps on 2008 2500HD Duramax I pulled all the inner fender, grill etc. This time I just needed to do drivers side low beam (top one). Disconnected + on battery behind driver side headlight and battery holddown. Lifted battery up and rotated over onto engine (very gently). Reached through access hole and was able to move clip off top side of bulb, used screwdriver to gently release lower clip of bulb, worked connection off. Replaced bulb and all back together. Even with big hands maybe 30 minutes vs a couple hours. Hope this helps someone out.

 

[dwitmer]

I too have experienced this very same issue. Last night BOTH low beams lights stopped working, had to use the fog lights to make it home. Both fuses looked fine, so after a few minor cuts I managed to remove the driver's side bulb. I plan to pick a new pair tomorrow on the way home from work. What kind of genius made it so hard to remove a bulb, they could have at least designed the windshield fluid container neck so it would not be directly behind the bulbs, that is ridiculous. And yes, please add an extra 2 inches of wire to allow the driver's side bulb to rotate.

 

[JohnP24]

Found this thread when I was searching how to change my driver's side Low Beam headlight on my 08 Sierra.

It took me 10 minutes to change my headlight when I use a crescent wrench to turn the bulb to about 1 o'clock and then realized the wiring was indeed too short to make it to 12 o'clock. I ended up popping the connector off using a flat tip screwdriver and then turning the bulb out with the crescent wrench.

Then had my small handed daughter insert and start turning the bulb in, where I completed the process using the crescent wrench. Then played surgeon with the screwdriver to replace the connector.

I used the crescent wrench at a 90 angle to the bulb and had to make it fit just between the frame and the windshield washer fluid neck.

 

[tar5555]

2010 Sierra Left Headlight Out

Found this thread when I was searching how to change my driver's side Low Beam headlight on my 08 Sierra.

It took me 10 minutes to change my headlight when I use a crescent wrench to turn the bulb to about 1 o'clock and then realized the wiring was indeed too short to make it to 12 o'clock. I ended up popping the connector off using a flat tip screwdriver and then turning the bulb out with the crescent wrench.

Then had my small handed daughter insert and start turning the bulb in, where I completed the process using the crescent wrench. Then played surgeon with the screwdriver to replace the connector.

I used the crescent wrench at a 90 angle to the bulb and had to make it fit just between the frame and the windshield washer fluid neck.

After a long and windy road trip this past weekend with the family, I noticed on my way home that my entire Left Headlight (both top and bottom bulbs arent working) is out. The Right side is operating just fine, but the entire left side is out. After perusing through this forum and looking under the hood, I can confirm that the windshield washer fluid reservoir sure could have been designed better to not be in the way - not looking forward to working around that.

Two Questions on bulb replacement:
1) Do you have to unscrew the torque screws on the rear housing of the light to remove it or just unclip the wire harness and rotate counter-clockwise? Noticed 3-4 torque screws on the lower bulb...

2) What bulbs did you go with? I am trying to price compare currently to save some money and I didnt know what brand worked well for you of lights?

Thanks in advance for the knowledge.