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Replacing Low Bean Bulbs In 04 Sierra

sage55

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sage55 Enthusiast

sage55

Posted
Posted

I'm thinking about getting a set of these silverstar bulbs for my 2004 GMC Sierra, is there anything special I need to do to install these?

 

Also I've read in some of the newer trucks you've got to dissemble a lot of the grill to replace the bulbs, not sure if that's true but does this hold true for 04 models?

txab Senior Enthusiast

txab

Posted
Posted

No nothing special. Easy swap. On an '04 there are 2 pins that hold the headlamp assembly. Turn those and pull them out and the assembly comes out.

 

 

headlightgmt800.jpg

spankrz Enthusiast

spankrz

Posted
Posted

bulb replacement is as described above. as far as the silverstar headlights, i strongly recommend saving your money. i put a set in my truck, and saw little to no change, and they burn out much quicker then a standard bulb. the passenger side bulb only lasted about 10-15,000 miles or 6-8 months. they had a 12 month warranty so i exchanged it for a new bulb, but IMO they are not worth the money.

txab Senior Enthusiast

txab

Posted
Posted
bulb replacement is as described above. as far as the silverstar headlights, i strongly recommend saving your money. i put a set in my truck, and saw little to no change, and they burn out much quicker then a standard bulb. the passenger side bulb only lasted about 10-15,000 miles or 6-8 months. they had a 12 month warranty so i exchanged it for a new bulb, but IMO they are not worth the money.

In your GMT 900 truck they probably would have a shorter life since the low beam bulb is also your daytime driving lamps. On my 800 I've had the SS Ultras for over 4 years and about 60k and still going strong. Not everyone's experience though. When my ambient light sensor was on the fritz and the lights stayed on constantly, I had a set set last just over a year. The non Ultras should have a better lifespan since they burn cooler (less light)

spankrz Enthusiast

spankrz

Posted
Posted
bulb replacement is as described above. as far as the silverstar headlights, i strongly recommend saving your money. i put a set in my truck, and saw little to no change, and they burn out much quicker then a standard bulb. the passenger side bulb only lasted about 10-15,000 miles or 6-8 months. they had a 12 month warranty so i exchanged it for a new bulb, but IMO they are not worth the money.

In your GMT 900 truck they probably would have a shorter life since the low beam bulb is also your daytime driving lamps. On my 800 I've had the SS Ultras for over 4 years and about 60k and still going strong. Not everyone's experience though. When my ambient light sensor was on the fritz and the lights stayed on constantly, I had a set set last just over a year. The non Ultras should have a better lifespan since they burn cooler (less light)

 

 

that is true, but i was comparing to standard halogen bulbs. if the OP is on the fence, i would say try them. you are right when you say there are mixed experiences. some love them, some hate them.

sage55 Enthusiast

sage55

Posted
  • Author
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Low bean bulb replacement requires proficiency in bean counting. :thumbs:

 

LoL, good catch! Well I replaced my magic beans with a set of sylvania silverstar's and installation was VERY easy. The only thing is I really don't see a huge difference between them and stock. Nothing like I did when I replaced my stock foglights with Silverstars.

txab Senior Enthusiast

txab

Posted
Posted

The Silverstar bulb is pretty much equivalent to the stock bulb. The Silverstar Ultras are brighter

desrtrat Senior Enthusiast

desrtrat

Posted
Posted

I've never had bad luck with Silver Star's last set i had lasted almost 8 years on my high/lows..only reason they were changed out was the light assembly's were changed out due to being sand blasted in a wind storm by a body shop who was doing the repaint. as for the DRL's on my 03 lasted the same amount of time with the Sylvania 3157 ALL

bulbs. maybe i'm just lucky, but i get longer life with them than the factory Wagner's..

 

BTW- putting a little dab of dielectric grease in the bulb plug helps also..

 

good luck..

sage55 Enthusiast

sage55

Posted
  • Author
Posted
The Silverstar bulb is pretty much equivalent to the stock bulb. The Silverstar Ultras are brighter

 

You're probably right, I likely just bought into the marketing part of it I guess. "Up to 35% brighter, up to 30% more downroad visibility and up to 35% more sideroad visibility." I thought they where referring to stock headlamps but really they never mention what the increase is compared to.

 

Nonetheless it's not that I'm unhappy with them, it's I just had expected seeing more of an improvement - similar to I did when I replaced my stock foglights with these Silverstars.

 

BTW- putting a little dab of dielectric grease in the bulb plug helps also..

 

What does the dielectric grease do for the bulbs?

KBcarstuff Enthusiast

KBcarstuff

Posted
Posted
The Silverstar bulb is pretty much equivalent to the stock bulb. The Silverstar Ultras are brighter

 

You're probably right, I likely just bought into the marketing part of it I guess. "Up to 35% brighter, up to 30% more downroad visibility and up to 35% more sideroad visibility." I thought they where referring to stock headlamps but really they never mention what the increase is compared to.

 

Nonetheless it's not that I'm unhappy with them, it's I just had expected seeing more of an improvement - similar to I did when I replaced my stock foglights with these Silverstars.

 

BTW- putting a little dab of dielectric grease in the bulb plug helps also..

 

What does the dielectric grease do for the bulbs?

 

 

 

Blue coated headlight halogen bulbs actually provide less useable light output than your stock bulb. We recently started carrying the Putco Night White, Osram Nightbreaker Plus, and Philips X-treme Vision halogen bulbs. These bulbs do not have a coating on them and they will get you more light than your stock halogen bulb.

 

Steve

sage55 Enthusiast

sage55

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Blue coated headlight halogen bulbs actually provide less useable light output than your stock bulb. We recently started carrying the Putco Night White, Osram Nightbreaker Plus, and Philips X-treme Vision halogen bulbs. These bulbs do not have a coating on them and they will get you more light than your stock halogen bulb.

 

Steve

 

Haha, thanks Steve. If I can remember your companies name in a few years when my Silverstar's burn out I'll try to get a set of bulbs from ya. :lol:

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