And there it is. Everything went smoothly with little drama. The most difficult part was dealing with the bumper removal. The top fasteners were a brisk. The side ones in the fender wheel well were a bit of a pain (see here in
MikeyMike's how-to - big thanks to the man btw). Some cussing and pressing before they came off. Time to invest in a good panel removal set. After that, a firm pull and the bumper skin just falls forward as depicted.
As for the headlamps themselves, they came apart with little fuzz. Blue Fox is correct, these things aren't difficult to deal with at all. I did, however, use a hairdryer to aid with the process just in case. I took my time and slowly pry the assembly apart - hairdryer in one hand, flat head screwdriver in the other.
Note: I remember someone mentioned that newer years uses different sealing compound (black). Whether that's true or not, the 3M substance on mine is white. The texture is a reminiscence of them wall crawler toys or soft marshmallow. I was expecting a gooey mess, but that wasn't the case. Then again, it could be because of the low heat. Regardless, the substance was easy to deal with - zero mess.
Anyways, here's the finished result:
My only concern now is how they will do in the wet. We're expecting rain tomorrow, so I'll find out soon enough. Hopefully the original compound would hold. If not, I will have to remove & reseal them again. I'm not worry though. Now that I know exactly what to do, it shouldn't take more than 30 min (if that).
Big thanks to everyone again for your suggestions & input.
