Taillight guards for a 97

[rrsirkis]

I'm looking for taillight guards for my 97 Explorer. There seems to be some around for the 98 and up models, but I can't seem to find any for the 97 and below. Any help is appreciated.
I've attached a picture of what I have so far. And the tail light guards will be the finishing touch to my truck.

 

[DP96XLT]

I am in the same situation with my 1996 Explorer XLT... In my case I am looking for the stainless steel versions.

rrsirkis, I find it kinda funny, I have the same brush guard in stainless, but with black light covers on stainless offroad lights. My explorer is also maroon colored with grey lower panels and running boards.

 

[RickOTR]

I've seen 98 taillight guards on a 97 so you might look into those if you can find them.

 

[sthmstr]

I’ve seen posts where folks have bolted 98+ lights into a -97. They bolt in fine but stick out funky due to the -97 hatch being flat and the 98+ being more rounded. I’d imagine one could modify the 98+ guards to fit closer on our generation’s tails. Or of course one could convert the entire rear to 98+.
I’m leaning more towards modifying 98+ on my 1997.

 

[rrsirkis]

If anyone goes the rout of modifying the 98+ light guards let me know how it works out.

 

[rrsirkis]

I am in the same situation with my 1996 Explorer XLT... In my case I am looking for the stainless steel versions.

rrsirkis, I find it kinda funny, I have the same brush guard in stainless, but with black light covers on stainless offroad lights. My explorer is also maroon colored with grey lower panels and running boards.

I would love to see a picture of it.

 

[DP96XLT]

I would love to see a picture of it.

 

[DP96XLT]

I still have to put the front hood bug guard on (sitting in the box at the moment).

I did a ton of stuff to it since I got it last November. New suspension, new brakes, alternator and electrical upgrade, cold air kit, custom exhaust, tune up, fixed the steering shaft boots, new nav headunit along with new component speakers, amp and hidden subwoofer, remote start alarm and fixed some little stuff to make it "perfect".

 

[rrsirkis]

I still have to put the front hood bug guard on (sitting in the box at the moment).

I did a ton of stuff to it since I got it last November. New suspension, new brakes, alternator and electrical upgrade, cold air kit, custom exhaust, tune up, fixed the steering shaft boots, new nav headunit along with new component speakers, amp and hidden subwoofer, remote start alarm and fixed some little stuff to make it "perfect".

My explorer has been with us for 20 years and I have slowly added stuff throughout the years. It does have remote start, and a Kenwood head unit with Kenwood door speakers. I really want a subwoofer but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I have replaced the braking system including rotors, calipers, pads and hoses. It worked great for a long time and then the transmission went about 4 years ago, but I got it replaced and it ran until November of last year when a head cracked. So we spent about 6 months rebuilding the entire engine and finally got it started in April. I then decided to get it painted, and that's when I added the cargo basket and brush guard along with the off road lights, headlights and taillights. Then I replaced the rear shocks for the Monroe load adjusting shocks with a coil spring helper which really helped with rear end sag, and I used some Monroe oespectrum shocks for the front. The ride is the best it has been in years. I have been very pleased with the truck so I decided to give it a lot of love this year.

I'll attach some photos of the changes.

 

[DP96XLT]

Nice...

Mine is an all-original 42k mile vehicle. I picked it up originally for my daughter to use for college, but it was so immaculate and original I decided to keep it for myself.

I replaced everything that was "suspect" after 24 years, so lower balljoints, upper balljoints, all new cooling system (radiator, waterpump, hoses, heater valve), hood/hatch/tailgate lift shocks, suspension shocks all around (went with Rancho 9000XL adjustables), rotors/calipers/pads, all new fluids to synthetic, new valvebody with upgrades in the transmission, new nodular rear diff cover (so fluid changes are easier), sound deadened the doors and rear areas, tranny cooler along with inline filters for both the power steering and transmission, Curt hitch as well as a convertible ball setup for the stock bumper (just in case I need to tow one of those small utility trailers) and fabbed a hotwire harness for the headlights along with high-output halogen bulbs for both the fogs and headlights. I spent more on all the changes than I spent on the vehicle itself, and a lot of people would say I was crazy for putting that much in an older vehicle, but it is perfect and is basically a new vehicle, so I expect to drive it for a very long time...

 

[rrsirkis]

Nice...

Mine is an all-original 42k mile vehicle. I picked it up originally for my daughter to use for college, but it was so immaculate and original I decided to keep it for myself.

I replaced everything that was "suspect" after 24 years, so lower balljoints, upper balljoints, all new cooling system (radiator, waterpump, hoses, heater valve), hood/hatch/tailgate lift shocks, suspension shocks all around (went with Rancho 9000XL adjustables), rotors/calipers/pads, all new fluids to synthetic, new valvebody with upgrades in the transmission, new nodular rear diff cover (so fluid changes are easier), sound deadened the doors and rear areas, tranny cooler along with inline filters for both the power steering and transmission, Curt hitch as well as a convertible ball setup for the stock bumper (just in case I need to tow one of those small utility trailers) and fabbed a hotwire harness for the headlights along with high-output halogen bulbs for both the fogs and headlights. I spent more on all the changes than I spent on the vehicle itself, and a lot of people would say I was crazy for putting that much in an older vehicle, but it is perfect and is basically a new vehicle, so I expect to drive it for a very long time...

That was a great find with only 42k miles. And I am in the same boat with people saying I'm crazy for plunging so much money into the truck, but it's been practically rebuilt from the ground up. All of my problems came from age and normal wear and tear of the truck. As long as you keep your maintenance up they are pretty reliable trucks.

 

[Muleman36]

Has anyone considered ranger tail light guards? The 94-97 years might be the right fit...