3rd brake light

Hi yall, question....
In the 95-97 explorer the third brake light, (high stop mount) is a single unit that is part of the cars trim. To mount the new unit that i bought there are what seems to be pop rivets holding the whole assembly in. Has anybody replaced this light and if so, where do i start?

 

[JasonF]

Search.. I posted some notes about this last year. Yes you do have to drill out the rivets to remove the trim piece and get the light out. It's kind of a pain but once you have all the right tools lined up it goes pretty quick.

Jason

 

[kelly2]

just curious. are you replacing the lamp assembly cause it's broken/inoperable? usually the ballast goes out before the lamp does.

 

[JasonF]

Just FYI, I agree the ballast is MUCH easier to change. It is worth checking before you replace the bulb. Try one out of a buddies truck or something. But on mine the ballast was fine, it was indeed the bulb that had failed.

Jason