One of mine has a small leak (hairline crack in the lens), letting water in, and it seems like these are NLA almost everywhere.

 

Have you drilled a small hole in the black bottom part to let it drain? They were poor quality vs 99-02 units. Much thinner plastic & the heat from the bulb made them split/crack.

 

Yeah, exactly why they are rare, they all cracked.

 

Ah, good idea.

Yeah HUGE difference in quality between the two. Heck, even ditching that LR logo embossed in the lens... what a shame.

Side question about the 99-02 taillights - why the inclusion of that strip of metal that sort of separates the lens at the top? Sort of an odd design choice.

 

Just drill a hole in the bottom. Takes less than 5 minutes to do both. You can spray a clear sealer over the light if you want, but the hole will drain the water.
My driver's sido taillight was so full of water the entire bulb assemblywas under water, but it still worked perfectly.
I only noticed when I went to change the light bulbs and it was literally filled with water. You can't find replacements at any decent price so the drain hole is you best option.

 

Added taillight question for 04's. As Brandon said, hard to find especially the left for some reason. I replaced mine and the replacement did not have a socket for the upper outside bulb that lights in red (not brake). Anyone know why this is? It looks like I could drill it out and mount the bulb if I wanted to. With the bulb there is a smaller square section on the upper outside edge that lights up. Just curious.

 

LEDs will make a big difference in the life of your lights.

 

You will notice your CC will stop working with LED bulbs like Sylvania Zevo's in your brake lights. Whenever you notice moisture in an 03-04 housing you want to drill holes in them immediately. Otherwise once they fill up the silver reflective paint will flake off leaving you with extremely dull tail lights.