S Type headlight repair
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Joined: Oct 2012
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From: Panama City, Florida
S Type headlight repair
Got the parts a couple of days ago and today decided to give it a shot.
Put the car on my lift (Max-Jack) and following "aholbro1 and joycesja(Rick's) good instructions here on the forum, got under the front of the car and had at it.
After about an hour, had the splash pan and bumper off, checking as I went, to the pictures I made copies of from both folks. Then with the great help of both, removed the driver side headlight assembly, got out my newly acquired heat gun (never needed one before and may never use it again based on past needs)
This one has two settings and using the lower of the two, started the warm up on the seam holding the outer and inter parts together. Seeing that warming up a section (about 6-8 inches) at a time, the material would remain hot long enough to (using a flat bladed screw driver) pry the seam apart a little at a time. Continuing this procedure all the way around, the seam slowly opened up enough to pry it apart. The sealant is a rubber based sealer that does the job, but is very sticky when warm, so it wants to stay on both parts as they come apart. So what you have is two parts still tied together with this sticky goo. Using my trusty Swiss Army Knife to cut the parts apart, I soon found out it sticks to the blade just as good as the two parts, but wetting the blade (wont tell you how, but it doesn't taste that bad), it cut the stuff without sticking.
After getting the parts apart, I removed all the broken old plastic pieces and found that the middle adjuster was fine. The outer one was wasted. I found that on the back of the housing, at the lower center, there is what looks like another light socket. Removed that to find that it contained a steel pin with a ball on the end that snap's into a plastic holder. This must be removed before going on. Not much of a problem, but it required quite a tug. Once that is removed you can return to the center adjuster and unscrew it completely. This allows the lens plate to be removed so you can get to the broken adjuster and replace only the part broken. The part that was broken snaps into a plastic ball holder in the lens that is easily removed, so you can knock out the broken piece of the rest of the broken part. Snap the new ball end of the new part into this plastic ball fitting before putting it back in the lens piece. Once you have the lens apart and can see these things, this all will be much clearer. Putting it all back together comes pretty easy when you see how it all fits together.
Once the new part is put on, the light can be reassembled in reverse of how it was taken apart. The re-seal is a none event. Place the two parts together and using just a average pair of plyers, gently use them as a clamp and gently squeeze the two half's back together until clips around the housing snap in place. Once you do that, then apply a little heat to seat the two half's closer together with your plyers.
The passenger side was some what different because the center adjuster was also broken, but the disassembly and repair is basically the same.
Tomorrow I'll put the bumper back on and [adjust] the lights. Thanks again to aholbro1 and Rick. I didn't take pictures, because it would just be a rehash of what these two gentlemen have already posted.
Cheers
Put the car on my lift (Max-Jack) and following "aholbro1 and joycesja(Rick's) good instructions here on the forum, got under the front of the car and had at it.
After about an hour, had the splash pan and bumper off, checking as I went, to the pictures I made copies of from both folks. Then with the great help of both, removed the driver side headlight assembly, got out my newly acquired heat gun (never needed one before and may never use it again based on past needs)
This one has two settings and using the lower of the two, started the warm up on the seam holding the outer and inter parts together. Seeing that warming up a section (about 6-8 inches) at a time, the material would remain hot long enough to (using a flat bladed screw driver) pry the seam apart a little at a time. Continuing this procedure all the way around, the seam slowly opened up enough to pry it apart. The sealant is a rubber based sealer that does the job, but is very sticky when warm, so it wants to stay on both parts as they come apart. So what you have is two parts still tied together with this sticky goo. Using my trusty Swiss Army Knife to cut the parts apart, I soon found out it sticks to the blade just as good as the two parts, but wetting the blade (wont tell you how, but it doesn't taste that bad), it cut the stuff without sticking.
After getting the parts apart, I removed all the broken old plastic pieces and found that the middle adjuster was fine. The outer one was wasted. I found that on the back of the housing, at the lower center, there is what looks like another light socket. Removed that to find that it contained a steel pin with a ball on the end that snap's into a plastic holder. This must be removed before going on. Not much of a problem, but it required quite a tug. Once that is removed you can return to the center adjuster and unscrew it completely. This allows the lens plate to be removed so you can get to the broken adjuster and replace only the part broken. The part that was broken snaps into a plastic ball holder in the lens that is easily removed, so you can knock out the broken piece of the rest of the broken part. Snap the new ball end of the new part into this plastic ball fitting before putting it back in the lens piece. Once you have the lens apart and can see these things, this all will be much clearer. Putting it all back together comes pretty easy when you see how it all fits together.
Once the new part is put on, the light can be reassembled in reverse of how it was taken apart. The re-seal is a none event. Place the two parts together and using just a average pair of plyers, gently use them as a clamp and gently squeeze the two half's back together until clips around the housing snap in place. Once you do that, then apply a little heat to seat the two half's closer together with your plyers.
The passenger side was some what different because the center adjuster was also broken, but the disassembly and repair is basically the same.
Tomorrow I'll put the bumper back on and [adjust] the lights. Thanks again to aholbro1 and Rick. I didn't take pictures, because it would just be a rehash of what these two gentlemen have already posted.
Cheers
