The glass on one of my headlights came loose around 2 years ago. I applied some joes sticky stuff (butyl) tape to hold it in, but yesterday it failed and the glass shattered on my drive home from work.

I found a housing and lens for $35 and I'm wondering if it would be best to pull out the old and install the new (used) part or heat the part I bought and separate the lens and apply it to the original backing. I assume either way I have to remove the old one from the car. To me the pros of separating the lens off the new part is that I'll be sure the silicone glue will be good, the cons are I could f' up a perfectly good part....

Also, how does the headlight come out? Does it just pry out?

 

The lens was never intended to be separated from the housing. I wuldn't suggest trying.

Yes....the headlamps are removed by prying them off. Three ball-in-socket peg-type thingies. Or is it four? Anyhow, lever the lamp out with a firm action. The pegs will release. It's one of those things where you're sure something will break but nothing ever does....usually.


Cheers
DD

 

as Doug says replace the complete light they do come of quiet easy

 

Here's a picture of the ball/socket attachment that Doug refers to. There are three on each unit. You can see two on the light that is still in situ here, the third is at the bottom.

On the top right of the picture you can see a ball where the other light unit has been removed.

 

I like to spray some lubricant (WD-40) into the sockets before I pull them off. I broke one of the sockets on the first without it, and it was much easier to pull the second when I added the WD-40.

Clean the studs and sockets before putting them back in, and I used a just a dab of white grease on the re-install.

 

Sweet. Thanks for the pics and the tip about the wd40.... This place is awesome!

 

Thanks guys. Nice to know how if it breaks.

 

I had this issue with one of my headlights, it was getting very foggy inside due to a bad seal. After removing the lamp, I could open the assembly up like a clam. The adhesive had failed, and the glass wasn't sealing properly, allowing moisture to accumulate.

I separated it all the way, and used some RTV sealant in the groove where the glass sits, making sure to get the orientation correct. After curing, the lens has been perfect with no sign of looseness or condensation. It also allowed me to gently polish up the reflector and the inside of the glass.

-Nick

 

crap. got the new housing installed, but noticed the highbeam lens was loose as was the whole housing on the mounts.

Removed the housing and saw that the adjustment peg was not seated in the assembly. Is this broken or how do I reattach?

 

The same thing happened to mine, or was like that before I removed the lamp.

I was able to twist it back into the headlamp bracket and it was firm enough to reattach and didn't throw off the alignment.

IIRC, there are ears on that peg that twist and lock into the headlamp bracket. The problem with mine was the plastic where the peg twists into was cracked or something.

You may be able to epoxy it back into the bracket.

-Nick

 

Make sure you put a dab of white grease on the " *****". And " socket" where they attach to facilitate ease of removal in the future.

 

Lenses separating from assembly is common, just clean well and epoxy back together after cleaning the inside. Just don't be too harsh on the reflector when cleaning or polishing as the reflective material can and will rub off.

 

Finally got it all back together. Replaced the driver's side headlight housing with a part from a breaker, siliconed the lens back into the hi-beam housing, epoxied (twice) the broken mounting peg on the assembly bracket and re-mounted the hi-beam housing.


As a tip regarding mounting/adjusting peg being broken off the assembly bracket: I fit the peg the best I could against the bracket and epoxied from the rear, held in place with three tiny clamps and let cure for 24 hours. After cured, I epoxied from the front of the bracket and again allowed 24 hours to cure. After reinstalling the bracket on the car I used a couple of plastic shims wedged behind the peg to support it as I snapped the housing back in to place.

Hopefully it holds up.