A rock shattered the glass on the right side inner headlight on my 2001 XJ8L. Bought an original equipment replacement on eBay for $179. While waiting for it to arrive, tried to research to see how to remove the old unit and install the replacement. T'ain't much that I can find on the forum. Anybody done his and has a pretty good (or great with pictures) to walk me through it?

Thanks.

 

Doing my homework, I ran across this piece submitted by Delbert:

"Just replaced the drivers side low beam lens on my 2000 VDP.....a real pain in the butt. First you must remove the grill, which isn't too bad.....2 screws on each side. They're a little tight to get to...they have T20 heads.....and you'll need a slim shaft to get in there easily. Then remove the headlight trim piece. Not too bad...one screw on top, but there is fir tree fastener underneath the headlights that's a little scary. It will feel like the trim is about to snap, but mine finally came loose after a bit of pulling, but you'll likely break the fastener like I did. Another trip to the parts store. JTIS says to remove the headlamp assembly........I did, that was the real pain....four screws under the hood. After you remove those you'll have limited play to work with without disconnecting the wiring. I did not unplug anything, just removed the bulbs. The lens is actually snaps in and out. The lens has four sockets on the backside....only three which are used, on mine anyway. The headlamp assembly has three studs with ball ends that snap into the sockets. Mine were very tight and not easy to remove the lens...and pretty hard to get the new snapped back in, but it went. I think the hardest part was installing the two bottom screws which hold the assembly in place. "

My question now is: is it necessary to remove the headlamp carrier (bottom bolts look to be a PIA to remove and redo), or can I just use a thin blade screwdriver to release the four (I think there are just four) spring clips that hold the lens in the carrier? Then the lens will not need to be realigned/refocused. Removing the grill and related plastic trim looks pretty simple with just four T20s and a couple of phillips screws. On the right track?

 

The headlight globe has three studs with ***** on the end which fit into three PLASTIC retainers.

You can try a sharp pull from the front, or get behind it with a padded screwdriver and pry.

Brutal has described the trick.

Do it when the headlight area is warm such as after a drive so that the plastic is at its most flexible. When reinstalling, grease the ***** , align the ***** and give it a smack with your hand.

edit:

if you go from behind, nothing has to be undone ... no screws to touch at all ... only the headlight globe comes out.

i've had all four out for cleaning and never touched a screw. pry out ... smack back in.

 

Hi ho Jhartz,

There is a video on youtube, by Robert DIY that is a step by step example of a headlight lens replacement. Go to youtube, in the search box, type in: "Jaguar Headlight Lens Replacement".

 

As PLUMS said, pry it from the back.
I sprayed some liquid grease in each ball carrier (from a spray bottle) before removing, and let it sit for a bit.
They all came out fine, no issue at all.

 

Waiting on UPS to bring the new lens. But yesterday pried the old one out for practice. Hit all 3 sockets with WD40, popped right out and back in just as quickly. Robert's video helped