Tools and Equipment
Needed.
1) 1 tube of silicone/rubber black or clear
atv sealer. You can use the existing sealer if your careful
when separating though.
2) Can of Regular automotive spray paint. It'll do just
fine.
3) Flathead and small philips screwdrivers and maybe some
pliers for the clips.
4) Additional set of hands (if you can't separate the housing
by yourself).
5) Oven, blow dryer, heat gun, or a hot driveway and some
Cali sun.
Step 1- Removing the headlight
assembly.
There are three bolts that hold each assembly
onto the car. Remove the top two and then the bottom one.
On the driver's side, I found it easiest to remove the black
shielding for the intake before attempting to remove the
HL unit. Disconnect the two wire connectors from the back
and your in the clear to remove from the car.
This is the easiest part so if ya can't get this one, stop
here and re-think doing this mod.
Step 2- Dissassembly.
This is done by heating it in a cooking oven
for about 10 minutes at 350°F (I think that's 170°C
isn't it??) or until the glue loosens. I didn't go this
high with the temp but some have without problems. There
is also the option of leaving the unit in the hot summer
sun, but seeing as its WINTER!! you get the idea.
Prior to this though you have to remove any
excess components that may melt, meaning your bulbs and
seal caps. Here is the unit off of the car.
Be very careful when separating your HL unit
because the glue will stick to anything it can get a hold
of and it is VERY HOT!!!.
Start with the flathead screwdriver and GENTLY
lift up the tabs holding it together, then only pry and
twist enough to give your fingers some pulling room.
As you pull apart the front cover from the headlight unit,
cut/trim the cheesy web-like glue. Remember, pull a little
and then trim a little, and repeat this step. Take your
time and do it slowly. You have about 20 minutes before
the glue hardens. Plenty of time. But you can always re-heat
if needed.
As you trim, the glue will retract, and you can reuse the
glue later when re-attaching the headlight back together.
The key to this is patience and taking your time.
Step 3- Internal disassembly.
Once you have the HL unit completely separated
your very committed to the project, you will now want to
disassemble the HL unit completely.
Remove the three screws holding the black plastic part inside
the clear housing cover.
Remove the two screws holding the turn lens onto the back
of the black plastic part
Your HL unit is disassembled as much as needed for this
project.
Disassembled unit-
Put everything you have removed aside and
your black plastic part is ready for painting, chroming,
or whatever you want to do with it.
Make sure you toughly clean and degrease the
black plastic properly, scuff with a scuff pad so the paint
will adhere properly and will last under these operating
temps. No need to worry about buying high heat temp for
this project as the lights only generate an area of heat
as wide as they are onto the clear cover, they don't generate
too much of an internal radiant heat.
Take the part to an area where you can spray it and leave
it for a while to dry, overnight if needed. Read the instructions
on the spray. IT SAYS LIGHT COATS!!! Be patient with this
as well. I say this because many times in the past I have
rushed my painting and ended up with the runs and sags.
After the paint has completely dried. You
will re-assemble the internals.
Its up to you if you want to re-use the existing glue to
reseal the HL unit. I didn't want to take the chance of
an improper seal and the glue wasn't too evenly distributed
in the sealing groove anyway. I spent almost an hour per
light trying to remove the remaining sealant. So in retrospect
I wish I had left it there.
If you decide to leave the existing sealant, heat both parts
in the oven again so that the sealant is almost flowable
and can seal properly and completely. Remember to apply
allot of pressure to get an air/water-tight hold, I used
a couple of large clamps to maintain even pressure.
If you decide to remove the existing sealant
and apply new, fresh stuff. Simply cut the end of the sealant
to a small tip and apply evenly almost to the top of the
groove, don't fill it entirely though. If you do, the sealant
will get squeezed under pressure and run on the inside and
outside of the HL unit. If alittle comes out, don't worry
about it until its hardened and you can cut it off. Apply
pressure as above and move on. You need to leave the units
alone for awhile so the sealant can activate and harden
properly before you install onto the car. I left mine alone
for the night because the sealant I used won't harden properly
in the cold weather.
Finished HL UNIT-
Finally, put the headlight unit back onto
my car, and connected the wires.
As a side note here, you may consider as I did, completely
removing the turn signal cover. Under that there is a chrome
bit similar to the main lights. However it runs in horizontal
slats where the main lights run as vertical slats. Needless
to say I thought it would have looked alittle silly removing
them.
Good luck and feel free to email
me if you need help.
