mat_fenwick wrote:The plastic headlight mounting sockets get brittle with cold weather (and age) so warm water over them helps if you are taking the lights out in winter.
..or just let the car idle for a while with the headlights on and bonnet closed.
took the headlights out without too much trouble today.used a length of bar to push as i pulled.worked ok.
the lenses were awful in the indicators so they had the bathroom cleaner and hot water treatment with her majestys best pots long handle brush thing. took about an hour to get them reasonable.they will never be perfect though. i had to find a couple of rubber bungs and selected a suitable drill bit to make a hole in the base of each one in order to get the aforementioned bathroom chemicals and warm water into them. once rinsed i had them in front of the fan heater which is attempting to keep my shed warm enough to spray paint some engine bay brackets and the coil.
i copperslip greased the push on sockets before reassembly to ease the job for the next chap to remove the lights.
had to get some emery and wd40 into one of the bulb fittings to clean the contact and return normal service.pleasd with the result for not too much effort and hardly any cost-until she finds out i used the pot brush!
audi a8 quattro
saab9-5 aero
saab99 turbo
smart roadster
citroen bx tzd
Just for completeness' sake, there's a couple of pics on re-installation of the headlights (in -25 deg C for no other reason than just for the heck of it):
Speechless quad lying flat on his bed, communicating by moving eyes.
BX Van 1.9D -90 Gone.
BX Van 16S -90 For sale.
BX Van 1.9D -90 (Earned!) Gone.
BX Break 1.9D -90 (officially a "5 seat van" since 2005) Waiting to be towed to a new home.
My Cars: 1999 Xsara LX 2.0HDI (90) Hatch - Fern 2002 C5 2.0 HDI (110) Estate - Jasmine - SORN 2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD 2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement 1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - SORN 1992 TZD Turbo Estate - SORN 1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired - SORN 1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped 2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car 1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014 1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN 1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
Great idea about drilling the hole to be able to get into the lens better so that the crap can be cleaned out. What did you use to clean them out with? perhaps you can use baking soda or something similar to really clean them out? It's a shame that the indicator doesnt actually come apart, but they appear to be glued together, so i think trying to get them apart would only break them, i think your solution is probably the best.
When you say you aren't happy with them, is it because the silver lining inside has degraded? If so, then i guess replacements are the way to go, just watch out for the cheap one's which don't have silver sides, just plain grey, they look crap.
2002 C5 2.0 HDI Estate - Jasmine - Now SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - My daily
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired.
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
the lense still have some algae in the join between the case and lense and there is some degrading of the silver inside. i used toilet cleaner-has anti limescale and bleach in it.and lots of warm water with her majestys best pots plastic brush.the hole was the only way to access the lense body so hole it is,rubber bungs were from the bits box! john.
audi a8 quattro
saab9-5 aero
saab99 turbo
smart roadster
citroen bx tzd
Thanks for the offer. I my come back to you. Is it a grey or black body? I will look on ebay too. I only bought the car as winter transport to work I'm not supposed to be spending money on it! It annoys me that they are not matching and still have some algae in them. Ocd I guess!
audi a8 quattro
saab9-5 aero
saab99 turbo
smart roadster
citroen bx tzd