Headlight clearing (w/pics)

[RedDawg]

did you guys remove the grille separately or just remove the grille+bumper as one whole piece?

[TSiWRX]

Grille out, first, then bumper skin.

[SUBACHEVROMAN]

^^what he said..pop out grille, then attack ur bump cover..i was suprised how easy it was to remove the grille..

[theflystyle]

I tried this past weekend to remove the bumper/grille on my 08 and let me explain my new found frustration on the whole matter.

 

i did plenty of research, saved pages, printed pics (no internet where i was doing this work) and I thought it would be a simple 1.2.3 process..... i spent almost 3 hours with this ordeal to just results to giving up. it was a PITA to get to the three screws on each side. i could only remove 2 and the third looked impossible. detaching the grille was also a headache. i broke 2 of the 4 clips attaching it to the body. it was disappointing. i even purchased the sealant in anticipation .

 

I may resort to getting help. first project so far i could accomplish!

[RedDawg]

finally did this over the weekend. Took a little over an hour to get the bumper & grille off. The grille took a little more force to remove, those felt pads on it were stuck to the bumper. Not that i know the process, no more than 30sec to remove it.

 

And may the man who invented pop-its be cursed. Holy crap were those things a pain in the ass.

 

Got the headlights off, i did the cookie sheet lined with newspaper method with the oven @ 225°. 1st headlight, with me freaking out and checking it every 5min, it probably took about 25min before it was hot enough to pry apart. One note though, if you're using newspaper, be aware that when it heats up the ink on the newspaper will create smoke. I nearly crapped myself when i opened the oven and billow of smoke poured out, i thought my lights were fried.

 

After clearing, i layed a thin line of that black permatex silicone over the existing sealant, squeezed the lights together, reheated them for 5min, and pressed them together again. Then i put a thin coating of the sealant over the seam around the light, let them sit for about an hour, and reinstalled them.

 

Washed the car sunday, had some low temps last night, so far <knock on wood> no moisture or foggin within the lights.

 

one other tip, if you're buying new turn signal bulbs to replace the amber ones, buy them beforehand, it seems like it would be difficult to replace them after the lights are reinstalled (removal of the battery and airbox to access the bulb socket).

[theflystyle]

^

after my story you had to throw in your story lol. sigh maybe just a bad day

[SUBACHEVROMAN]

^

after my story you had to throw in your story lol. sigh maybe just a bad day

 

sorry to hear about your bad luck..i know it sucks, believe me..i might of successfully removed the amber lenses, but ive had to tear off front end 2 more times trying to get rid of condensation buildup..the lights resealed very nice with all the clips back in place and i still got foggy lights..i guess the third time was the charm so far..i plastered the whole outside seam with the sealent, if i get more foggy i give up..as nice as the lights look cleared, dont get discourgaged because our lights dont look good foggy:)

[RedDawg]

^

after my story you had to throw in your story lol. sigh maybe just a bad day

 

sorry about your bad luck, i think the 08+ are a lot more pita to remove than 05/06s. I broke one of the clips that attach to the grille, but for whatever odd coincidence when i purchased my used grille off of this forum the seller included one clip still attached to it

[SUBACHEVROMAN]

it does sound like they are different..i couldnt believe how simple the front of this car is to come off..when i first saw the pics with no bumper and grille, it was a little scary...but now matter of minutes to tear it down..by the way, after my 3rd attempt to reseal my headlights after doin this..i havent had any moisture now for a few days-FINALLY..i sure hope they are sealed good this time..good luck to anyone doin this, even with my moisture troubles i wouldnt ever want to go back to the amber lenses

[theflystyle]

anyone have pics of an 08-09 or tips for removing the bumper. it seems everything i looked at was for other years

[fog32]

I have a 2009 LGT. Hopefully these pictures will help you see what is hidden under the lights and wheel wells. You can see that the top of the bumper has a row of "clips" along the length. First be sure you have removed all the plastic screws. I think there are about 7 along the bottom edge of the bumper and two or three on each side. The toughest one is in the upper front part of the wheel well... you have to pull the plastic liner back to reach it because it is hidden. Once you have all the screws off, you have to pull the bumper off beginning with one side. The plastic "clips" are actually part of the bumper, they wont come off separately. It's pretty scary, but you have to tug pretty hard to get it started. You can pull with one hand and press in on the body above the bumper with the other hand. Try to get one "clip" to come off, then you can work your way around. Make sure to have something under the bumper like cardboard to keep it from scratching.

 

Good Luck!

[theflystyle]

did you have any issues with the grille? I cant really tell how the bottom of the grille attaches to the bumper....

 

thanks for the pics and good job with the results

[fog32]

I had no problems with the grill. I actually was able to get the grill off before I figured out how to get the bumper off. The lower part of the grill is attached from the back side by four screws while the upper part is attached by the plastic pop-its and plastic screws (they should be pretty obvious). They are small and fairly hidden, so if you can get the bumper off, it is much easier to get the grill off second. I was able to reach up behind the grill and use one of my wife's small mirrors to find the screws. That's the more difficult way to go though.

 

Another little note on the headlights. You can see that my lights still have the "ribs" where the corner lenses/blinkers are located. When you go to remove the amber color, if you don't like the ribs you can remove the entire piece of plastic that contains the amber and ribs. I had to break the amber piece off and do a little sanding to clean up the corner piece with the ribs. Not a big job, but extra work if you don't like the extra stuff in the headlight housing. I didn't realize this till I was already done, but I still like the look. I think the plastic ribs help throw the blinker light around. Just thought you might like to know that that option is available. If you look around through the forums you can find a few 08-09 LGT's that have removed the entire corner piece. I think it looks good both ways.

 

You can kind of see what I was talking about with the headlight corner in this image. Unfortunately I don't have a better image of the bumper.

Edited April 14, 2010 by fog32

[RedDawg]

been a few weeks now and no moisture in them after a few rains, some much cooler nights, etc. If they were ever going to fog up they wouldve done it by now.

 

I definetly recommended when you go to reseal them add a little of that black permatex silicone in the seam ontop of the existing sealant. Press them together, rebake for 5min, and press them together some more. Then line the exterior of the seal with a thin layer of the permatex.

 

That's what i did and they've been perfect so far <knock on wood>.

[SATSFYD]

Sweet I think I will do this.

[coldradio1]

I'm sure as hell not gonna scroll through 50+ pages of thread to find this out. Anybody know what size torx are used for the headlights. I hate doing anything with vice grips so if I have the torx size, I will be happy.

[Drift Motion]

T15

 

i just did it today

[moncur_6]

Alright, in 55 or so pages I am sure this question has been answered, but I go to college in a small town where cops hassle the guys with aftermarket parts about anything and everything. If I do this, which I really want to...will I get flak from cops for not having those reflectors anymore?

[Canon20D]

I passed through inspection in NJ twice without reflectors. As long as it BLINKS orange i dont think they can say anything

and if you get stopped, tell them it was like that from the factory and passes inspection as such

[TSiWRX]

moncur, that's honestly hard to say.

 

Overall, I'm in agreement with Canon's assessment, but different areas vary in terms of their enforcement attitude, and one truly can never know. Case in point? In my area, several years ago, enforcement attitude was quite in-line with what you report of yours, and many of my friends with either outright tuner vehicles or simply import vehicles were targeted for various lighting-code infractions, some of which did not even exist "on the books." Yes, such issues were then resolved in court, but they were never compensated for the hassle of either the roadside interview nor the time they took to present their case (i.e. appear in court).

 

The BL/BP has the advantage of looking like a sheep - so you may escape all but the worst of enforcement scrutiny. To better your chances, I'd also, like Canon said, use a lamp that is silver/clear when off, but when on (both parking marker and turn signal), engages as amber/yellow.

 

Here where I live, I decided to further stack the odds in my favor by using the SilverStar for this application. The SilverStar, when off, isn't a complete clear/silver/chrome look, but rather, with sunlight, gives off an "ion" type reflection/coloration to the surrounding reflectors, which from many angles, can be perceived as being somewhat amber-hued.

[SATSFYD]

I did like I said... I did it! The front of the car looks way better without the orange. (I have a SWP BL.)

[The_Bishop]

I did this mod last night along with installing my RavSpec front lip.. 20min at 200 degrees F worked just fine for softening the housing adhesive. Just remember after you squish the two halves back together to put them back in the oven again for the same amount of time, then press the halves together again to make sure everything is seated well. I got some silicone to put around the seam, but elected not to do it - not sure if I'll regret it or not. It's raining today, so we'll see. BTW, ordered some 3157 bulbs (chrome, blinks amber) from here:

http://autolumination.com/titaniumseries.htm

 

- Allen.

[BagheeraLGT]

i chromed, then blacked my old lights out a few months back. Deer made my passenger headlight go kaboom. I ordered 2 new headlights (as my driver side seal was bad from the first time around). Ill be doing the whole process again tomorrow night.

 

....but this time, when i install, theyre gonna get some HID 8000K bulb/ballast treatment with some super gold fogs to match. Ill prolly post some pics again for the thread.

[BagheeraLGT]

so i just finished my first headlite clearing....all went fine. My lights werent mounted, as i did this on a new set that i ordered (aftermarket from DiscountBodyParts $250 both shipped!!!!!). Anyway, it went well....here are some pics.

 

.....a special thanks to my helper, as seen in pics.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=73340&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1252730872 http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=73341&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1252730872 http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=73342&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1252730872 http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=73343&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1252730872

 

 

 

^^ from my first go around..... lights cost $300 this time but that included free next day shipping. These above got re-opened and blacked out. This time ill black out again. the look is real nice on the OBP leggys

[king_j]

i needed new headlights and purchased these after reading your thread. i blacked them out, just waiting to put on the car after some bumper work is done.

they look so much better then the stock lights.