[BecketMa]

Has anyone taken the headlight apart? I just assumed the clips held the glass in place over a water tight gasket.

I've also seen how to take apart auto headlights by baking them at a certain temp and them gently prying the glass away from the reflector.

Just hope there is an easier way with LT headlights?

Best from Tucson
Bob

 

[mreuter]

No Bob it isn't. Is a lot of work you have to take all the tuperware of, side panels of to come to the nose part, take this of and you find from the inside some screws the hold the head light in place take them out and you have it.
Have to do this job also. Ship my LT from Orlando to Germany and have to convert it to the German low that means I have to change the Head Light.

Manfred

 

[dshealey]

I had a 2001 headlight assembly that was broken in an accident, and just for the heck of it tried to separate some of the glass pieces from the housing. Just about impossible. The adhesive is extremely tough and tenacious, like urethane. I do not think it is at all feasible to separate the glass from the plastic housing without breaking the glass.

 

[BecketMa]

Hi Manfred.......HI Dave!

Thank you for your time.

I've got an extra new headlight Manfred; stumbled upon it while looking for something else. The price was lower than I could buy a new one at a discounted price. After reading about HID projectors I started looking for broken headlights I could buy and experiment with. I never found a broken one to play with.

It always tickles me Dave when I see your occasional post in the LT site. that triggers a thought of wondering what Andy, Munson, and quite a dew others are doing and how they are.

When a clutch issue comes up it reminds me of what Cyclecamper went through.

Baking at a specific temperature is done so that the adhesive become malleable, thus allowing one to gently pry the glass from the headlight. to get it back together, I seem to remember baking it again, clamping the glass back onto the headlight and applying sealant just to make sure.

If I undertake this project I'll take lots of pixs so that some one else succeed or benefit from my failures.

Best from Tucson
Bob

 

[copperstatetour]

In this thread I attached a crude diagram of the intersection of the lens and housing (post #8). The adhesive that is in there might become malleable at high temperatures, but I doubt it. That stuff is ridiculously tough, I think it is some kind of silicone or something. Good luck and let us know the results.

Am I to assume that this is your ongoing quest to install a projector lamp in your LT? I must admit that ever since you put that idea out there I have thought about little else on my LT.

 

[Dragonwing]

Bob: Remember the old Volvo 240 series that the Company made a bazillion of and are still running around at 20 and thirty years old? If so, then you'll recall that they had that monster square headlight beginning in the late '80s and continuing until production ended in '93. These lights were prone to damage from rocks and such, and also suffered from degradation of the reflector. Volvo (Hella) makes/made a replacement lens for the light. The technique to remove it from the body of the assembly is as you described....with gentle, slow heat and a sharp, prying tool. The details of the how-to are all over the various older Volvo websites. I suggest pulling up www.brickboard.com or www.swedespeed.com and use their 'search' tools for the details.

I can't help but believe that the technique would be substantially the same. My feeling is, if it wasn't cast in one piece, and it's held with adhesive....then it'll come apart somehow.

 

[MarinPhil]

I tried on a broken headlight bucket on my GT. Can't be done w/o cracking the glass-many others have tried. Newish headlight bucket from bemmer bone yard.

 

[dshealey]

Hi Manfred.......HI Dave!

------------------------------
Baking at a specific temperature is done so that the adhesive become malleable, thus allowing one to gently pry the glass from the headlight. to get it back together, I seem to remember baking it again, clamping the glass back onto the headlight and applying sealant just to make sure.

If I undertake this project I'll take lots of pixs so that some one else succeed or benefit from my failures.

Best from Tucson
Bob

Yes, try it. If it is a urethane, which it seemed to be, it may not soften enough to separate it. Some modern adhesives like this will withstand more heat than the plastic housing is likely to. I think the housing is ABS, and most urethane adhesives will still be holding strong when the ABS softens so much it will deform.

Let us know what you find out!