Headlight Removal / Cleaning
 

The headlamps on these cars definitely have a problem. In the advent of making things more
aerodynamic by creating headlamp covers and replacing standard headlamps with Halogen
Bulbs we are unable to rejuvenate the glass covering these things simply by replacing the bulb.
The cover must withstand the life of the cars, abuse and we are finding they are unable to
perform the task requested of them. They become pitted from road debris and are unrepairable
in the glass form. Our fog lights from 91 to 99 on both the 3000GT's and Stealths also have the
same problem. While nothing can be done about the pitting on these headlamp covers, there
is another problem indicated from what I think is vapors emanating from the plastic housing
internals that cause a deposit to form on the inside of the glass covers caused by heat from the
bulbs. This can be remedied but not easily. You must remove the headlamp assembly and
with a process of heat via a hair dryer or preferably a heat gun, disassemble the housing
and clean the underside of the glass or from what I am told, some are plastic. Mine happen to
be a glass type substance and very hard. While this mine be a difficult task, it beats paying
hundreds of dollars for new headlamp units and does make a marked improvement in the
looks of your car. That being said, lets move on to the task at hand.

In the photo below you see the screw that secures the turn light assembly, remove it

Using a flat tip screwdriver, carefully pry the lamp housing forward. There is both a plastic hook
type clip on the headlamp housing and a pin type seat on the lower corner on the fender holding it
in place as shown below with the circles two photos below. You should use either a pull motion or
pry it a little from a place that will not damage your fender paint before placing the screwdriver
where it is shown below. I pried it out a little first behind the headlamp assembly near where the
screw was taken out. The prying motion shown below is moving the head of the screwdriver forward
and not applying prying pressure on the upper fender itself.

Shown below are the two holding points of the turn lens. The lens does snap into place because
of the type of pin / plastic housing that is used to secure it, however the screw is the main holding
point for the Turn Signal Assembly.

Ok, now we move on to the headlamp assembly. Remove the (2) plugs for the bulbs in the rear of the assembly.
They have one holding tab on one side and pressing down on the tab or using a small screwdriver
for prying the tab up will allow the plug to be removed. Pressing down on the outer edges with the
screwdriver tip might help a little because they can get pretty stuck on there.

In the photo below there are fours screws circled that must be removed and the assembly will then just
lift up in the rear and come out of the headlamp bucket.

Once the headlamp assembly has been removed it is time to recondition the headlamp bucket. Remove all
the bolts / nuts from the bottom trim piece. Using a very small screwdriver, locate the places the rubber trim
has been stapled to the front bumper and extract the staples while not damaging either your paint or the rubber
trim piece. This is optional of course, but mind you I found rust on the underside of the trim piece.
Here is a photo of the bucket once the headlamp assembly has been removed.
Note also I have also already removed the trim piece.

Once the trim piece has been removed it is time to clean up the bucket to get ready for reassembly
as shown below. Note that this is the drivers side, but the procedure is the same for both sides, so I will
be using photos from both sides.

Once the trim piece has been cleaned up repainted and ready for reinstallation, it is time for the
contact cement to re-glue the rubber trim to the bumper. As shown below I have used Elmers
Contact Cement for this task. It comes in a small bottle with a brush and can be purchased at
your local hardware store. One might also use trim cement for this from an auto parts store.
I didn't have any at the time and this will work, but I can't guarantee how long being outdoors,
however the removal of the bucket is so easy I can also do that later, so it wasn't a concern for me.
If I had a choice I would have used trim cement for outdoor use with car trim, so it you have no
Contact Cement, go the other route with your purchase and it will work better.

Shown below is the pieces Glued and preparing to dry.
Also note that I had two bolts shear off from rust.
One was a stud with a nut. I drilled both out replaced them and re-tapped one hole.
On the drivers side I have one bolt shear off on me. Did the same thing there.

Here is a photo of the headlamp buckets cleaned up and ready for the headlamp assembly and
turn assembly to be replaced into the housing. The reason we start on this is to allow clean up
time for the trim piece and the screws / nuts to be cleaned up and painted and time for the paint
to cure. I thought I would cover this whole procedure before going on to the headlamp assembly work.

Ok, now the hard part. Shown below is the assembly with all the clips removed.

Using a heat gun (preferably) or hair dryer, heat up the edge where the two halves join from the half way
point on one side to the half way point on the opposite side and begin prying the unit apart using a
couple screw drivers and separating the halves. The glue is very sticky and is softened by heat, but it is still
extremely sticky to pull apart. There is a rounded edge on the glass half that goes into a cupped mating trough
on the bottom side. The glue has to be cut or severed as you go along with either a screw driver or a Stanley Knife.
Here is what it looks like in the beginning stages. Note the stretched glue between the halves.

Eventually you will get to this point where the halves have been separated. Take care not to overheat
any one particular area as the lower half will sort of melt if you do. Especially when prying the parts apart,
the bottom can become too soft and bend and stay that way as it cools. Not to worry about that too much because
you can always re-heat it and push it back into place.

Ok, now that we have it separated, we can see how bad the inside has been fogged. Here are a couple
photos of both the drivers and passengers side lenses and partial cleaning of the drivers side to show the
difference between cleaned and not cleaned.

Drivers Side

Passengers Side

While it is more dramatic seeing a partial clean, pay attention to the clarity of the items behind the glass on
the passengers side comparison photos. Mind you in both sets of photos, only the inside of the glass has been
cleaned, so what you are looking at is just the difference this process can accomplish.

Ok, we are now into the reassembly area. Place the glass back on top the bottom half and while heating
the edges from one side to the other, using a pair of pliers as shown below, steadily squeeze the halves back together.
Additional glue should not be necessary as not much is actually removed in the process. All you will be doing is
re-sealing what was already there.

Heating the edges

Squeezing the Halves Together

Re-Installing the clips

Working your way over to the other side

Squeezing the halves back together

Installing remaining clips and make one last heating pass so the clips can do their job of
pulling the halves together. Use the pliers to assist them.

Ok, here is a Comparison of a before and after shot of the Assemblies
Passengers Side Headlamp only. Still have to do turn lens refinishing

Drivers Side. Also did the Turn Lens With Chief Aircraft Plexiglas Polishing Kit.
Did not take a before Photo of Drivers Side, sorry, but you can see a photo of the
before Lens above where it was partially cleaned so you know there is a big difference.
On the turn lens observe the color depth between the before above and the after below.
Clarity of the plexiglas gives color Depth as you can see

Have Fun!!
 
 

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