Headlight reflectors bowls
Discussion
Hiya - Changed mine at the begining of this year as it was an advisery on the MOT. Yes they are expensive - bought mine from Clevor Trevor with new adjusters and arrived next day.
My thoughts were that as it is a PITA job and I wanted to keep my car original the new parts were worth buying, after all it was just a couple of tanks of fuel.
Have to say that I am very satisfied with the result and now the lighting performance is very acceptable, did the job in half a day and should last the 16 years of the original ones.
Good luck - Andy
My thoughts were that as it is a PITA job and I wanted to keep my car original the new parts were worth buying, after all it was just a couple of tanks of fuel.
Have to say that I am very satisfied with the result and now the lighting performance is very acceptable, did the job in half a day and should last the 16 years of the original ones.
Good luck - Andy
When i was a kid (long long time ago) you could buy "chrome tape" to tart up your push bike, scooter, motor bike etc.
just an idea, if available and if sticks well enough ?
OR ... here at work we have some alluminium foil tape (used to secure pipe insulation)about 2" wide, think something similar available from B&Q, not super shiny but may work ?
just an idea, if available and if sticks well enough ?
OR ... here at work we have some alluminium foil tape (used to secure pipe insulation)about 2" wide, think something similar available from B&Q, not super shiny but may work ?
Colin L said:
Hi as promised the following part numbers for the lens and reflector.
Its cheap to replace and the chrome spray while a good idea is no replacement for the correct legal surface finish.
Lens Bosch part number: 1 305 604 027
Reflector Bosch part number: 1 305 314 930
Cheers,
Colin L
I have just sourced 2 new Bosch relectors as the the part No above as mine are starting to go a bit rusty and the MOT is looming.Its cheap to replace and the chrome spray while a good idea is no replacement for the correct legal surface finish.
Lens Bosch part number: 1 305 604 027
Reflector Bosch part number: 1 305 314 930
Cheers,
Colin L
After ringing around quite a few places and being told that Bosch arent making any more I got a couple from Racing Green.
Was going to start the job today but it has pXXXed down all day. So next weekend
On looking at the new bowls there are only 2 adjusters with just a rubber grommet where you would expect the other adjuster to be . It's the part number as above and unopened Bosch packaging.
Will it be obvious when I take the old ones off , or will I have a problem.
I would like to have everything I need when I start the job.
I have a 2000 Chim 4.0
Anyone changed these reflectors and shed some light on this .
Thanks
Trev
Here's a write up I did a month or two ago on the TVRCC forum:
One of my headlamp reflectors appeared to be rusting more and more, then the other one started going the same way so, a couple of years after first noticing it, I reckoned it was bad enough to cause an MoT test failure.
I looked at the different options available, which really boil down to replacing the originals; upgrading the originals with VW Lupo or similar; rebuilding the wings à la Tuscan. There's merit in each but I discounted the 'Tuscan' look, as much as I like it, on the basis of cost and originality. The Lupo conversion retains the original look and has the advantage of being a sealed unit, unlike the original lamps, but having seen a few I decided against it. So I had to go 'original'.
Until a couple of years ago the original reflectors were readily available from any Bosch motor factors for a little over £20. Now they're out of production and are very scarce. A pair of reflectors and their fixing/adjustment screws & springs come in at well over £100. Fortunately I managed to secure a nearly new pair from a fellow TVRCC member who had gone the 'Tuscan' route. The great benefit here was that they arrived still attached to the bodywork! So I received the whole lot: reflectors, lenses, fixings; even a spare pair of cowls, for the price of postage from Hampshire (I also sent some beer tokens...).
And so to the job. Removal of the cowls is simple. In theory. The cowls are each mounted on two M6 studs, accessible through the front grille. Not too difficult on a facelift car as removal of the front number plate offers enough access. On earlier cars the mesh grille would have to be removed. The M6 studs are each secured with a wingnut. Secure being the operative word: on my '99 car they were seized solid. I managed to get one off on either side fairly easily but of the other two, one detached from the cowl, the other (testament to the adhesive used) sheared! I reused the detached stud and replaced the sheared one from the second-hand kit. Rather than spend threepence on new fixings, I cleaned the threads up with a tap (wingnuts) and a die (studs). The replacement stud was affixed with Unibond two part epoxy resin.
The top of each cowl is fixed with a dab of Sikaflex. It can be quite difficult to remove without damaging the cowl. I managed to lift the cowl enough to cut through the Sikaflex with a sharp knife. Lenses are next; they're also sealed/fixed in place with Sikaflex and can easily be cut out through careful use of a sharp blade. The reflectors are fixed from behind and are much easier to remove if the car has access panels inside the wheelarches, which mine has. I can only imagine it would be very difficult and awkward to do through the grille if the car has no such access panels. Firstly the electrical connections are removed, one to the H4 lamp and two spade connectors to the sidelight.
The reflectors are mounted with three long screws. Each screw has a special nut screwed right up to the screwhead, with a tab at 90° to the shank. This tab simply pushes through a small rubber grommet in the reflector rim: there are three of these, at the three-, six- and nine-o'clock positions. A long spring now goes over the screw and each screw passes through a corresponding hole in the bodywork, where it is secured at the back by a wingnut. This springloaded mounting arrangement fixes the relector securely to the bodywork whilst allowing headlamp aim adjustment in the vertical and horizontal planes. If you plan to replace your headlamps without having to move the car during the course of the job, it's handy to have the car pointing at a wall. That's because you can switch the lamps on before you start and mark the beam position on the wall, which will aid in adjusting the beams when the new lamps have been fitted. Alternatively you will most likely need to have the beams adjusted afterwards. Most garages (and all MoT testing stations) should be able to do this for you.
Two of the mounting screws on each of my original reflectors were seized, but with one removed it's easy to dismount the reflectors from the two remaining studs. This in turn provides easy access to the remaining screws. Both the six-o'clock position screws were almost rusted through: both springs WERE rusted through but, again, I had spares on the replacement 'kits'. With both lamp assemblies now completely removed I cleaned up the now accessible bodywork. I deliberately left the dabs of Sikaflex on the cowls and corresponding parts of the bodywork, as I knew they acted as a spacer and made refitting them in the same position much easier.
Whilst they're not open to the weather as such, the fitted lamps are open to the atmosphere and it's quite surprising how much detritis builds up in them. I once even saw a moth trying to fly around inside one of mine! Refitting of the reflectors is a straightforward reversal of removal.
The lenses were in good condition, beyond being dirty. It took a while to remove all the Sikaflex, but it was easy enough. It seemed their initial mounting in the factory involved a thin bead of adhesive to lock them in place before finishing the job off with Sikaflex, as I found traces of this both on the bodywork and each lens. So I took the same approach, using the same Unibond two part epoxy resin I'd used to mend the cowl fixings. As an alternative to Sikaflex I used Upol Tiger Seal which I'm reliably informed is the same stuff, but cheaper! Finishing the seal was a little tricky as there were large gaps (over 5mm) between the lenses and the bodywork, especially at the three-, six- and nine-o'clock positions. I did it in two stages, building up a wall of Tiger Seal on the edges of the bodywork and each lens, applying a third bead between these two when it had dried. I finished it of by running my finger over the seal. This stuff doesn't come off very easily, so I wore a surgical glove.
The cowls were now refitted, once the Tiger Seal had dried and hardened. Each stud has a spacing nut to stop the cowl being pulled out of shape when the wingnuts are refitted. After a test fit and adjustment of the spacing nuts, I fitted two large plain washers, one either side of the bodywork (the studs pass through a large hole in the bodywork). When the wingnut is tightened up, it secures the cowl by clamping the bodywork between the large washers. Prior to final fitment I smeared a thin film of Tiger Seal to each half of the Sikaflex blob I'd cut through when removing the cowls.
The lamps were now reconnected and the beams adjusted before refitting the access panels. At this stage I just screwed the panels back on to allow fine adjustment of the beams before the car goes for MoT test, but they need sealing with Tiger Seal when the job's complete. During reassembly, I coated all the threads/springs in white lithium grease in the hope that they won't rust up and seize in the future. Job done!
Examination of the original reflectors revealed that they hadn't rusted at all. What I could see was the brown base coat, much like that on the back of a mirror, to which the silvering finish is applied. I found a company that could resilver both reflectors for about £50, so I'll keep the originals and have them refurbished when the job needs doing again in another ten years! Other companies offered to chrome plate them, but I was advised that would not be suitable for headlamp reflectors as chrome plating scatters the light and the beam pattern is therefore lost.
One of my headlamp reflectors appeared to be rusting more and more, then the other one started going the same way so, a couple of years after first noticing it, I reckoned it was bad enough to cause an MoT test failure.
I looked at the different options available, which really boil down to replacing the originals; upgrading the originals with VW Lupo or similar; rebuilding the wings à la Tuscan. There's merit in each but I discounted the 'Tuscan' look, as much as I like it, on the basis of cost and originality. The Lupo conversion retains the original look and has the advantage of being a sealed unit, unlike the original lamps, but having seen a few I decided against it. So I had to go 'original'.
Until a couple of years ago the original reflectors were readily available from any Bosch motor factors for a little over £20. Now they're out of production and are very scarce. A pair of reflectors and their fixing/adjustment screws & springs come in at well over £100. Fortunately I managed to secure a nearly new pair from a fellow TVRCC member who had gone the 'Tuscan' route. The great benefit here was that they arrived still attached to the bodywork! So I received the whole lot: reflectors, lenses, fixings; even a spare pair of cowls, for the price of postage from Hampshire (I also sent some beer tokens...).
And so to the job. Removal of the cowls is simple. In theory. The cowls are each mounted on two M6 studs, accessible through the front grille. Not too difficult on a facelift car as removal of the front number plate offers enough access. On earlier cars the mesh grille would have to be removed. The M6 studs are each secured with a wingnut. Secure being the operative word: on my '99 car they were seized solid. I managed to get one off on either side fairly easily but of the other two, one detached from the cowl, the other (testament to the adhesive used) sheared! I reused the detached stud and replaced the sheared one from the second-hand kit. Rather than spend threepence on new fixings, I cleaned the threads up with a tap (wingnuts) and a die (studs). The replacement stud was affixed with Unibond two part epoxy resin.
The top of each cowl is fixed with a dab of Sikaflex. It can be quite difficult to remove without damaging the cowl. I managed to lift the cowl enough to cut through the Sikaflex with a sharp knife. Lenses are next; they're also sealed/fixed in place with Sikaflex and can easily be cut out through careful use of a sharp blade. The reflectors are fixed from behind and are much easier to remove if the car has access panels inside the wheelarches, which mine has. I can only imagine it would be very difficult and awkward to do through the grille if the car has no such access panels. Firstly the electrical connections are removed, one to the H4 lamp and two spade connectors to the sidelight.
The reflectors are mounted with three long screws. Each screw has a special nut screwed right up to the screwhead, with a tab at 90° to the shank. This tab simply pushes through a small rubber grommet in the reflector rim: there are three of these, at the three-, six- and nine-o'clock positions. A long spring now goes over the screw and each screw passes through a corresponding hole in the bodywork, where it is secured at the back by a wingnut. This springloaded mounting arrangement fixes the relector securely to the bodywork whilst allowing headlamp aim adjustment in the vertical and horizontal planes. If you plan to replace your headlamps without having to move the car during the course of the job, it's handy to have the car pointing at a wall. That's because you can switch the lamps on before you start and mark the beam position on the wall, which will aid in adjusting the beams when the new lamps have been fitted. Alternatively you will most likely need to have the beams adjusted afterwards. Most garages (and all MoT testing stations) should be able to do this for you.
Two of the mounting screws on each of my original reflectors were seized, but with one removed it's easy to dismount the reflectors from the two remaining studs. This in turn provides easy access to the remaining screws. Both the six-o'clock position screws were almost rusted through: both springs WERE rusted through but, again, I had spares on the replacement 'kits'. With both lamp assemblies now completely removed I cleaned up the now accessible bodywork. I deliberately left the dabs of Sikaflex on the cowls and corresponding parts of the bodywork, as I knew they acted as a spacer and made refitting them in the same position much easier.
Whilst they're not open to the weather as such, the fitted lamps are open to the atmosphere and it's quite surprising how much detritis builds up in them. I once even saw a moth trying to fly around inside one of mine! Refitting of the reflectors is a straightforward reversal of removal.
The lenses were in good condition, beyond being dirty. It took a while to remove all the Sikaflex, but it was easy enough. It seemed their initial mounting in the factory involved a thin bead of adhesive to lock them in place before finishing the job off with Sikaflex, as I found traces of this both on the bodywork and each lens. So I took the same approach, using the same Unibond two part epoxy resin I'd used to mend the cowl fixings. As an alternative to Sikaflex I used Upol Tiger Seal which I'm reliably informed is the same stuff, but cheaper! Finishing the seal was a little tricky as there were large gaps (over 5mm) between the lenses and the bodywork, especially at the three-, six- and nine-o'clock positions. I did it in two stages, building up a wall of Tiger Seal on the edges of the bodywork and each lens, applying a third bead between these two when it had dried. I finished it of by running my finger over the seal. This stuff doesn't come off very easily, so I wore a surgical glove.
The cowls were now refitted, once the Tiger Seal had dried and hardened. Each stud has a spacing nut to stop the cowl being pulled out of shape when the wingnuts are refitted. After a test fit and adjustment of the spacing nuts, I fitted two large plain washers, one either side of the bodywork (the studs pass through a large hole in the bodywork). When the wingnut is tightened up, it secures the cowl by clamping the bodywork between the large washers. Prior to final fitment I smeared a thin film of Tiger Seal to each half of the Sikaflex blob I'd cut through when removing the cowls.
The lamps were now reconnected and the beams adjusted before refitting the access panels. At this stage I just screwed the panels back on to allow fine adjustment of the beams before the car goes for MoT test, but they need sealing with Tiger Seal when the job's complete. During reassembly, I coated all the threads/springs in white lithium grease in the hope that they won't rust up and seize in the future. Job done!
Examination of the original reflectors revealed that they hadn't rusted at all. What I could see was the brown base coat, much like that on the back of a mirror, to which the silvering finish is applied. I found a company that could resilver both reflectors for about £50, so I'll keep the originals and have them refurbished when the job needs doing again in another ten years! Other companies offered to chrome plate them, but I was advised that would not be suitable for headlamp reflectors as chrome plating scatters the light and the beam pattern is therefore lost.
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