headlight removal

[geofft46]

hi i would like to remove the headlight bowls to clean inside,how do they come out ?

[Cooper Green]

I too would like A more detailed instruction from someone who has done this as mine are filthy behing the perspex. I know the griff pages has some info but not brave enough to tackle this task solo.

Any advice ?
Greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Cooper Green.

[Barreti]

I wrote a page on this for The Griffith Pages.

I'll see if I can find it for you.

[Johno]

Caveat - Mine is an SE, therefore possibly different . . . Ian's is a 4.3 so likely more comparable.

To get to the headlights themselves the pods will have to come out.

Pods are held in place with sealant (Sikaflex) and a bracket at the back of the void, accessed through the panel in the inner arch.

Leave the bracket in place, get a sharpened pallet knife and gently work the pod away from the body. It is very easy to crack the body work and is a job you need to take time and patience over exercuting . .

Then disconnect the wiring, undo the bracket and bring them out through the front.

Mine were held onto the pods themselves with rivets, drill those carefully and then remove the headlight unit from the back of the pod. Make sure you mark everything as you remove it, the orientation of the headlight intot he pod, where rivets were etc . . . also get some ally tape to re-wrap the join to minimise bugs ingress into the pod unit. Don't move the adjusters, you'll be likely to replace them near enough, but before you remove you may want to consider marking the beam pattern on the garage door, where the wheels were etc and then you can adjust back to that afterwards if need be.

To replace means a lot of cleaning off of all old sealant from lenses and around the aperture. I left the body shop to put mine back in and they've done a cracking job, but I know Ian's done his as has Del - cheers for the email help Del. I actually chose to replace the covers as mine had 80k on them nearly and they are held onto the pods with number plate tape and countersunk screws.

You can also consider upgrading to HID's while you're in there, or even better upgrade to 7" headlight units like on the SE with HID's so you're not driving with candles. . .

[BliarOut]

I found a plastic spatula was perfect for breaking the bond between the body and the pod. If you can't seal a bath neatly, don't bother

[geofft46]

thanks very much,i thought it was something like that but on my car the hole in the wheel arch was slightly covering the back of the head light and i couldnt get it back to twist it,i spoke to an ex tvr tech who said he had seen this and the hole in the arch had to be cut out a little,iv just cut about half inch wide strip down the inside edge and out it came,