Fitting Clear Rear Lights - A Picture Guide
Discussion
I purchased a pair of used clear lights from Aston Martin Bits for £550 + VAT less £100 for mine in PX - so £450+VAT.
They also supplied the rubber water proofing donuts, and 2 "special bolts" for £20 - never did find out what they were for so as they were so special asked for a refund!
Below is the picture story for anyone interested in doing it.
It took 90 mins (was snowing looking after the kids and did not have great spanners - so this is a worse case time!). Nicholas Mee quoted me 1.8 hours which after VAT came in at something like £200 + - save your cash!
You will need
1. a spanner (approx 15 / 16mm) & small flat bladed screwdriver
2. Craft knife to cut off foam trim
3. Double sided tape to stick foam back on and to secure body coloured trim panels
4. Replacement donuts x 6 ( you will need these or water will get in and the old ones a squashed to nothing)
5. Something to remove the body coloured trim panel - hairdryer / nylon wire.
So it starts like this ...
Pull away the boot seal - just grab and pull
Pull away the carpet -it is held on the edge with a lite glue - and you will see the three nuts that hold in the lights.
Undo them - it is approx 15/16mm ( my toolkit is on my boat so I used an adjustable spanner which was a pain!)
Once undone the light just pulls forward. You need a small flat blade screwdriver to slide into the orange coloured retaining clip - then the light will come away
Oh dear, my car has a hole in it!
There is a piece of foam rubber that did not come with the new lights - i cut it off with a sharp blade, and then put it on the radiator to dry out. Double sided sticky tape then used to put it back on again.
The paint colour trims were removed, cleaned and then put onto the new ones using double sided tape. One simply fell off, the other was prised of gently using a hair dryer and dental floss put behind the trim panel and pulled on both sides.
The fittings require you to put one side in first and then lower into the next fitting which makes it impossible to get them out of line. (The kids thought that daddy doing this was fun - feet in the background!)
The lights have a "bolt" that screws into the plastic and then an adjuster nut that screws onto this bolt. The left and right ones were screwed fully down, and then middle one 10 turns on. This worked first time for the Right hand side. The left one was "rocking" a bit so I spun the outer ones out 2 turns and it was a perfect fit.
And the end result
All lights work with no warning lights displayed. Mine is a October 2007 car - there is comment that you may need your dealer to plug in their computer but all was fine for me.
Worth £550? Probably not but I like them!
They also supplied the rubber water proofing donuts, and 2 "special bolts" for £20 - never did find out what they were for so as they were so special asked for a refund!
Below is the picture story for anyone interested in doing it.
It took 90 mins (was snowing looking after the kids and did not have great spanners - so this is a worse case time!). Nicholas Mee quoted me 1.8 hours which after VAT came in at something like £200 + - save your cash!
You will need
1. a spanner (approx 15 / 16mm) & small flat bladed screwdriver
2. Craft knife to cut off foam trim
3. Double sided tape to stick foam back on and to secure body coloured trim panels
4. Replacement donuts x 6 ( you will need these or water will get in and the old ones a squashed to nothing)
5. Something to remove the body coloured trim panel - hairdryer / nylon wire.
So it starts like this ...
Pull away the boot seal - just grab and pull
Pull away the carpet -it is held on the edge with a lite glue - and you will see the three nuts that hold in the lights.
Undo them - it is approx 15/16mm ( my toolkit is on my boat so I used an adjustable spanner which was a pain!)
Once undone the light just pulls forward. You need a small flat blade screwdriver to slide into the orange coloured retaining clip - then the light will come away
Oh dear, my car has a hole in it!
There is a piece of foam rubber that did not come with the new lights - i cut it off with a sharp blade, and then put it on the radiator to dry out. Double sided sticky tape then used to put it back on again.
The paint colour trims were removed, cleaned and then put onto the new ones using double sided tape. One simply fell off, the other was prised of gently using a hair dryer and dental floss put behind the trim panel and pulled on both sides.
The fittings require you to put one side in first and then lower into the next fitting which makes it impossible to get them out of line. (The kids thought that daddy doing this was fun - feet in the background!)
The lights have a "bolt" that screws into the plastic and then an adjuster nut that screws onto this bolt. The left and right ones were screwed fully down, and then middle one 10 turns on. This worked first time for the Right hand side. The left one was "rocking" a bit so I spun the outer ones out 2 turns and it was a perfect fit.
And the end result
All lights work with no warning lights displayed. Mine is a October 2007 car - there is comment that you may need your dealer to plug in their computer but all was fine for me.
Worth £550? Probably not but I like them!
For that you will just need to head to astonbits.com, then follow the simple pictures. You will be done in 90 mins - you don't need me!
Re changing lights - they are all simple except the under dash ones which are almost impossible to get out - it just takes manipulation with your fingers until eventually the fitting pops out. You then visit the chiropractor at a cost of 55 - which is still cheaper than main dealer labour! Other than these ones you should be able to do the whole lot in about 15 mins.
Re changing lights - they are all simple except the under dash ones which are almost impossible to get out - it just takes manipulation with your fingers until eventually the fitting pops out. You then visit the chiropractor at a cost of 55 - which is still cheaper than main dealer labour! Other than these ones you should be able to do the whole lot in about 15 mins.
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