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I know there have been other topics on the same topic and i did search, but would just like to post my own to get more anwsers....

I think ill be able to get the bumber off myself, and will just have a bit of trouble actually getting the headlight apart and putting it back together....

aiight here my questions...

It says to pry the black housing away from the clear plastic and "cut the sticky stuff as u go along". What should i use to cut the sticky stuff? and should i heat up the lamp with a hairdryerfirst to make it easier to pry open?

It looks like ( from the DIY ) actually getting to the oarnge peice and taking it out is ez... is that true or are there any tricks?

When resealing the headlight, i have never used silicon before... should i just go oever all the black stuff that was holding it on with the silicon and then jam the 2 peices back together tight?

If some of the black stuff that holds the 2 peices together does end up falling onto chrome, what is the best way of removing it without messing up the chrome?


Thx for your help in advance.

-Drew

 
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1. Yes
2. Easy. Chrome part is what's a little tricky.
3. First try to remove as much of the black stuff as you can (scraping it off). Then place your silicone where the black stuff was.
4. If it falls on the chrome part it's easy to remove with your nail or with a towel moist with cleaner. Make sure you clean the chrome pieces before you put it back together. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

 
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Dude if your going to do it be very careful not to rub off the chrome. I used wd-40 and ended up with a spot with no more chrome. My suggestion is to have money set aside incase you screw one up but thats just me. I had to order projectors and still dont have my car on the road. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-puke.gif[/IMG]

Peace

 
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Drew....
Its really easy.....its not that hard.....i was at work debating if i should do it or not but I got the guts to and so i did.....right in the back parking lot of Trak Auto...the second i got out of work.

Believe it or not.....the bumber was the hard part for me, but that wasnt even that hard.

I heated up the black googy stuff with a blow dryer in da back of da store with a blowdryer....I honestly didnt scrap the black stuff off.....I took a lil bit off but not much at all. I used a flat head screwdriver to get the two pieces apart....very gently though.

The rest was really a piece of cake.....I thought the black stuff was gonna really make a mess but it wasnt nearly as bad as i thought it would be.

The only other advice i can give you is MAKE SURE YOU DONT LEAVE FINGER PRINTS ON THE CHROME.....after i was done with all of it...and i was putting the new lights bulbs back in i got my finger prints on the chrome but it turned out gravey cuz i just took the bulbs out and stuck a moist cloth in the opening for the bulb to wipe the finger prints off.

Good Luck man!!!!
Let us know how it went!

 
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How long did it take you to finish?

 
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and make sure you do it on a dry sunny day so you don't trap any moisture in the assembely, you'll have to do it all over again and this time it won't be as fun

 
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that's why it's better to do it with someone who has alredy done it so they can teach you their mistakes and tell you how to avoid them

 
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<< and make sure you do it on a dry sunny day so you don't trap any moisture in the assembely, you'll have to do it all over again and this time it won't be as fun >>




hmmmmm its raining outside ( very lightly ) but i got my car in the garage, and thats where i will be doing everything. i might even bring the lights inside and make sure there dry when i actaully take them apart, etc. Will this mess it up?

-Drew

btw, thx for all ur replys.

 
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It took me like 2 and half hours.....I did the heating the googy stuff and taking the chrome apart and all that good stuff inside the store.

 
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hmmm im starting to gain more confidence in trying to do it on my own, i would try today but i have school project to do, hmm who knows maybe ill decide to try this afternoon, just need to get some silicon now

 
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Although some here say this is EASY, its really not THAT easy. Taking off the bumper is just time consuming, and not that bad. Prying apart the light is the tuff part. You MUST definitely use heat. I would suggest a good heat gun or a hot hair dryer to get the sealant (the black stuff) easier to work with, and so it lets you take the light apart easier. A better way is too heat the whole light in the oven at 125 degrees. It wont melt it at that temp, but it really helps to dry out the light and to loosen up the sealant.
When prying them apart, dont pry where the clips were, our you might break the plastic where the clip clips to. The DIY here is good, do a print out. However, I found it easier to pry from the back of the light and not the corner as the DYI suggests. Read as much as you can on this, it really will help you. Be super genrous with the clear silicone caulking, and when the light is back together, run a small bead all the way around the light to help seal it. My have never fogged up. Another thing that was hard was getting the orange plastic out of the light. Just be careful when pushing on the clips to get them out. It took me around 1.5 hours for the first light, the second one, it only took like 30 minutes. Good Luck, and btw, the results are well worth it!

 
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my boy and I did ours together, the hardest part for us was being careful with the chrome, be VERY careful cleaning it and watch out for the black stuff.....it gets everywhere somehow. We used a scrwdriver to pry apart, just be careful, slide the driver all the way around and loosen it, then just alittle bit of strength and they pull right apart. looks very nice when done, just get hyperwhites and pull those in while u have the lights out cause u will still have that yellow bulb in there and YUCK!!

PeArLhOnDa

 
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Hey man,
The easiest way to get the lights apart, this might sound crazy, but bake them in the oven for abour 7 minutes at 250 degrees and then all you have to do it just pull the lamps apart. Thats the way I did mine. Good luck

 
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woah bake the headlights? thats seems kidna crazy.. but i just thought of this: wear latex gloves when you work with the headlights so you wont get any finger prints on the chrome.. that might work, duno how good of a grip you'll get on the object your holding onto though

 
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<< but i just thought of this: wear latex gloves when you work with the headlights so you wont get any finger prints on the chrome.. >>



Yeah i was wondering why no one had suggested that or said they done it like that

 
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everything went well... thx for all the help




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btw, no that i have clear headlights i wanna get all the bulbs to be hyperwhite. Does anyone have a link to some good hyperwhite bulbs for my parking lights, turn signals, and halogen bulbs, and all for a decent price? thx.

-Drew

 
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I have my parking/signals as hyperwhite. Polarg has good hyperwhites. I think people would go with PIAA for the headlight, or even all of them. But from this site, check out the Reviews section in the forums and check out the bulb reviews.

 
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<< 4. If it falls on the chrome part it's easy to remove with your nail or with a towel moist with cleaner. Make sure you clean the chrome pieces before you put it back together. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG] >>



you never got any on the chrome did you? that method wouldnt work except to get the extra off so its just a thin layer. nail polish remover will take it off pretty easily



WEAR OLD CLOTHES the black stuff wont come out [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/IMG]

 
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<< [i]

<< nail polish remover will take it off pretty easily >>



nail polish remover contains bleach. u do not want to bleach chrome. not a good idea.

-Drew

 
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Did mine over the past couple days, will finally install them on the car tomorrow and put the car back together. Tuffest part for me was getting the 4th screw out of the headlights assembly the one that is way back there. My dad took all the good tools so I was stuck calling my bud to bail me out or I would have had to put the car back together and drive into town that wouldn't have been fun. Did a headlight a day off and on making sure everything was good. The Orange piece gave me problems on my last headlight today and had to paint a little chrome back on but besides that and using tape around on the black stuff 2nd one came out better than the 1 st. Be Patient and should go all right just hope mine don't leak a lot of extra sealant on the outside that oozed out so I think I should be all right.

Worth the time when they are done

Nick



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Dont use any nailpolish remover.....it contains acetone, a very strong solvent...it does NOT contain bleach....acetone will dissolve plastic...

 
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Curious on the outside of the lights I have that silicone that bubled out, should I completely take that off or leave some if it on the outside to help seal? later on as more protection?

Nick