Headlight motor rebuild problem

In the process of repairing both headlight bucket motor drives. Left side went quite easily including the disassembly to replace the rollers. Reassembled and it works like new. The right side/passenger motor is a problem. It seems to be a different style than the left side. The large flat gear and shaft will not come free. Any hints to avoid my getting frustrated and breaking the gear while trying to remove it from the housing.

the number on the unit is 1650716RH - 2198

Walt I just finished installing a new headlight motor repair kit on the passenger side of my car. Getting the white plastic gear out is hard. What I did was put the nut back on the shaft so I could get a better hold on the shaft and then while holding the motor in one hand grasp the nut with a rag in the other hand and pull. As you pull slightly rock the gear back and forth toward the worm gear and the away from it. Keep pulling and rocking and it will come out.

Once you have the new gear cleaned up and new rollers installed you will run into the same problem putting the gear back in if not more so. Here are some tips I have learned to make the gear go in easier. I even took photos to help explain.

First line up the rollers in the gear assembly as you did on the driver side but only slide the white gear over the rollers about half way. Be sure you have the shims for the bottom side stuck in position on the gear with grease. Then start the shaft into the bottom bearing as shown below. The shaft will go into the bearing easily but the gear will be sticking up above the worm gear.

Click the images for a larger view.

Now, slide a deepwell socket over the shaft as shown below. Then using a rag in your hand apply firm downward pressure on the socket while turning the worm gear with the knob on the end of the motor back and forth. Once you get the gears lined up properly and apply enough pressure the white gear will pop right in. Be sure you apply the pressure on the white gear firmly with your hand and don't try to drive it in. I hope this helps.

Walt I just finished installing a new headlight motor repair kit on the passenger side of my car. Getting the white plastic gear out is hard. What I did was put the nut back on the shaft so I could get a better hold on the shaft and then while holding the motor in one hand grasp the nut with a rag in the other hand and pull. As you pull slightly rock the gear back and forth toward the worm gear and the away from it. Keep pulling and rocking and it will come out.

Once you have the new gear cleaned up and new rollers installed you will run into the same problem putting the gear back in if not more so. Here are some tips I have learned to make the gear go in easier. I even took photos to help explain.

First line up the rollers in the gear assembly as you did on the driver side but only slide the white gear over the rollers about half way. Be sure you have the shims for the bottom side stuck in position on the gear with grease. Then start the shaft into the bottom bearing as shown below. The shaft will go into the bearing easily but the gear will be sticking up above the worm gear.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]279322[/ATTACH]

Click the images for a larger view.

Now, slide a deepwell socket over the shaft as shown below. Then using a rag in your hand apply firm downward pressure on the socket while turning the worm gear with the knob on the end of the motor back and forth. Once you get the gears lined up properly and apply enough pressure the white gear will pop right in. Be sure you apply the pressure on the white gear firmly with your hand and don't try to drive it in. I hope this helps.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]279323[/ATTACH]

Thank you Ronnie. I took the hard way and just finished. I actually disassembled the motor section and pulled the armature out. The worm gear is actually part of the armature. Trick was to clear the plastic gear and hub away from the seated worm gear. Of course it took 4 hands to put the motor brushes and armature back in place. If I ever had to do it again, I would use your technique.

BTW, the rollers on each side had morphed into grated cheese.

Ronnie has lots of my repair instruction on his site and probably has one on headlight motors. There is also one at www.reatta.net

The gear is difficult to remove and install but not that hard...... I have done several in the parking lot of national meets without any special tools... usually put my foot on the motor and pull on the shaft.

In the process of repairing both headlight bucket motor drives. Left side went quite easily including the disassembly to replace the rollers. Reassembled and it works like new. The right side/passenger motor is a problem. It seems to be a different style than the left side. The large flat gear and shaft will not come free. Any hints to avoid my getting frustrated and breaking the gear while trying to remove it from the housing.

the number on the unit is 1650716RH - 2198

Just a bit of background as to what is causing the problem.

The teeth of the white gear are not cut completely through from front to rear - a small rim is left on the perimeter on one side.

The driver and passenger side motors have slightly different configurations. On the driver side, this rim is located outside of the helical gear section of the armature shaft and causes no interference to the withdrawal. On the passenger side, the rim is positioned behind the helical gear/armature shaft and thus impedes the removal and the re-install of the gear.

The remedies to this problem are outlined well in the preceding posts. Also, some folks like to cut out the rim between four or five teeth and it will then slip into place with no effort.

In lieu of handling as outlined earlier, the gear can be removed and replaced (as Walt did) by removing the two 8-32 hex head machine screws that hold the upper and lower motor housings together and slightly (1/8" - 3/16") separating the two housings. This will allow the white gear to be withdrawn easily.

The slight separation of the two housings will allow the brushes and their springs to pop out of place. A bit of finesse (three hands?) is required to put them back in place and re-insert the armature. IMHO, the only thing to be gained by taking this approach is that the brushes and armature can be cleaned; however, these motors have such an outstanding record of performance with no attention to the upper end that it hardly seems worth the extra effort that is involved as well as risking the breakage of those two screws.

Another thing to bear in mind - when curiosity causes you to dig deeply into the motor workings, note that there is a single ball bearing between the end of the armature shaft and the end play adjusting screw at the lower end of the motor. Just make sure that it is in place when buttoning everything up.

All of this is well known to long time owners and is reflected in many sites. It is added here principally to give some insight to new owners and Forum participants.

Kingsley