Headlight Ecstasy then Agony...

[Guest Corvanti]

i started "surgery" on the right headlight this afternoon. i noticed the bellcrank and link were loose. i tightened up the 10mm nuts on each end and it worked fine! went up & down 5 or 6 times with the headlight switches...

i put the plastic surround back on and tried it again - it went up 1/2 way once and down. that was it - stayed down...

took the surround back off and the bellcrank and link were loose again.

soooo, i'll be looking for the parts from all the great responses on my 1st post intro yesterday.

i never thought i'd miss the vacuum headlight system on my '80 'vette.

i got some learnin' to do!

[Guest Corvanti]

just found and read: padgettp.com

thanks all!!!

[Guest Kingsley]

Die Cast Zinc and plastic in a stressful condition has struck again!

Certainly not a lot of comfort in it and the only thing that might ease your pain

is that you are now traveling down a road to which a lot of ruts have been added by most every Reatta owner. If it isn't the miles that get the crank arm its the age that gets those rollers. With what is available on the market today, once fixed you will not go down that road again!

Kingsley Baker

Member AACA, BCA and Reatta Division

'89, '90 Coupe

www.reattaspecialtyparts.com

[Guest steveskyhawk]

Corvanti and all,

No need to suffer Reatta Headlight issues. The problem is an easy one to fix. For the most informative thread on Reatta headlight problems click here:

http://forums.aaca.org/f200/headlight-repair-kits-280826.html

This is the most unbiased and detailed discussion of the headlight issue to date.

[Barney Eaton]

You can have a similar experience if you only replace the bellcrank. There is a lot of torque on this system and the sloppy bellcrank has taken some of the load off the rollers.

When you replace the bellcrank and have old rollers they usually fail, it might be a month or 6 months but you then must tear everything down again to replace the $5 rollers.

Do both of them together and you will have happy headlight for many years.

Barney cranks are $40 and warrantied for as long as you own the car, the kit is $45 which includes bellcrank, rollers, up-stop nut, instructions and shipping.

[Guest Kingsley]

Let's face it - there are three makers of Crank Arm Repair Kits in play today.

Actually, a total of four models when you include both my NEW DESIGN and the RETRO-FIT.

Each seller carries bias - he should think that his offer or offerings are the best thing going.

To eliminate seller bias, the simple way to evaluate all of the options that are available is go to Padgett's comparison mentioned above. When starting the comparison, each manufacturer was invited to take a look at the first version and suggest any changes that they felt were warranted. Padgett analyzed these suggestions and made adjustments where he felt they were justified.

Padgett has no ax to grind and his comparison is very fair. He spent a tremendous time and effort in putting it together and is commended for making it available to all Forum participants.

It is what it is - a very valid comparison and should be viewed for the knowledge it will give to you irrespective of whether you need a new crank arm or not.

Kingsley

Member AACA, BCA and Reatta Division

'89 Coupe - '90 Coupe

Edited March 22, 2012 by Kingsley
Typos (see edit history)