Headlight broken

[Mac48]

My 1989 TC driver side headlight is broken.  Do I need to replace the complete headlight or just the lens?  If I can replace the lens how is it done?  Also, does anyone have these parts.  Thanks

[Reaper1]

The real answer is that the entire headlight is what is supposed to be the replacement part. Having said that, this doesn't mean you can't swap lenses. In fact, I propose that as a way to "make" good headlights. The reason I say that is that the reflective coating tends to oxidize over time, especially if moisture has built up in the light. When that happens, it doesn't matter how bright the bulb is, the light dispersed on the road will be less than adequate.

 

What I've found is that our headlights' lenses tend to come dis-bonded from the housing and that the rubber trim around it is actually holding it all in place! I've had 3 like this! 

 

Where I'm going here is that if you find a headlight that looks like crap, but the lens is OK...it's still good to get because you can get the lens off and use it on another bucket.

 

I used black RTV to re-seal the lens to the housing after a thorough cleaning.

 

My next idea is to see if I can do a projector conversion.

[Mac48]

Thanks,

 

I do have a good lens, but the material holding it and the broken one in place seems rather hard.  There are also some screws that look like they are holding things together.  Any secrets on how to separate the lens from the reflector?  Thanks.

[Reaper1]

All of the lights I have been able to get the lens off of have either been already completely loose, or only required a small amount of force to pop it off the housing. It looks like they used some sort of gray sealant from the factory. You could try a heat gun (on a low setting, you don't want to melt the housing).

 

To get the headlight off of the car there are 4 10mm bolts that hold the entire metal bracket to the core support. I find it helps a great deal to take the center radiator air deflector off of the car as it allows the light to be slid over toward the center of the car so that the cornering light clears the fender (4 phillip's head screws and 2 8mm hex-head screws up on the core support).

 

The headlight housing itself is attached to the plastic "frame" via the adjuster screws (if memory serves). These can be extremely tight, so I suggest using some penetrating oil on them to help loosen them up. I don't remember if you have to take the cornering light off of the frame to remove the headlight housing or not, but it's only 3 phillip's head screws.

 

The small screws at the top of the housing that you see are holding the metal lip on the top that retains the rubber gasket that goes around the lens/housing.

 

I hope this helps. It's all from memory, so I hope I didn't miss too much.

[Mac48]

Your directions were right on.  Unfortunately I was unable to separate the lens from the reflector on my broken headlamp so rather than risking the replacement I sent it back.  Obviously this means I am still in the market for a driver side headlight.

 

Thanks again for your assistance.

[marty14]

4463595 is the left headlamp w/o the cornering lamp fr the mounting bracket  

 

I have 16 of them NOS  

 

200.00 plus shipping

 

www.arizonaparts.com