Parts Recommendations For Headlight Actuator Rebuild?

[Josh B.]

Hey all. So I'm needing to replace the bushings/bearings in the headlight gearboxes. The driver's side works fine, but the passenger side occasionally bounces a bit before finally popping up and the motor will almost always keep whirring along and clicking for about 3-4 seconds after it raises or lowers. So I figure it must be the bushings.

 

If I remember correctly, the gear the bushings slot into is plastic, so I'm thinking I should replace them with metal gears while I'm already there replacing the bushings. I see some kits for sale on ebay with brass gears, and some with aluminum. Aluminum seems to make more sense from a weight perspective since I'd be replacing a plastic gear. Should I go with one material over the other? The kit I'm eyeballing right now is this one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/164861471786?fits=Model%3AReatta|Make%3ABuick&hash=item2662826c2a:g:e7cAAOSw9odfWAf5


 

Price seems reasonable, but I just want some input from youse guys before I pull the trigger.

Edited November 1, 2021 by Josh B. (see edit history)

[2seater]

I am not familiar with the above kit but I will say, the few that I have rebuilt have not had any issue with the original plastic gear, just the rollers and possibly the crank arms replaced. I recommend the kit that Barney Eaton sells. He is an advisor and also does power antenna repair for a fair price.

Edited November 1, 2021 by 2seater (see edit history)

[Barney Eaton]

There are two common failures with the headlights... (1) the arm/bellcrank on the end of the motor is soft zinc and the motor shaft wears into the soft metal and eventually make the hole round. (2) inside the motor there are three plastic rollers (as shown in the first post) which crack and then the mechanism grinds the rollers into chunks then powder.   If you are repairing a headlight, I suggest you replace both parts.  If you repair one, then the old unreplaced part gets additional stress and fails.

The large white gear on a Reatta seldom fails.  In repairing hundreds of motors, I have seen one with stripped teeth and one that was cracked probably because the forced oversized rollers into the unit.  

A more recent failure is the motor output shaft stripping from the die cast part on it.  They are held together by knurling on the shaft.  I believe the problem exist when the nut on the motor shaft is tightened without the bellcrank being held in place.  If you do not hold the bellcrank, the torque from tightening the nut transfers down the shaft to the knurling and you can break them loose.

 

I have lots of spare motor parts.  I have complete motors,  links, white gears..... I have rebuilt motors $50 exchange,  Repair KITS are $45 including instructions and shipping.   I also sell the bellcrank arms and the three rollers separately.

Last, I have a new email = barneyeaton1@gmail.com

 

Edited November 4, 2021 by Barney Eaton (see edit history)