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Headlights

R

robert lee

Gold Member
What is the process to remove the headlights in one piece ? I see the 2 bolts on top, how in the hell do you get to the 2 on the bottom ?
 
Hi Robert, I'm new here as of today.
I done my 88 GTA headlight motors not too long ago. IIRC, there is 3 bolts. One is the actuator motor nut and the other two are A B***H! Skinned hands big time
Good luck
Bob
 
Yeah i was trying to get the whole thing out in one piece, bracket and all.. but i guess they built the damn car around it.
 
It's def tight. I put my hand between the front parking light and with the headlight cranked up by hand and done it all from the top; down through the tiny hole in the core support.
 
You are talking about removing the motor from the gear, i am talking about removing the entire headlight assembly in one piece, but i guess that idea is not viably , a long 10mm wrench is in order i guess.. perferrably with a ratchet on one end.
 
I am talking about the whole assembly also. THEN after it was out, I took the motor out.
Sorry, I had to remove the the headlight assm. to get to the motor.
My mix up..

Yes10mm AND A 10MM wrench. Grab a magnet too for when bolts/nuts drop out of sight....
Oh, and band-aids
 
Man, this sounds like a pretty difficult job. I sure hope my headlights don't go out anytime soon! Also, thanks for the insight as too how to do the job if it ever comes down to doing it.
 
There are 2 bolts on the bottom of the bracket. I put mine in when the bumper was off my 82 TA so I am not sure if you can get to them with the bumper on. Your best bet would be to remove the plastic trim and the headlight itself and see if you can get a ratchet in there.
 
I have done them both ways. Two bottom bolts I got from the bottom of the car.

I like to remove the motor from the housing while its in the car.Then rebuild it. (don't have to aline the lid to the car that way)
 
I would just remove the motors while the headlight assemblies are in the car still, bit tight but can be done. As already mentioned saves you trying to readjust the complete assembly properly.

Anyway here's a couple of photos of my spare headlight assembly so you can see the two bottom screws mentioned.
 

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Yeah iv'e been having a blast with these headlights, first the t-top car the lights come on and motor turns so no problem, just order a rebuild kit, next the H/T car, lights come on but no sound, change the relay and still nothing, get ready to pull the switch and then take a break from the 4,368 screws holding the cover on and wait, whats this ?, someone disconnected the power at the motors, plug back up and still no sound, change the relay again and bam, up comes the lights but of course they won't come down unless i press hard on the switch, soooo, back to the 4,368 screws...:crazy:
 
Ugh.
My motors both work but neither light goes "up" on its own at this point.
I bought the rebuild kits... I did not see a big pack o' bandaids in there :bash:

I am definitely not looking forward to this job... but thanks for the tips.
 
It's not a very hard job at all. Its what Robert said above, " seem like they built the car around it"!
Tight spots and sharp metal.
I looked like I got my hand caught in a meat grinder!!! Blood everywhere! Wife thought I cut my hand off!:bleed:
 
robert lee said:
.... up comes the lights but of course they won't come down unless i press hard on the switch, soooo, back to the 4,368 screws...:crazy:
Click to expand...

Robert, common fault all you need to do is replace the switch ... had the same issue on mine; had to press hard to make them come down so into my parts bin and replaced with a NOS switch and everything worked fine again.

Autozone carry an exact replacement these days ...
Headlight Switch Duralast Duralast by Autozone SW235 | eBay
 
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Jan Larsson said:
Robert, common fault all you need to do is replace the switch ... had the same issue on mine; had to press hard to make them come down so into my parts bin and replaced with a NOS switch and everything worked fine again.

Autozone carry an exact replacement these days ...
Headlight Switch Duralast Duralast by Autozone SW235 | eBay
Click to expand...

Yeah thats why i said back to the screws, lol, i have a good spare but i am going to try and fix the old one first... got to love 25yr old cars.
 
robert lee said:
Yeah thats why i said back to the screws, lol, i have a good spare but i am going to try and fix the old one first... got to love 25yr old cars.
Click to expand...

Aha, yes there's a few screws to get in there to replace the switch ... too many of them that's for sure ...

Switch can be sorted if you take it apart, clean it and bend the metal tabs in there to give them some better tension ... I need to take my old one apart and see if I can sort it as a spare for future needs.
 
I been thru all this, I rebuilt my headlights back in 2010 and they have worked great ever since, got the kit from TDS. Also put in a new headlight switch as well as brighter new SilverStar bulbs which are supposed to be 30% brighter.
I removed the whole assy when servicing the motors, but I did mark everything so it would align properly after install. So no problem with alignment!
 
If you are having issues with the lights going up and down, most of the time it is not the plastic gear, but the triangle center section the gear slips onto…
Take the motor assm apart and remove the gear. The triangle center section the gear mounts on is a different type of plastic that turns basically to dust over time. Cut about a 1 inch piece off of some heater hose and slide over the very center piece the triangle mounts on, then slip the outside gear over the hose piece, problem solved.
 
BOBTTA#464 said:
It's not a very hard job at all. Its what Robert said above, " seem like they built the car around it"!
Tight spots and sharp metal.
I looked like I got my hand caught in a meat grinder!!! Blood everywhere! Wife thought I cut my hand off!:bleed:
Click to expand...

Hey Bob, i put together a anti-meat grinder kit, these are the only tools i used to remove and install... still not alot of fun.
 
yea I have rebuild mine about a year ago I removed the hole assembly took a little elbow grease but it was done.To get the bottom screws I manually twisted the head light motor by hand until it was flipped all the way up the I removed the cover that goes around the head light the I was able to feed a long extension with a swivel on the end and was able to remove the bottom screws.
 
robert lee said:
... I put together a anti-meat grinder kit, these are the only tools i used to remove and install... still not alot of fun.
Click to expand...
WTF? I don't even own some of those tools... I am really starting to dread getting this project moving :mad2:

sdriche said:
My left light winks. I fixed it by not driving at night....
Click to expand...
:idea5: I tried that for a while, but it's not as much fun...
 
The biggest thing you need is a ext. thats at least 12" long to get to the bottom bolts, just remember it only hurts the first time...;)
 
Okay, i'm on the drivers side now and the the plastic gear doesn't want to come out of the motor, any ideas ?

Never mind, i see now i have to remove the motor...
 
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