Headlight removal

[Svenerachi]

okay, i've searched and spent an hour trying to figure it out myself taking off bolts and putting them back on...


how do you get these things off of the car? mine are naaasssstttyyyyy dirty and are so yellow'd and fogged over that i'm having issues seeing at night

I don't want to spend 100 bucks per headlight to have them professionally restored, and want to try just cleaning and what not to see what i'm able to do before i bite the bullet and have it done..

thanks!

[d1giPhux]

They are super easy to get off.. or least mine were. You need to get a few bolts off that are easy to see on the top, then you have to take the center grill off by unscrewing the screws on the top of that, and then there is one more bolt to undo underneath it.. should be pretty easy. let us know when u get it! What year is your car btw?

also.. check this thread out :

http://tinyurl.com/yvrrmw

There is also another one with a bmw headlights.. but i cant find it.. its the same idea for all plastic headlights tho.

[Svenerachi]

mine is a 99 LGT sedan

[Svenerachi]

thanks for the quick reply....

stupid question, but how do you get the grill off? i saw the clips on the top, but couldn't find any other thing else to help me take it off...

thanks again

[Superu264]

just squeeze those clips in and it'll come out easy

[Svenerachi]

yeah i tried that.... definately didn't want to come out, started sounding like i was bending plastic and wasn't loose at all

damn i'm starting to hate this car. the more i try to work on it, the harder it is to work on.

i'm talking about the four clips along the top. I also un did the two bolts on top of the head lights themselves, but nothing even loosened up

i'll go take another look.

[GrassyKnoll]

Don't hate it! I've worked on several types of cars in my time and after finally learning the ways of Subaru, I love it. Most things make sense with how they're built and the best part is, all of my family's Subaru's are the same! Working with the Legacys and Forester are all the same.

You can also try some PB Blaster if you are trying to get off rusty screws. http://www.sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php ... pb+blaster (http://www.sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?t=2623&highlight=pb+blaster)

[shazapple]

Theres two little hooks on the bottom of the grill, so you have to pull up once you get the clips undone. My hooks have long since broken so its easy to get the grill off.

The side corner lights have a screw, then require a bit of force to pull straight out. Then youll see 4 bolts for each headlight

see this thread for some pictures
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?t=2766

[Svenerachi]

so i have to pull the corner lights off before i can get to the bottom bolt(s) for the main headlights?

[Plays_with_Toys]

There's a bolt right near the corners of the grill (where they meet the headlights). These also hold the headlights in and are hidden by the grill. Check my JDM sidemarker install for some more pics as well.

[d1giPhux]

Okay, first things first.

Un-do the screw thats holding the corners in, and pull the corners straight out. Try not to break the clip on them.. as ive done this on other cars before doing the same thing.

The front grill should be easy, push down on the tabs, or do whatever you need to, and pull the grill out. There will be hooks on the bottom like he said.. but mine are also broken.. so it doesnt matter anyways.

Then the headlights should have 4 bolts you un-do. 2 Are obvious on the top, one is behind where the clear corner is (im pretty sure), and one is behind where the grill was. Its pretty easy, just takes a bit of time your first time around.

Check out these PDFs.. this is exactly how to do it:

Grill Removal:

www.designlabx.com/subaru/electrical/he ... 99L379.pdf (http://www.designlabx.com/subaru/electrical/headlights/MSA5TCD99L379.pdf)

Headlights Removal (look under part 2 Headlight removal):

www.designlabx.com/subaru/electrical/he ... 99L456.pdf (http://www.designlabx.com/subaru/electrical/headlights/MSA5TCD99L456.pdf)

[Svenerachi]

damn. seriously, someone needs to make both of those a Sticky. thats everything i was looking for in the search

thanks a bunch guys, as usual that was a bunch of help

on a completely unrelated topic, I'm FINALLY getting an STi exhaust and lightweight pulley installed tomorrow, then as soon as i can afford an AFC2, that and the nitrous kit will be going in :-D

[d1giPhux]

damn. seriously, someone needs to make both of those a Sticky. thats everything i was looking for in the search

thanks a bunch guys, as usual that was a bunch of help

on a completely unrelated topic, I'm FINALLY getting an STi exhaust and lightweight pulley installed tomorrow, then as soon as i can afford an AFC2, that and the nitrous kit will be going in :-D

Glad those PDF's helped you. If you want the whole manual.. check out the sig. :wink:

And yea.. hope the nitrous dont make your leggy go boom!

[Svenerachi]

thanks alot i finally got the off, easy as pie once you break the clips on the bottom of the grill. corners were stuck and a bit of a bitch to get back in right

yeah, so anybody got any tips regarding how to remove the haze and cloudiness on the headlights? someone told me to sand it down with 100 grit sandpaper

i washed the insides with alcohol, but the problem seems to be the outside, where its been worn down by dust, dirt, and pebbles in the air

any suggestions? i don't have an electric drill, so i'll be doing this by hand

[d1giPhux]

Oh man, i wouldnt use 100 grit, OR alcohol.

100 grit will make it ever more cloudy.. and alcohol will dry it out and make it cloudy as well.

I suggest following the guide i posted:

http://tinyurl.com/yvrrmw

It will take some time to do this.. but if you want to go about it the easy way, just get some headlight polish and polish them up real well. Altho i suggest starting with 600 grit, then moving up to 800 grit, then 1000, 2000, or maybe even 1000, 1500, then 2000... it will take some time, but in the end will get most of the crap look off your headlights. After you are done sanding them, you will be polishing them with some plastic polish like i states above.. also make sure you are wet sanding them, not dry sanding. Also, i reccomend possibly borrowing an electric drill from someoen, and getting some type of polishing thing like mothers power ball to polish the headlights with the plastic polish when you are done. save yourself the carpal tunnel!

good luck!

[shazapple]

Check out the stickies and the DIY section

Very good writeup about clearing Legacy headlights
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?t=3636

100 grit sandpaper would completely destroy your headlights, and alcohol would only make it worse.

[d1giPhux]

If you do ender up destroying your headlights, i got a set from the same year.. 99 LGT + corners i can sell ya. :wink:

[Wiscon_Mark]

100 grit would make them look insta cloudy, but if you work your way up in grit # you'd get the results you wanted. I started with 400 grit, then went to 800, then to 1000, then to 2000, and then I used some wax and buffed it, and they came out wonderfully clear!

[RadeOn]

Yeah, I would also recommend 400-800-1000-2000 route. However I would not advise on using any powertools - it is very easy to get plastic overheated with powersanding, and it will ruin them.
Also - if you plan to wax them regularly, just polishing is fine. I applied a few layers of clearcoat after 2000 grit paper. This ensures that lights will stay clear for a while.

[d1giPhux]

Yeah, I would also recommend 400-800-1000-2000 route. However I would not advise on using any powertools - it is very easy to get plastic overheated with powersanding, and it will ruin them.
Also - if you plan to wax them regularly, just polishing is fine. I applied a few layers of clearcoat after 2000 grit paper. This ensures that lights will stay clear for a while.

Clearcoat huh? That sounds like a strange idea.. how did it work out? Wouldnt that just attract more particles to harden to the plastic overtime? I guess it wouldnt matter if you were going to sand them down again the next time you clear them. Also, i only reccomend using a polishing tool for powered stuff.. the rest you can just do by hand. I only said this because hand polishing is a bittttch and takes a while.. or you could spend a whole 2 minutes doing it with the mothers powerball / other buffing tool.

[RadeOn]

Clearcoat huh? That sounds like a strange idea.. how did it work out?
Fairly common actually. The idea is to protect plastic from oxidizing=yellowing again. The yellowing/clouding usually starts there where original clearcoating failed. I did my stock lights about 1.5 years ago, and when I sold them 2 month ago there were as clear as the day I cleaned them.

[Wiscon_Mark]

I did use a little dremel with a very soft buffer tool, but I didn't press hard AT ALL so as not to heat things up. It worked very well.

[Svenerachi]

sorry, i had meant 1000 grit, mis-typed.

I did as suggested and i wish i had taken a before and after picture.
holy shit.
i've been looking to buy new or used jdm replacements because mine looked SOOOOO bad, and with all the trail driving i do, the dirt really did a number on my headlights and fogs.

anyway, my lights after sanding with 1000 grit and then 2000 grit, by hand, I then polished them with meguier's(sp?) plastix polish and they look brand spankin new.

they REALLY look good now, thanks for all the help, guys!

[d1giPhux]

Awesome! Glad they came out good! Did it give you a bit of a scare when you were sanding them and they just seemed to get cloudy.. and you start thinking 'oh shit, what did i get myself into'.. haha, i know ive had that thought before!

I need to do this to my fog lights.. also i need to bake them and take them apart / re-seal them because they seem like they are getting condensation and such inside them.. has anyone done this? Anyone know the correct time / temp to bake them at?

[Svenerachi]

i stuck them in the oven at 250 for half an hour and it seemed to get rid of the tiny bit of condesnsation in it.... i couldn't get the plastic clear part to come off, either too old, or wasn't designed to come off. either way, they are looking great and i'm not going to break it

yeah, i was worried at first when sanding, but i cheated and sanded the corner where it wouldn't show, then applied polish and saw that it was going to be fine and went from there