Official headlight replacement write up for the ultra n00b
05-06-2011, 09:36 PM
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Official headlight replacement write up for the ultra n00b Brought my LT1 our of winter hibernation just to find a blown headlight. "No problem" I thought, I can easily replace a headlight. So I head over to my local autozone (nice people, sometimes a little dense, but always nice) and look for my sealed *grumble* headlight just to find it's $32 FREAKING DOLLARS! There must be a mistake, I thought.... nope, even the crappiest sylvania headlight was $25 a pop. There must be another way! I searched around and found some instructions to replace just the bulb itself. I'm making this as through as possible because I know that I dont have a problem jumping into an easy project like this, but some people are not as eager to start tearing things apart hoping they will magically go back together the right way. This guide will hopefully make it so easy yo mama could do it.
What you need:
-High temp silicone. I used the copper gasket maker, but as longs as it's high temp should work
-Your 9006 bulb of choice. I used the Sylvania silvestar ultra superdupermostmoneyyoucanspendontwoheadlightbulbs. I found them on ebay for $32 a pair, reasonable enough.
-Side cutter pliers. It's worth it to go buy some if you dont have any
-T15 torx bit/screwdriver. I used the bit on a 1/4" ratchet with a 6" extension. The bottom screw is a tight fit so the screwdriver might work better but we'll get to that later.
-One tiny flat head screwdriver to clean out the old silicone
I used the dremel on the first one but found it took a lot longer and didnt really work that much better for me.
Before you touch any screws, take note of the position of the bubble in the "level" on top of the headlight. This is so you can get it aligned correctly when putting it back in. I just took a picture with my phone, whatever works for you.
-Find the two torx screws to remove the headlight retainer. Dont confuse them with the adjusting screws. It's the two that are above and below the headlight at the right side in the picture.
-Unplug and remove the headlight and take it over to your work space.
-Grab the grooved ring and twist it until it moves freely. Then take the socket of the bulb and put it in your palm by your thumb and twist it just like the ring. It takes a little bit of torque to break the silicone.
-Once you get the old bulb out, clean out the old silicone and trim the three black tabs on the ring.
-It's ready for the new bulb!
-Now you'll have to trim the three tabs on the new bulb so it can sit inside the ring you trimmed the tabs off earlier.
-Once the bulb and the ring are trimmed your ready to install the new bulb. Use a small amount of silicone on the base of the ring where the new bulb will sit. (Man I'm glad I took pictures, i could describe this if my life depended on it). The silicone is the copper colored stuff in there.
-Now it's time to seal the outside of the bulb so no water gets in. I used a bunch of silicone because...well I didnt really have anything else to use this giant tube of silicone on. Make sure you put silicone on the top and bottom of the black ring to really seal it in there.
-Thats it! You all ready to button it back up, just install them the way you removed them, align the lights and your ready to rock and roll! Hope this helped. These new headlights are awesome!
What you need:
-High temp silicone. I used the copper gasket maker, but as longs as it's high temp should work
-Your 9006 bulb of choice. I used the Sylvania silvestar ultra superdupermostmoneyyoucanspendontwoheadlightbulbs. I found them on ebay for $32 a pair, reasonable enough.
-Side cutter pliers. It's worth it to go buy some if you dont have any
-T15 torx bit/screwdriver. I used the bit on a 1/4" ratchet with a 6" extension. The bottom screw is a tight fit so the screwdriver might work better but we'll get to that later.
-One tiny flat head screwdriver to clean out the old silicone
I used the dremel on the first one but found it took a lot longer and didnt really work that much better for me.
Before you touch any screws, take note of the position of the bubble in the "level" on top of the headlight. This is so you can get it aligned correctly when putting it back in. I just took a picture with my phone, whatever works for you.
-Find the two torx screws to remove the headlight retainer. Dont confuse them with the adjusting screws. It's the two that are above and below the headlight at the right side in the picture.
-Unplug and remove the headlight and take it over to your work space.
-Grab the grooved ring and twist it until it moves freely. Then take the socket of the bulb and put it in your palm by your thumb and twist it just like the ring. It takes a little bit of torque to break the silicone.
-Once you get the old bulb out, clean out the old silicone and trim the three black tabs on the ring.
-It's ready for the new bulb!
-Now you'll have to trim the three tabs on the new bulb so it can sit inside the ring you trimmed the tabs off earlier.
-Once the bulb and the ring are trimmed your ready to install the new bulb. Use a small amount of silicone on the base of the ring where the new bulb will sit. (Man I'm glad I took pictures, i could describe this if my life depended on it). The silicone is the copper colored stuff in there.
-Now it's time to seal the outside of the bulb so no water gets in. I used a bunch of silicone because...well I didnt really have anything else to use this giant tube of silicone on. Make sure you put silicone on the top and bottom of the black ring to really seal it in there.
-Thats it! You all ready to button it back up, just install them the way you removed them, align the lights and your ready to rock and roll! Hope this helped. These new headlights are awesome!
