Headlamp Motor
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 51
Likes: 0
From: Costa Mesa, CA
Headlamp Motor For some reason my passenger side headlamp motor is making a grinding/whining noise when I hit my alarm and when I unlock my vehicle.... Both headlights will open up and then close.... The lights still come up and are operational, but the damn passenger side motor is making a nasty sound.. You think this could be an indication that the headlamp motor is going out??
Teching In
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
From: San Diego, Ca. For now!
Pretty typical in these cars. They used a POS plastic gear and after time the teeth grind off. For a quick fix (like SilverSS07 said) remove the rubber piece that covers the manual **** on top. Disconnect the linkage from the motor. Turn the **** on top until the linkage attachement point turns a full 180 degrees and reattach everything. Will work for a while but eventually it will happen again. The best option (again like SilverSS07 said) is to replace it with an aluminum or brass gear. Cheaper than a new motor.
It's not a gear problem. It's a motor design issue. Even metal gears get stripped: https://ls1tech.com/forums/stereo-el...ght-doors.html
Staging Lane
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 72
Likes: 1
I had the same issue and was able to find a new nylon gear at autozone (I believe the gears are used in multiple applications.) I can't find it now, but there was a site that sold brass gears that stated the number one cause of gears stripping is free play/wobble where the plastic part of the motor casing is attached to metal (by tabs). Sure enough my motor with the stripped gear had this wobble. I used a punch and a hammer to tap the tabs in and secure the two pieces. Might be something worth checking if you don't just replace the entire unit.
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Had the same issue a few weeks ago after getting my car running again. I just purchased a new motor for around $46 after core at advance auto parts came with a lifetime warranty. The install was straight forward first time doing it under 45 minutes. I believe there is also a gentleman that makes a metal gear to replace for around $30 if you wanted to go that route as well.
Goodluck.
Goodluck.
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Staging Lane
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 54
Likes: 0
You have two choices. You can replace the gear inside the motor or you can rotate the gear 180 degrees. The headlight only uses one half of the gear so the other side should be like new.Just get on youtube and type "trans am headlight motor rotating gear" I did this on my trans am and it sounds like new. I will eventually get aluminum gears. Good luck!
