Replacing Headlights on Gen 1.5 - DONE

[EMBSikorsky]

I've looked all over the forum trying to find a good DIY for removing my headlights so I can replace my enclosures with the new-to-me ones I just got from akora12 (Ryan).

So far I've got the grille, the two exposed 10mm bolts on top of the headlights, and the small screws securing the marker lights to the headlights ALL REMOVED.



But I've run into two problems:

1) The other two 10mm bolts that hold the headlights on are nestled underneath the lip of the bumper cover (the part where the grille clips in) and I'm afraid to bend it far enough to get my ratchet in there.

I think I can solve this problem by picking up a 10mm wrench and going at it from the side, but is there anything else to worry about that I'm forgetting?

2) I've removed the two small screws that secure the marker/corner lights to the headlights, but I don't know exactly where the rest of what's holding them in can be found so I can remove them completely.

Any help would be appreciated, I'd love to get my new headlights in today while the weather is nice and I have a spare moment.

Thanks!

[akora12]

If you bend the bumper back just a bit, you can get a wrench on the bolts. Don't worry, the bumper is quite flexible. A ratcheting wrench really helps in this case.

The corners are only held in with one screw, the rest is just tabs. The tabs sometimes hold pretty tight, so I just use a taped screwdriver to get behind the corners and pry them out.

[EMBSikorsky]

Alright, I've got to run and get myself another wrench, I'll look for a ratcheting one, thanks for the tip.

Where are the tabs? OK, duh, just reread your post, they're in the back. But how do you access them? Is it in the engine bay?

Maybe I just haven't looked hard enough?

Thanks again, Ryan. And wow for the Gen 1.5 conversion - your car looks NICE.

[EMBSikorsky]

All done Just had to use the flat-head to lever the corners, they popped right out.

Tried a ratcheting wrench but it was too big for the space - old-fashioned 10mm wrench did the job, though the one bolt that was on there pretty good was SLOW GOING turning 50-70 degrees at a time.

Car looks 100% better from the front - Thanks again!

[akora12]

Great, I'm glad everything worked out for you. Definitely, the flat-head screwdriver is a lifesaver on those corners!

[drewcrane]

yea i posted the same question about 2 months ago and no reply until i got it done on my own ,,i did the grille , side markers ,and headlights in about 30 mins. it was easy

[EMBSikorsky]

LOL - yeah, yours was the only topic I could find that was related, and noone was terribly helpful back then.

Glad I was able to find some help

[drewcrane]

yea i guess i shoudl have done a little more detail like you did but not to many people seemed interested, maybe since it is an easy job, i too was a little befuddled about the sidemarker too!

[Gibson99]

my trick for the corners is to sort of slap them with my open hand. i do it in a motion so as to slide it towards the front of the car. that way there's no chance of nicking the paint with a pry tool. since it's your bare hand hitting the plastic pretty flat, there's little/no chance of damaging the plastic lens either. be sure to take off any rings first tho.

[Mr_Krispy1183]

my trick for the corners is to sort of slap them with my open hand. i do it in a motion so as to slide it towards the front of the car. that way there's no chance of nicking the paint with a pry tool. since it's your bare hand hitting the plastic pretty flat, there's little/no chance of damaging the plastic lens either. be sure to take off any rings first tho.

Hahaha, I couldn't resist

[Chinky420]

^^lol

"UNITY"