I finally fixed my headlight adjusters ![Bluebiggrin]( "Bluebiggrin")
Let me start out by saying that I never imagined I would ever be able to pull this off. This operation was the most intricate procedure I have ever performed on any car and I must say that the process taught me a lot. I am thoroughly pleased with myself for being able to do this without much cost.
I bought my adjusters off of eBay about a year ago. I had, at the time, read many DIY's on other forums where people would talk about baking the headlight unit in the oven for a couple of minutes to soften the epoxy holding the light lens to the body. This would allow one to then pull the lens off, disassemble the headlight innards and access the adjusters for replacement. So when my adjusters arrived from whichever country they came from, I donned my apron, preheated the oven to 140ºC, removed the headlight from the car, placed it in the oven, set the timer, and made a cup of tea.
The timer rang and I removed the light. It was hot enough to upset the nerves on the end of one's fingers, but not too hot that I had to use gloves to handle. Using a flat screwdriver and a kitchen knife, I tried to pry the lens off of the headlight body. No budge. Back into the oven it went for a few more minutes, and I drank my tea.
Removed the headlight once more, and tried again to get the lens off. No luck. After heating and trying for a third time, I decided to stop roasting the poor thing and left it to cool whilst I did some further research. I found one post, only one, where somebody from an international forum mentioned that the headlights with a production date to post July 2002 had a newer epoxy to the older ones, and that the headlight would melt before the epoxy did. I immediately went to check the date on my headlight. To my horror, I saw a production date of October 2002.
Defeated by the Germans, I fitted the headlight back to the car and went to bed.
I woke up a year later.
To be continued...
Let me start out by saying that I never imagined I would ever be able to pull this off. This operation was the most intricate procedure I have ever performed on any car and I must say that the process taught me a lot. I am thoroughly pleased with myself for being able to do this without much cost.
I bought my adjusters off of eBay about a year ago. I had, at the time, read many DIY's on other forums where people would talk about baking the headlight unit in the oven for a couple of minutes to soften the epoxy holding the light lens to the body. This would allow one to then pull the lens off, disassemble the headlight innards and access the adjusters for replacement. So when my adjusters arrived from whichever country they came from, I donned my apron, preheated the oven to 140ºC, removed the headlight from the car, placed it in the oven, set the timer, and made a cup of tea.
The timer rang and I removed the light. It was hot enough to upset the nerves on the end of one's fingers, but not too hot that I had to use gloves to handle. Using a flat screwdriver and a kitchen knife, I tried to pry the lens off of the headlight body. No budge. Back into the oven it went for a few more minutes, and I drank my tea.
Removed the headlight once more, and tried again to get the lens off. No luck. After heating and trying for a third time, I decided to stop roasting the poor thing and left it to cool whilst I did some further research. I found one post, only one, where somebody from an international forum mentioned that the headlights with a production date to post July 2002 had a newer epoxy to the older ones, and that the headlight would melt before the epoxy did. I immediately went to check the date on my headlight. To my horror, I saw a production date of October 2002.
Defeated by the Germans, I fitted the headlight back to the car and went to bed.
I woke up a year later.
To be continued...