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Are 05 headlights a direct swap in an 02??????????

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Posted by: LLSE

Just bought my 02 LSE and of course it has moisture built up in the pass. side headlight. Just curious if I could do a direct swap for the 05 lights? Or are there some modifications that need done. If so i would rather not bother. Does anyone have a good step by step write up (pictures would be great) on how to fix the moisture build up in my 02 lights.

Emily

Posted by: LS4me

Quote:

Originally Posted by LSE

Just bought my 02 LSE and of course it has moisture built up in the pass. side headlight. Just curious if I could do a direct swap for the 05 lights? Or are there some modifications that need done. If so i would rather not bother. Does anyone have a good step by step write up (pictures would be great) on how to fix this.

Emily

No. The mounting points are different, however slightly. There will also be a gap at the bottom edge of the light.

Posted by: LLSE

Ok well I guess I can scrap that idea then. Thanks.

Posted by: lexdiamondz10304

Why dont you clear your corners? and reseal the light, it would look twice as better.

Posted by: LLSE

Whats all involved in that? I've never been real crazy about clear corners but I dont think ive seen it done on the LS. Do you have any pics?

Posted by: captainalias

does the moisture build-up actually damage the lights? I had a little moisture, but not a large amount.

Posted by: lexmarkz00

How does moisture get in there anyway? I've seen some pretty fugly/dull looking headlights and I just have to shake my head. :\

Posted by: lexdiamondz10304

90% of lvc members have their LS cleared. Check this pic out:

Some of us have angel eyes too:

Posted by: lexdiamondz10304

Another pic:

Posted by: lexdiamondz10304

Quote:

Originally Posted by lexmarkz00

How does moisture get in there anyway? I've seen some pretty fugly/dull looking headlights and I just have to shake my head. :\

The 00-02 Ls headlights were sealed with grey sealant which failed over time thus letting moisture in. But I actually thank ford for the grey sealant or else we'd all be stuck with ugly corners and no angel eyes.

Posted by: LLSE

Quote:

Originally Posted by lexmarkz00

How does moisture get in there anyway? I've seen some pretty fugly/dull looking headlights and I just have to shake my head. :\

I know it kills me. It comes and goes. In the morning and rainy days its pretty bad. Then some days clear as can be. So I'm guessing i should get it fixed ASAP before the lense gets ruined. I'll post some pics up soon. I've wanted an LS for awhile but was holding out for an LSE. I finally found the exact one I wanted drove 6hrs to and from to get it and love it.

I guess I would consider the clears looks really good actually. Thanks for the pics. So any write ups/links on the fix?

Posted by: lexdiamondz10304

1)take the headlamps out
- remove the upper plastic rad cover by removing the four turn plugs
- pull the outside temperature sensor off the plastic rad/bumper cover
- remove the plastic rad/bumper by pulling out the three plugs holding it in
- remove the headlamp by remove the three 8mm screws
- unplug the wiring harness

2)remove all three bulbs
3)use a hair dryer to dry out the moisture
4)if the water has not made the inside messy, simple seal up the edge of the housing using silicon and re-install
5)if you have to take the housing apart to clean the inside of the lens, the pre-heat the oven to 210, remove the three metal clips from the bottom of the housing, bake for 10mins, pull apart
6)clean the inside up
7)good time to pull out the amber reflectors for your turn signals (just break them loose and trim up any loose pieces)
8)push back together, put back into the oven for 10mins and then squeeze it all tight, the re-seal it with silicon.

Posted by: lexdiamondz10304

or.. just check out www.lskoncepts.com you could buy some cleared headlights with angel eyes installed.

Posted by: LLSE

Sounds simple enough most likley i'll do it tomorrow. What brand of black silicon are people talking about to use to reseal

Posted by: lexdiamondz10304

it doesnt have to be black or any special kind of brand, I used regular fishtank aquarium selant.

Posted by: SoonerLS

Quote:

Originally Posted by lexdiamondz10304

4)if the water has not made the inside messy, simple seal up the edge of the housing using silicon and re-install
<deletias>
8)push back together, put back into the oven for 10mins and then squeeze it all tight, the re-seal it with silicon.

Personally, I would use silicone. Unless you're a glass blower, silicon isn't particularly useful for sealing anything...

Posted by: Fla02LS

I agree that the cleared corner lense looks better but since i am going to paint the orange reflector on my bumper i have to leave something orange on the front end. If you clear the corner headlight lense on your '02 then you eliminate your ability to clear or tint or paint the candy corn orange bumper reflector.

Posted by: gt95coupe

Why dont you tint your corners? go to stickercity.com and buy a small amount of their product. I tinted my taillights,backup lens and my front corners with there 20%and am pretty happy with it

Posted by: ambisonics

To answer the original question, swapping the pre-03 headlights for '03+ headlights is possible with some minor modification. If you do a search, I'm pretty sure that one of us who has done the swap wrote a how-to. All that's really involved for the swap is changing the headlight mounting bracket and a few simple wiring modifications. The whole project took about 2 hours, and the HIDs are awesome at nite. Here's some pics of mine.