I tried the oven method on my Gen 1. I preped the unit by taking off all of the adjusters, level and the little plug on the bottom. Then I drilled out the six spots where the snap fit should have been. Then I tried 300 preheat then 20 min. with no success. So next I upped the temp to 400 for 20 min. All that happened is my lens turned a little yellow. Hopefully I can buff that out when I do get them apart. By which I will probably cut with a Dremil. Not quite sure what happened and why it didn't work. Glue was too old or what. But I decided to stop before I melted them completely. Is this the only two ways to get these apart?
Tried Oven Method :(
- Thread starter Fatmac
- Start date
kustomizingkid
Dedicated LVC Member
Start with 400 grit, 600, 1500, 3000, Rough cutting compund, fine compound, and your done!
Hemihed426
Active LVC Member
+1 that, I don't remember the exact temp but mine came apart fairly easy. It seems like once I got em going they came off pretty good, the glue was a little stringy, have to be careful to keep that stuff off your lenses. If I had to do it again I'd probably just whack em with the Dremel too, you've gotta glue em back together anyway.
The Rev
Dedicated LVC Member
Dremelled 3 sets. Rich I'm still waiting to get around to rechroming the lens you gave me that you had painted haha
turborich
Dedicated LVC Member
I thought that you already re chromed them? I remember seeing the pics of the HID's in them, no?
Hey Rev, With the Dremel you just cut on the seam, right. I'm going t use
the ChromeBrite tape that has been mentioned. I drive in the dark only in the morning going to work. I hope that over time the adhesive they use will slowly dry up and won't ignite at the hot spots.
the ChromeBrite tape that has been mentioned. I drive in the dark only in the morning going to work. I hope that over time the adhesive they use will slowly dry up and won't ignite at the hot spots.
The Rev
Dedicated LVC Member
Just the drivers side haha. My passengers side lens I picked up from hellvez is clear as day, but the reflective isn't too good.
Fatmac, I carefully cut as close as I can to the seam. Right where the lens meets the putty colored plastic I hack into it. Go slow and use the thinnest cutting wheel possible. On the first set I did I used a "quick connect collet" with a heavy duty fiberglass cutting wheel, which is twice as thick as the standard cheapie cut off wheels, what happened was I cut out a little more of the plastic than I wanted, which meant I had to use a lot more goop to fill in the gap left. If that makes any sense...
UPDATE:
The Dremel worked like a charm. A little elbow grease and most of the yellowing came off. It was time consuming cutting templates for the TrimBrite tape, but the end result was more than I expected. I saw the biggest difference on the low beam side. It was as bright as the High beam before the fix. Can't wait to get the other side done. I'll keep posted as to the durability of the TrimBrite. I don't drive much in the dark. Mostly going to work in the AM which is about a 25 min ride.
Jack
The Dremel worked like a charm. A little elbow grease and most of the yellowing came off. It was time consuming cutting templates for the TrimBrite tape, but the end result was more than I expected. I saw the biggest difference on the low beam side. It was as bright as the High beam before the fix. Can't wait to get the other side done. I'll keep posted as to the durability of the TrimBrite. I don't drive much in the dark. Mostly going to work in the AM which is about a 25 min ride.
Jack
No issues there - been driving on my trimbrited housings for 6 months with no problems whatsoever. (but that's with cheap HID's which apparently don't burn as hot as halogens)
Edit: Im really glad i did mine - my car would be totaled otherwise - no way i could have avoided the tire carcasses i came across at night on the interstate roads with the stock lights.
I'm still running Halogens can't afford to go HID. I wonder just how much hotter they do run. I was amazed once I got the lens off of the housing. It seemed like the parts that weren't burned off the chrome was just vaporized.
No burn spots just no chrome.Tsk Tsk on Ford.
No burn spots just no chrome.Tsk Tsk on Ford.
Cobramarkviii
Active LVC Member
The HID's Should be alot Cooler if you get them.. believe it or not, and they look sweet, def recommend getting them
Update. Well I have gotten both sides done and have driven a week. So far so good. Even staying with halogens I can see!!! even with low beams. This has been the most effective fix thus far. Also in the past week I had the oil filter housing gasket changed, It was leaking pretty bad. Baby has 202,000 miles, going for 300+. I think she can do it. Just wanted to say thanks to all for your input, it does help. The next thing on my list is the drivers side door handle and DS rear air bag.
Thanks!!!
Jack
Thanks!!!
Jack
dpoll995
Active LVC Member
what is TrimBrite? i need to open my lights and fix the chrome but i thought i would have to take it some where to get it done.
Trimbrite is a thin metal tape you can pick up at most any auto parts store.
It's 3" wide by 3' long and it takes about a roll for each light. Just need to take your time and have a little patience. It will tend to wrinkle when doing the back. I cut mine in vertical strips about 3/4 of an inch wide and overlapped a bit. You'll be surprised when you get on open to see how much chrome isn't there. It's like it just vaporized.
Good luck dpoll995
It's 3" wide by 3' long and it takes about a roll for each light. Just need to take your time and have a little patience. It will tend to wrinkle when doing the back. I cut mine in vertical strips about 3/4 of an inch wide and overlapped a bit. You'll be surprised when you get on open to see how much chrome isn't there. It's like it just vaporized.
Good luck dpoll995
dpoll995
Active LVC Member
on my lights i know they have some leaks and i can see alot of water faded spots on the chrome. so i would like to fix them beofre they get really bad. so does that stuff stick pretty good? seems like it would peel off from the heat of the lights.
dpoll995
Active LVC Member
i have a gen2 with hids already. or are you telling me i should dump the factory hid and get a after market xenon?
I didnt realize you have a Gen2 with xenon, 90% of the time its us Gen1 owners with the worst of th headlight problems,
Im working on a legit fix. for people that already have xenons, and both Gen Halogen setups.
Im working on a legit fix. for people that already have xenons, and both Gen Halogen setups.
dpoll995
Active LVC Member
kool! when you get all done i would like to get mine fixed up. i can already tell the factory hids wont last, i have 1 that is kinda flickering now. if there was a bracket to convert them to halogen i would buy it then i could get a aftermarket hid kit to fit the halogen bracket, if that makes sense.