Head light assembli replacement

[Puremuscle]

Greetings. Having a problem with my head lights getting water in them, then blowing out the bulbs. Of course they are yellowed from age and wear, so instead of fixing them who sells a good replacement assembly. I saw one guy riding with some extremly clear ones, looked like glass. Anyone ever seen them before and if so where can i find them. Thanks

 

[Roadrunner777]

Ebay and amazon.com both have them at varying prices. I think I paid $35 per side last year. I highly recommend, you will get better light output and it will brighten up the front of your Exp. When you do this, if you have black grill and trim, I recommend hitting those with Krylon Fusion satin black. I would also replace all the front lamps, it will get no easier.

 

[Jason94sport]

Tons on EBay. Just pick whatever is cheapest shipped to you. They are all the same pretty much.

 

[mr cribb]

When you get your new lights, you can drill a couple holes in the bottom of housing. This will help keep the inside of the lights from fogging up with condensation. I drilled two 7/64th" holes in both headlight assemblies.

I got the idea from someone on here, however, I don't remember who it was.

 

[Jason94sport]

I would think that would make is worse. The inside of the light should not condense up since the bulb seals the opening. Wouldn't drilling holes allow moisture & water to enter the headlight?

 

[Roadrunner777]

I did not drill the holes. I had similar thinking as you, that it is now sealed.

But..

It isn't, not really. Consider this (I just thought of it myself, may be I'm wrong!) You turn on the lights, the air expands and pushes right past the o-ring and foam gasket. (Is the pressure strong enough to get past the o-ring? I don't know!) It is surely strong enough to get past the foam gasket.

Now, it's nice and warm inside the lamp housing, and you shut it off. The lamp housing cools off, air contracts, and sucks air back in from the outside, past the o-ring and foam gasket. Maybe this builds up condensate, I have not thought it through. But, if it did, then the best solution would be a hole or two to promote ventilation.

 

[mr cribb]

I would think that would make is worse. The inside of the light should not condense up since the bulb seals the opening. Wouldn't drilling holes allow moisture & water to enter the headlight?

I did not drill the holes. I had similar thinking as you, that it is now sealed.

But..

It isn't, not really. Consider this (I just thought of it myself, may be I'm wrong!) You turn on the lights, the air expands and pushes right past the o-ring and foam gasket. (Is the pressure strong enough to get past the o-ring? I don't know!) It is surely strong enough to get past the foam gasket.

Now, it's nice and warm inside the lamp housing, and you shut it off. The lamp housing cools off, air contracts, and sucks air back in from the outside, past the o-ring and foam gasket. Maybe this builds up condensate, I have not thought it through. But, if it did, then the best solution would be a hole or two to promote ventilation.

Both of you are probably right because I dunno for sure. All I know is when I first got my truck my left light assembly was so fogged up I couldn't see more than 5 feet in front of me. The right side was foggy as well, but the drivers side was the worst. I tried my headlight cleaning process I do, and seen the condensation on the inside of the driver assembly. After that I found a set of almost new headlights in a JY and snagged them. I drilled the 2 holes in each, no fogging, no condensation forming up.

So honestly I have no idea who's right.... just something I read on here and tried out. Good luck to the OP.

 

[Anime]

The condensation is caused by water getting into the headlamp from the lens/housing seal, which breaks down over time. The rubber seal around the headlamp lets the water seep into this area and gives it plenty of time to get through the compromised seal.

The fix is pretty easy, pop out the bulbs in nice dry weather, let the lamps air out, remove the signal/corner lamps and trim, along with the rubber surround, and clean up the seam where the lens is sealed to the housing, finally sealing it with some clear/black/something silicone. Use enough to seal but not to much. Replace the rubber surround after the silicone is mostly cured, replace the trim, signal/corner lights and headlamp bulb. You might also want to use plastic polish (PlastX) or a headlamp restore kit during the disassembly as well.

Otherwise new lenses are an easy fix, you can get pairs for $40-60 shipped, sometimes less if you find a sale or deal.

 

[Jason94sport]

Otherwise new lenses are an easy fix, you can get pairs for $40-60 shipped, sometimes less if you find a sale or deal.

And that's the route I always go. I never had any luck with those polish kits. Sure it looks great for 2 weeks then it comes back. Must be the FL weather.

 

[Anime]

New lenses are probably the way to go, especially if they are REALLY cloudy or have the thick, yellow film on there. I have had really good success with Plast-X for minor yellowing, or sometimes even stuff that looks really bad just wipes away with a few minutes of polishing. Even if the polishing isn't a permanent solution for everyone, it can be a good stopgap measure in the meantime while waiting for new lamps to show up, or if you're waiting for a sale or deal. I personally waited until I could score a set of OE lamps for cheap since I didn't want to use the TYC / Eagle Eye brands while OE Ford stuff was still out there. There's also the aftermarket diamond cut style lamps as well, which claim increased light output.

 

[Puremuscle]

Hey guys. Follow up on light replacement. I tried the restoring kit but just didn't work well, and I thought about drilling holes in the bottoms. Then i thought if i have to take them out - go ahead and replace them. Got a full assembly set, complete with bulbs, shipped to the house (FREE SHIPPING!) from AM Autoparts.com for $60. Took less than an hour to do the entire job and the truck looks great. The only thing i need to do now is make the adjustments. Seeing the results and the ease of the job, my recommendation is replace and keep moving.

 

[mr cribb]

Hey guys. Follow up on light replacement. I tried the restoring kit but just didn't work well, and I thought about drilling holes in the bottoms. Then i thought if i have to take them out - go ahead and replace them. Got a full assembly set, complete with bulbs, shipped to the house (FREE SHIPPING!) from AM Autoparts.com for $60. Took less than an hour to do the entire job and the truck looks great. The only thing i need to do now is make the adjustments. Seeing the results and the ease of the job, my recommendation is replace and keep moving.

I agree, that is more or less what I did with the exception that I found some almost brand new lights at a junk yard that cost $36 for the pair.