Headlight Adj. Maxed Out, Still Too Low

[Ratchet81]

Are the headlights on the 4th gen Explorers aimed really low by design? The headlights on my 2008 Explorer were terrible when I first bought the vehicle, aimed sharply down at the road. I tried aiming them up as far as they would go, but it didn’t make much of a difference. The driver side assembly was really cloudy with a faulty adjuster anyway, so I bought a pair of new aftermarket assemblies (and brighter bulbs). Same thing...even with vertical adjustment maxed out, the low and high beams both are way too low. The lights on my 2005 Explorer were substantially better. The funny thing is, when the high beams are on, it looks like the upper range of the light stops in a straight line, side to side—like the hood is blocking it from shining higher. But the low beams have no such line, and reach only half as far as the low beams on my wife’s ‘08 CRV (basic bulbs on that car with cloudy lenses).

The light is concentrated right in front of the vehicle (not excessively dispersed upward), and there are certainly no issues with other drivers flashing their lights at me. My high beams would look like low beams if they were a little lower than they are.

I keep thinking I must have missed something, or that a previous owner lost some mounting washers or something. I tried originally setting the lights per a procedure I found online, but the results were still aimed way too low. I tried maxing them out afterward, and while it’s better, it’s still not where it should be.

I don’t want to adjust the aim any higher than they should be, but something remotely close to my ‘05 or the CRV would be ideal.


Is there anything I can do, or is this just the way tre 4th gens are made?

 

[boominXplorer]

Any way you can post a pic of the truck with headlights on against a garage door or something? Make sure your square on and about 15 ft away or so.

If it's ever been in a front end collision then anything is possible with headlight aiming.

 

[MotorCityFats13]

if you cranked up the adjusters chances are where you think the lights should be are not where they should be and you are blinding other drivers....
Aiming the Headlights without an Aiming Board 7:48