The first step is to remove the grill. The plastic fasteners are easy to
remove. If you have two small flat blade screwdrivers, like I didn't have, you
put each one on one side of the center part and pull it up. Then grab it and
pull the whole fastener out. Put the grill aside somewhere where you won't step
on it.
Now its time to remove the whole front bumper cover. You will need a Phillips
screwdriver and your small flat blades. Start on either side of the cover. First
you need to have access to some of the fasteners and screws. These are hidden
behind the fender well plastic covers. Remove the fasteners that hold the fender
well plastic. Remove enough of them that you can pry it open to get your arm in
the TIGHT space to remove the screws.
Once you get the fender well trim open, there are two screws that hold the cover
on. They are hard to get at, but try. Unscrew the two screws. Then go underneath
and see many fasteners that hold the underside plastic tray to the bumper cover.
These were harder for me to remove. But I got them undone. Now do the other
side.The front cover drops down exposing the lights. These are held on by 10
mm screws. Find them and remove them. Here is a pic of the car with cover
removed and one headlight out:
Scary, but its ok. The headlights are HEAVY so be careful. I pre-heated the oven
to 225 degrees. Also, the area I was working in I wanted dry. So I cranked up
the floor heater to 75 and really dried out the air.
Unscrew and remove the turn signal light. This is the easy part. Next, remove
the metal box from the assembly. There is a bag of desiccant under the box
inside. Remove it too. Unscrew the headlight cover and remove the wires from the
cover. Unscrew the 4 screws that hold the headlight in place. Magnetize your
screwdriver to help you. There are two other screws that hold a metal plate in.
Loosen those and remove the headlight. Here is a pic of the headlight:
Put it in a plastic bag and seal it. Do NOT touch the bulb. Handle this as
little as you can.
The fog light is difficult to remove. Unscrew one of the screws holding this
spring wire in place. Carefully remove the spring and remove the bulb. Here are
pics of the fog light:
Remove all brackets and anything with a screw. Do not touch the headlight
adjustors. Now its time to bake it - 225 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Here is a
pic of the light in the oven:
Remove light assembly with glove and use a putty knife to CAREFULLY pry apart
the cover from the assembly. Do it cleanly and keep the sealant intact if u can.
Remove the chrome trim from the clear cover by unscrewing two screws. Here is a
pic of the chrome trim:
Sand it with 1000 grit wet sand sand paper under running water until the chrome
is scuffed. Tape the orange reflector. I tried to remove it and BROKE the chrome
trim. Here is a pic of that disaster:
Next, prime the trim. I used black Plasticote from Pep Boys. I primed the DRL
lense because I was not going to use it. Its up to you if you want to or not.
Here is a picture of it primed:
Then I painted it with gloss black paint using the Plasticote paint. I clear
coated it also, I waited about 15 minutes for each coat to dry. Here is the trim
after clear coat:
Now assemble the trim in the cover. Bake the assembly again for 15 minutes and
put the cover back on. I used a damp towel to clamp the cover back on the light.
I waited until the light assembly was totally cooled down before I put the
headlights back in. Use the other light to help you to put back the lights and
wiring.
Here is a picture of one light completed next to the other one:
Big difference, especially in person. The glare from the camera doesn't show how
nice the darkened light looks.
Do the other light and then install the lights in the car and reverse the order
of removing the bumper cover and grill. Here are pictures taken after the lights
were installed:
Before/After
-DeusExMaxima |
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