splitting 01' headlights for adjuster repair?

[nightkrawler]

who actually has done this? any tips on what temp to bake that at etc etc? tia

[Wicked A2]

preheat oven at 200 degrees and bake lights for 5 mins. You can use a wide spatula to help remove the lens

[nightkrawler]

are they difficult to pry apart once they are heated?

[tomDinan3]

From your sig it looks like you have the EURO version... if so, you may be in for a hurtin as I hear those do NOT seperate easily even under heat. They use some kind of different glue.

[nightkrawler]

nope, just got a set of 01'+ hellas. though i've the depos apart many times and they are very easy to dissasemble.

[tomDinan3]

oh, in that case... then just use the "bake in oven at 200 degrees F until lightly brown" method. :)

[nightkrawler]

just tried them after 5min in the oven and they're not even budging, this sucks..

[E39 M Power]

did you search? i think there are a variety of posts on this... maybe check m5board.com too.

let us know if you develop a new and improved way...

[nightkrawler]

i searched but its the same stuff, put them in the overn and pry em apart. news flash.. it is NOT nowhere near that easy. the silicone used on these is very strong. i may be making a bit of progress but it is minimal so far.

[BMW1023i]

i did it and it was a pain in the ass... on top of that i broke a few peices of plastic off....

i didnt exactly heat mine in the oven... i heated them as much as a could with a heat gun and then with a knife and other various sharp or curved objects i started to pull the glue out piece by piece... also i used a solvent ( sry dont know what it was it wasnt in its original can) and with Q tips and whatever else that go the solvent in between the crack where the glue was....

be carefull tho..the solvent i used was harsh and seems to melt alot of things and take of paint easily too....

after that tho its jsut all about patience and time prying it open...

goodluck

[e39dream]

it's not easy. It is possible though.

What you want is a hot light to work on, set the oven on 240 and leave it on. Put thelight in there until it's very warm to the touch. Use a wide short putty knife with a stout blade on it and use a twisting motion to open the light from the top near the high beams. You want pop the light back in the oven every few minutes as it cools fast, otherwise use a heat gun or hair dryer to keep the area warm you are prying. The light cover is sandwiched in the goo from high beam and tucks into the turn signal area, it's easiest to start near the curve by the high beams and unfold the cover out of the corner. Once you get enough space to get your fingers in there I heat it again and then use some grunt to pull the halves apart. The glue on these could withstand a nuclear blast.

There is a black plastic lip all around the "goo". Some of this will crack/break off from the top edge, nothing you can do about that if you want in there. the light will still seal fine to the goo and the back edge of that channel.

[nightkrawler]

they must have used different types of sealant on some of these cause from what i've been reading, some people say they got them off rather easily. the sealant on this one is like silicone. i already cracked the lip you're talking about in a few spots... royal pita.

[howejt]

Huh, I didn't have much of a problem getting the lights on my 530i apart. Baked in the oven for 10-15 minutes, then used a heat gun around the edges to soften things up further. Make sure you remove the screw down in the corner by the turn signal.

[nightkrawler]

i got the lens off last night but not without breaking the housing. luckliy i had a junk headlight at work that i can use the housing from. this sealant is crazy strong, its like silicone and jb weld mixed together. you guys who have opened them must have had lights with a more pliable type because there just no friggin way...

[MPOWER228]

Nice work, I'll be pullin mine apart soon.. uhg..

[e39dream]

the sealant on mine was black and was very tough. Carefully applied heat was the best thing I found to open them.

[nightkrawler]

if anyone is thinking about doing this, i would check the sealant on the headlight first and see if its rubbery like silicone. if it is, order a used light from ebay and save the old one for parts. im in the process now of getting the cracked lens of the parts light i found to use the housing from it. it's slow going. i cut most of the lens off with a dremel and am slowly getting whats left of it off the sealing chanel. the main problem is that the bead of sealant is not only on the top lip of the lens, its all along the bottom of it as well. you can't reach that area normally. i only can cause the front is open now due to the lens being cut off.
e39dream, i think you got lucky with yours. trust me on this guys, im a first class jerry rigger and if i can't get these off with out destroying the light... lol

[e39dream]

I've sold about 30 e39s adjusters, some of the guys never have an issue, others are struggling. One guy gave up while I coached him on the phone. I know for fact there's 2 adhesives used at least. the black goo and some clear super glue looking stuff. From what I gather the black goo ones will open with effort, teh super glue ones will not.

You are not looking to remove that adhesive, in fact you re-use it and it never leaves the light backing. Get it hot so it's stringy and pull the halves apart. No luck required.

[e39dream]

I remember swearing a bit when I did mine and breaking away the upper part of that channel while doing mine. I was worried that the lights would not seal right afterwards but they have never fogged once, and I park it outside.

What I am thinking is you have this channel and the glue is put in there from the factory, then the lid pressed on by a machine so that the goo is on both sides of the lens all the way around.

When you are heating the lights the upper layer of goo becomes pliable and you end up breaking that channel. The goo on top and the thickness of the lens insulates the goo on the inside and it never heats up enough to easily remove the lens.

[Shardul]

i tired opening head lights on a 2003 E39. The damn thing would not open so i left it before i f@$& something else up.

[quacktoduck]

i did mine... black goo... i heated it for 10-12mins... it was fine.... then i took off the lenses... sometimes you gotta bake, get it like 5mm to release from the clips... then bake again to pull apart.... its easier when warm.. almost hot... as you all know the lights go through more heat and weather in hott places like arizona and nevada... and im sure none have melted in the heat... and thats like 2-300 bakin within the housing.... so bake alil longer see how it goes... and if it rains alot.... like here in seattle... go ahead and press together heat then put together... heat again and pulll together one more time... without a good seal they will fogg... ask me how i know

[nightkrawler]

well, the hellas are in and working fine.. thank god. used the housing(black part) from a junk light cause i broke the original one. all i can say is royal pita. you guys must have differnt sealant cuz there is no way these would seal aging by reheating them. this stuff is like silicone. once its cured its not going to stick to anything again. i used 3m window weld to seal the light back up. i did learn a few things in the process of taking these lights apart.

1)the xenon and halogen(donor light i used the housing from) facelift lights are almost identical on the inside. people say the projectors are different.. not really. both xenon and halogen use the same lens, same shield, only difference is the bowl, the part that holds the bulb. i compared part #'s on the lenses/shields and they were the same.

2)auto leveling, this is pretty weird. the halogen has a what looks like an adjuster where the solenoid would be, but it cant be turned. i had to remove that and replace it with the xenon motor/solenoid. so for you guys who have converted the halogens to xenon, you could retrofit the leveling feature if you wanted to. pretty cool eh...

[E39 M Power]

just got done doing one of my headlights. it's a shame bmw didn't use a higher quality part- it would've been an extra nickel per car to avoid this issue.

anyway, these directions were great:
http://www.odometergears.com/subpages/E39_Headlight_FAQ.pdf
note- i used the replacements from CA Auto through e39dream's group buy, and you do not have to do the break-in procedure described in the pdf.

i just have some minor clarifications and suggestions below. if i had my camera i would've done a full write up to improve on the above pdf, but my wife took the camera today.

-be patient. when i first pulled my light out of the oven it didn't seem like the black goo had any give to it. a couple of minutes of working my way around the lens body started to reveal some movement. i did the top half, stuck some wooden toothpicks in to sort of prevent the lens from going back to where it was, put it back in the oven for 5 minutes, and finished the bottom half.

-i found a fairly good sized regular screwdriver worked best in getting the lens off.

-when pulling the black bezel out (after the lens is off), i found it easier to start at the top and use the wiggle/pull method

-when trying to get the adjust motor out, line up the light so your eyes are looking at the corner light, then the low beam and then the high beam (straight shot). now look behind the reflector and you'll see the ball that is described in the pdf i linked to above. while looking at the ball, use your hand to gently move the motor so that the ball pops out of the socket it's in. it's easier than it sounds.

-when it talks about removing the rubber boots behind the lights, they just lift off of the chassis. once off, fold them so they can go through the front with the rest of the assembly.

-i guess it took me about 2 hours to do. after reading about the two types of sealant, i wanted to make sure i didn't force anything. but, i can confirm that my '01 has the black goo.

-as a side note, get yourself a telescoping magnet like this one:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00940891000P?keyword=magnet
it's $6, and it's a real lifesaver when you need it. i dropped one of the four screws that hold the headlight on. i could barely see it, and there was no way i could get my arm down there without taking a bunch of stuff apart, but i had it out in less than a minute with my magnet.

thanks again to e39dream for getting me the parts.

[nightkrawler]

how much of the housing(black part) did you break in the process?

[E39 M Power]

how much of the housing(black part) did you break in the process?

none, fortunately. broke part of one of the connectors on the back (plastic was pretty brittle), but that was the extent of the damage.

[GMT400Tahoe]

I recently purchased the aluminum headlamp adjusters from Mark and was going to take this afternoon to install them. For the past couple hours I have attempted to seperate the headlamps for my vehicle and have pretty much destroyed the driver side headlamp.

The material that is used to seal the headlamps on my vehicle is much less of a glue and more of a thick, rubbery material. It did not become malleable at high temperatures. Instead, the black plastic became much softer and broke off all over the headlamp as I attempted to pry the assembly apart.

Even if I do manage to take these two pieces apart, the plastic surrounding the headlamps is cracked all over the place and would look terrible when I open the hood. These POS headlamps are ruined! Thank you engineers at BMW for making these headlamps with such an obvious Achilles heel and then updating them in 2001 to make it nearly impossible to repair.

This is my driver side headlamp. I accidentally broke the part of the housing that attaches the headlamp to the vehicle as well.

Here is a picture of the damaged headlamp;
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/JsnChristianson/BMW%20%20M5/DSC03885copy.jpg

What do you guys think? How can I salvage this mess?

[E39K3V]

i tried taking mine apart by using the oven trick and heat gun. glue was too tough to take apart and i ended up breaking a few pieces so i ended up buying new headlights

[Jason5driver]

Here is a DIY for taking apart the 2001+ head lights:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2063480&postcount=8

PDF format.


well, the hellas are in and working fine.. thank god. used the housing(black part) from a junk light cause i broke the original one. all i can say is royal pita. you guys must have differnt sealant cuz there is no way these would seal aging by reheating them. this stuff is like silicone. once its cured its not going to stick to anything again. i used 3m window weld to seal the light back up. i did learn a few things in the process of taking these lights apart.

1)the xenon and halogen(donor light i used the housing from) facelift lights are almost identical on the inside. people say the projectors are different.. not really. both xenon and halogen use the same lens, same shield, only difference is the bowl, the part that holds the bulb. i compared part #'s on the lenses/shields and they were the same.

2)auto leveling, this is pretty weird. the halogen has a what looks like an adjuster where the solenoid would be, but it cant be turned. i had to remove that and replace it with the xenon motor/solenoid. so for you guys who have converted the halogens to xenon, you could retrofit the leveling feature if you wanted to. pretty cool eh...

So, what's the update on this??
Did you get the auto-leveling to work on the 2001+ head lights????

Can you retro-fit the clear corners?

Thanks!
Jason

[GMT400Tahoe]

Here is a DIY for taking apart the 2001+ head lights:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2063480&postcount=8 (http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2063480&postcount=8)

PDF format.

Thank you, but I have looked over that PDF among other sources of information before I started this afternoon.

The problem occured for me where the instructions say the black adhesive becomes pliable and allows the two parts to seperate.

In my experience, the adhesive did not become "goop" as the instructions had suggested but remained firm. I found that the adhesive on my headlamps is a rubbery substance that does not loosen it's grip at higher temperatures. Instead, the plastic housing becomes much more soft than the adhesive and had bent and broke off before the adhesive does, resulting in the damage shown in the picture above. Perhaps a solvent of some sort would help? Either way, it looks like I will be in the market for new headlamps as a result of this.

[Gumbi4u]

Looks like i will be up against this super strong glue as well since I have an 03. Well if they break, that gives me a reason to get euro hellas.....

[nightkrawler]

im convinced that there are two different types of sealant used on these. some have good success taking these apart, and some dont. i did not also, and ended up breaking the first one i did. the best thing to do if you have these hard ones is to buy a set of broken lights from ebay. then you can just cut the lens from the body or vise versa.

yes, i retrofitted the auto leveling and the clear corners.

[razahyde]

*sigh*

there are 2 black adhesives, one opens, other doesnt.

end of story

[Jason5driver]

im convinced that there are two different types of sealant used on these. some have good success taking these apart, and some dont. i did not also, and ended up breaking the first one i did. the best thing to do if you have these hard ones is to buy a set of broken lights from ebay. then you can just cut the lens from the body or vise versa.

yes, i retrofitted the auto leveling and the clear corners.

PICTS!!!
please... LOL!

Did you get the auto-leveling from another set of head lights, or did you buy the components new from the dealer.

Thanks!
Jason

[GMT400Tahoe]

*sigh*

there are 2 black adhesives, one opens, other doesnt.

end of story

And how is it that you are able to distinguish between headlamps with the varying types of adhesive before you destroy your headlamp?

[razahyde]

And how is it that you are able to distinguish between headlamps with the varying types of adhesive before you destroy your headlamp?

there are screws on the outside of the lamps near the cornors. remove the screws and some material will come off w/ the screw. heat the screws up and see if the material is play play dough, or if its like rubber bouncy ball.

but if you try to open the light and it doesnt pry apart easily then thats a sure sign too. the lights that wont open have no give at all. the lights that will open have a lot of give.


i have 2 lights sitting beside my desk, one that opens, and other that doesnt. ill take pics for you guys when i get a chance of the material used in both.

[e39dream]

I recently purchased the aluminum headlamp adjusters from Mark and was going to take this afternoon to install them. For the past couple hours I have attempted to seperate the headlamps for my vehicle and have pretty much destroyed the driver side headlamp.

The material that is used to seal the headlamps on my vehicle is much less of a glue and more of a thick, rubbery material. It did not become malleable at high temperatures. Instead, the black plastic became much softer and broke off all over the headlamp as I attempted to pry the assembly apart.

Even if I do manage to take these two pieces apart, the plastic surrounding the headlamps is cracked all over the place and would look terrible when I open the hood. These POS headlamps are ruined! Thank you engineers at BMW for making these headlamps with such an obvious Achilles heel and then updating them in 2001 to make it nearly impossible to repair.

This is my driver side headlamp. I accidentally broke the part of the housing that attaches the headlamp to the vehicle as well.

Here is a picture of the damaged headlamp;
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/JsnChristianson/BMW%20%20M5/DSC03885copy.jpg

What do you guys think? How can I salvage this mess?

You failed to mention how you are heating them. You are using the oven technique correct? I am sorry to see that you are having problems getting into the light, however I think you need to make sure it is getting nice and warm before you go prying at it. In your PM you mention that you got the lens to move a few MM but it sucked back together. This would be an indicator to me that it is not warm enough. Keep the oven on, slip the light back in for a few minutes every so often. You are not trying to let it cool off while you work on it, you need it hot until it is opened. Note in the video the light I am working on is so hot I can hardly handle it for more than a second at first, note I am working fast when it is fresh from the oven. Even when the glue is hot it takes nearly all my strength to separate the halves. This stuff is no joke, and if you dont let it get nice and hot the heat does not penetrate the glue. Leave it in for 10 minutes next time, nothing adverse will happen at 220 degrees.

All I can suggest is trying again, and making sure you follow exactly what I show you in the video. I have never encountered an 01-03 light that I could not open. I am sure they are out there but I've yet to disappoint anyone.

Just like I said in the video, if you don't use the right approach you will break the glue channel.

For those of you who need this repair, I offer the parts for 125.00, or I will install them for you for 250.00/ pair of lights with return shipping included.

[PJB]

i tried taking mine apart by using the oven trick and heat gun. glue was too tough to take apart and i ended up breaking a few pieces so i ended up buying new headlights

This is on your 2003 525, right?

JsnChristianson, your info lists a 2000 M5 yet you opened 2001+ headlights. Do you know from what year car they were? It seems BMW changed the adhesive in 2003, as these more tenuous lights are typically from this model year. I too have encountered this tough sealant and also managed to ruin a headlight by baking it at either too high a temperature or for too much time, or both. The same thing happened - the plastic broke before the sealant gave way.

I have a feeling e39dream is correct in that the sealant can still be heated up even if it takes more time in the oven. I say this because I was finally able to use a heat gun and A LOT of elbow grease to open up one of the headlights over an hour's time. Though my final solution was to get new angel eyes (also from a 2003, but you take what you can get), I would suggest you either follow the advice of e39dream on the revised baking method or attack the light with a heat gun or hairdryer and a quality set of plastic tools. You can use a consumer-grade sealant from any hardware store to reseal the lights.

[GMT400Tahoe]

Thanks for the tips Raza, Mark, and PJB. As far as technique, I initially had the heat setting at 220 degrees Farenheit and placed the headlamps in the heat for seven minutes. When I encountered resistance, I increased the heat to 225 degrees Farenheit and increased the time to ten minutes.

I will tackle this project again tomorrow with the driver side headlamp and see if I can obtain more favorable results. Although I will still need to purchase a new driver side headlamp because of the damage I have already done, if I can get this one apart successfully I can attempt the passenger side without inflicting the same damage to it.

Thanks again guys!

[dinanmite530i]

FTR, success getting mine apart/changed adjusters. 7 minutes in oven at 220F, with 4 min reheats as necessary.

[PJB]

FTR, success getting mine apart/changed adjusters. 7 minutes in oven at 220F, with 4 min reheats as necessary.

If this was on the factory lights from your 2001 530i then I can believe that.

[GMT400Tahoe]

...All I can suggest is trying again, and making sure you follow exactly what I show you in the video. I have never encountered an 01-03 light that I could not open. I am sure they are out there but I've yet to disappoint anyone.

Just like I said in the video, if you don't use the right approach you will break the glue channel.

For those of you who need this repair, I offer the parts for 125.00, or I will install them for you for 250.00/ pair of lights with return shipping included.

Mark,

I am in the process of purchasing a replacement driver side headlamp assembly from another Bimmerforums member. This replacement has broken adjusters as well. I am weary of destroying another headlamp and would rather pay someone who is confident they can perform this repair without damaging the assemblies.

Is there any kind of assurance that my headlamps will not be damaged if I pay you to perform this repair?

[e39dream]

Jason,

I don't offer any guarantees, but again I ahve had very good luck with these.

However, if I attempt to open them and anything is harder than the others I have done I can stop at that point and send your lights + money back minus return shipping cost. I think that is fair, if I can safely complete the job I will do so and charge you, if I feel that the light will break I will stop the repair and send your lights and cash back. If I only can open one light I will repair it free, I will only charge you if I can repair both lights.

[GMT400Tahoe]

That sounds reasonable. I will PM you when I receive the replacement driver side headlamp assembly.

[razahyde]

i have a pair of extra lights at the house so ill put them in the oven at 400, 450, 500 and etc and see when they melt so you guys will quit shitting bricks thinking the lights will ment at 350

[nightkrawler]

its not even worth it. when you get them too hot then you cant work with them cause obviously they're too hot to handle even with gloves(which kill dexterity). also when they are that hot you cant pry either cause the plastic is too soft to pry on, no leverage. easiest thing to do is buy junk ones off ebay. or just get lenses or housing from there. a dremel makes short work of either. if you cut the lens away(or vise versa) then you can get in with a heat gun and get the rest of it off the housing piece by piece. the problem is the lens is sandwiched together with sealant on both sides where it meets the housing. you cant get to the sealant on the inside part, which still holds strong.

this sealant has the feel/consistency of silicone but much much stronger. it only gets slightly more pliable when hot, and it has to be very hot to get any good give out of it.

[razahyde]

i really don't see why there is always a damn thread over this subject

its simple as this. if your lights dont open up easily at 350 then they wont open without damage. end of story, no other routes around it.

i don't see how we have pages upon pages discussing this matter.

there are 2 sealants, one the can be removed, other that is permanent.

if you dont believe me then ill post pics as to what im talking about so some of you will understand this and realize there are 2 types of sealant. hell, give me your addy and ill mail you parts of the lights i destroyed with the sealant that doesnt come off.

/thread

[M13]

I ripped off some of the black stuff and baked it to test whether or not I was one of the lucky ones. I believe I am.

What once started as a ball was easily smeared into this fine goop you see here:

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r151/bfc_ftw/Misc/IMG_6069.jpg

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r151/bfc_ftw/Misc/IMG_6071.jpg


The material became very hard shortly after smearing it. You need to keep the material warm/hot when you're prying it apart, otherwise, it won't work, and you'll break something.

[nightkrawler]

that is definitely not the stuff on the lights i've had.

[razahyde]

yea thats the stuff that comes apart.

DONT REMOVE IT FROM THE LIGHTS

leave it where its sitting and dont take any off anywhere if you can help it. when you go to seal the lights they will seal perfectly fine if you dont mess with the sealant.

ill post a picture of the other stuff tonight as a comparison.

[Bonswa]

anyone know what that "stuff" is.

[razahyde]

anyone know what that "stuff" is.

same stuff used on the installation of your front window. a window shop can get you some of the stuff if you really need it. but there is no need for that unless you remove it from the headlight which would be really dumb.

[nightkrawler]

you dont need to use that, butyl tape works just as good.

[skeelo34]

Not sure if it helps anyone but my car build date was 7/2001 and I had the black goo that separated easily after 5 mins in the oven.

[razahyde]

you dont need to use that, butyl tape works just as good.

you dont even need that! haha

the sealant that you have in the lights is more then enough, i cannot say that enough. when you go to reseal the lights heat up the casing and lay the lense ontop and it will even itself out.

[M13]

yea thats the stuff that comes apart.

DONT REMOVE IT FROM THE LIGHTS

leave it where its sitting and dont take any off anywhere if you can help it. when you go to seal the lights they will seal perfectly fine if you dont mess with the sealant.



FYI, the stuff I melted last night feels "different" from how it was before. It is easier to pull apart and the material feels weaker. If this makes any sense...


Mark, do you have any feedback as to how to reseal the lights? Should we just use the original black goo or should we replace it?

[tomDinan3]

same stuff used on the installation of your front window. a window shop can get you some of the stuff if you really need it. but there is no need for that unless you remove it from the headlight which would be really dumb.
you can re-use your old sealant...

But I guess I am dumb. :rolleyes

I actually made sure to remove all of the old sealant from the channels and applied a fresh batch of butyl sealant. Reason: I did not want to take the chance of them not sealing properly and have condensation problems later on down the road. I did this a year ago and i have had no problems so far.

This butyl sealant, which is the same stuff Hella uses on our headlights from the factory (their good sealant... not their evil sealant found on MY03 :)); can be purchased from any local Nissan dealership. The part # is: Nissan Butyl rubber part # B655389915. I am sure there are other alternative sources for butyl (as nightkrawler may have used)... but I found it was easiest to just walk in to my local nissan dealership and pay around $20... hope this helps.

[M13]

This butyl sealant, which is the same stuff Hella uses on our headlights from the factory (their good sealant... not their evil sealant found on MY03 :)); can be purchased from any local Nissan dealership. The part # is: Nissan Butyl rubber part # B655389915. I am sure there are other alternative sources for butyl (as nightkrawler may have used)... but I found it was easiest to just walk in to my local nissan dealership and pay around $20... hope this helps.




I was having doubts re-using the old sealant as well. As long as the Nissan Butyl comes off easily (in case something else breaks), then I'm sold! There's a Nissan dealership close by. Thanks for providing the part # as well. :urtheman

[e39dream]

hey guys sorry for the delayed response, I've been working my tail off.

I had good luck with re-using the sealant and those who have seen the video or will see it can follow that method. If using new sealant helps you feel more confident about the repair then by all means do so. Just be careful when removing the old stuff not to break any of the glue channel off.

[nightkrawler]

butyl tape=3m window weld.

[M13]

Anyone have some feedback on removing the height adjuster motor? I finally got the cover off.


Remove the 3 screws holding the Height
adjuster motor. At the end of the shaft is a
ball that slides into a track on the back of the
inner headlight assembly.

DO NOT PULL


THIS STRAIGHT OUT.
You need to push in


and slide the ball to the right to remove. You

are essentially working blind. It took me an hour to figure this move out!






Can someone elaborate on: "Push in, and slide ball to the right" Can't really push any more. :dunno

[Jason5driver]

Anyone have some feedback on removing the height adjuster motor? I finally got the cover off.


Remove the 3 screws holding the Height
adjuster motor. At the end of the shaft is a
ball that slides into a track on the back of the
inner headlight assembly.

DO NOT PULL


THIS STRAIGHT OUT.
You need to push in


and slide the ball to the right to remove. You


are essentially working blind. It took me an hour to figure this move out!







Can someone elaborate on: "Push in, and slide ball to the right" Can't really push any more. :dunno


Pictures are worth a million words...

Please post some pictures.
I will try to find the DIY for this.

Thanks!

Jason


EDIT:
Here I found this:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179156&highlight=e39+headlight+adjuster+diy

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/images/attach/pdf.gif01+ E39 Headlight Adjusters Replacement DIY #1.pdf (http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=94059&d=1165817474) (362.5 KB, 1190 views)
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/images/attach/pdf.gif01+ E39 Headlight Adjusters Replacement DIY #2.pdf (http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=94061&d=1165817580) (142.8 KB, 866 views)

[M13]

Pictures are worth a million words...

Please post some pictures.
I will try to find the DIY for this.

Thanks!
Jason

I'm referring to the DIY, found here:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179156 - Post#8 , part 2, page 3 of 6

Thanks!
-C

[razahyde]

you can re-use your old sealant...

But I guess I am dumb. :rolleyes

I actually made sure to remove all of the old sealant from the channels and applied a fresh batch of butyl sealant. Reason: I did not want to take the chance of them not sealing properly and have condensation problems later on down the road. I did this a year ago and i have had no problems so far.

This butyl sealant, which is the same stuff Hella uses on our headlights from the factory (their good sealant... not their evil sealant found on MY03 :)); can be purchased from any local Nissan dealership. The part # is: Nissan Butyl rubber part # B655389915. I am sure there are other alternative sources for butyl (as nightkrawler may have used)... but I found it was easiest to just walk in to my local nissan dealership and pay around $20... hope this helps.

hey i dont think i changed my blinker fluid when i changed my headlights, will you see if nissan sells some and ship it out to me?

[Jason5driver]

I'm referring to the DIY, found here:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179156 - Post#8 , part 2, page 3 of 6

Thanks!
-C

I have not done this DIY yet.
So, I am definitely the wrong person to ask, LOL!!
But, from the direction on the PDF write-up, it sounds like you need to push the rod with the ball cap, and slide the base to the right, in order to remove it.

Jason


hey i dont think i changed my blinker fluid when i changed my headlights, will you see if nissan sells some and ship it out to me?

Ruff!
I like cookies....
:)

[M13]

I have not done this DIY yet.
So, I am definitely the wrong person to ask, LOL!!
But, from the direction on the PDF write-up, it sounds like you need to push the rod with the ball cap, and slide the base to the right, in order to remove it.

Jason




:)

And another DIY:
http://www.blueheronkayaks.com/bmw/adjusters.pdf


"

There’s no need to muscle
this joint apart. The plastic socket flexes sideways – I just pushed it to the side
and slid the ball out the end."


I'm probably just not applying enough force, but I don't want to break anything... :(

[Jason5driver]

And another DIY:
http://www.blueheronkayaks.com/bmw/adjusters.pdf


"

There’s no need to muscle
this joint apart. The plastic socket flexes sideways – I just pushed it to the side
and slid the ball out the end."


I'm probably just not applying enough force, but I don't want to break anything... :(


Do you have "E39Dream"'s aka Mark's DVD on how to do this?
Or have you PM'd Mark, and asked?
He would know what to do exactly.

Or, maybe mister wizard "Raza" could shed some light?
LOL!

[nightkrawler]

the end of the shaft on the motor is a ball. it fits into the socket attached to the guts of the light. the socket is open on one end so you can slide ball out to the right. if you have the lens off you should be able to get to it with a long skinny flat head screwdriver or equivilant. use the end of the screwdriver to pop the ball end out of the socket. you need to slid in the screwdriver from the side and it must be long enough to reach.

[M13]

the end of the shaft on the motor is a ball. it fits into the socket attached to the guts of the light. the socket is open on one end so you can slide ball out to the right. if you have the lens off you should be able to get to it with a long skinny flat head screwdriver or equivilant. use the end of the screwdriver to pop the ball end out of the socket. you need to slid in the screwdriver from the side and it must be long enough to reach.

lol I just went downstairs to get my long screwdriver since I saw what looks like the track ball before you posted. Going to try it now.

Never mind, I popped it out by hand..

Here's what you do.. Grab the bulb assembly and pull it towards the left.. then grab the motor and pull it to the left as well. Pop, done.

[ookoo]

I solved this height motor problem by pushing the bulb assembly towards the motor ( = to "back" )-> then I could push the motor enough to free the ball and then slided it to the right.

[Fortis]

Excellent, Just finished my set ,polished the lens and they look marvelous. Good as new. Thanks for all the good information and detailed pictures.

[Mark@EAC]

just as an update to this really old thread, you can now order the aluminum parts here:
http://www.eactuning.com/e39-aluminum-headlight-adjusters-p-467.html

I also offer installation service for a flat fee of 160.00+ parts which includes return shipping, this even applies to the dreaded "2003" lights that do not open in the oven. PM me for more info.