headlight repair w/pic...
 

I made this a "sticky" for now....do we have a C4 DIY section???? Do you want tio start one like the thread I have in C5 Tech??

EDIT: Thanks GIJoe, pmihaltian, Qack, dpsantoli, for the edit tips. Thanks jhammonds01 for the years application (88 - 96?).




Remove the entire assembly (motor separation next post, although pictured here):

Have ready a towel to put down the assembly!
Disconnect headlight power supply.
First remove the screws at the lower assembly - with yellow circle.
Then remove nuts numbered '1' - at both sides of headlight assembly.
Then loosen, BUT DO NOT COMPLETELY REMOVE, the '2' numbered nuts.
Get your free hand onto the headlight assembly, and apply pressure to keep the assembly in place. I had a boo-boo here (post 6)!!!
Then remove the two remaining nuts #2.
CAREFULLY, pull away the assembly.

http://www.corvetteforums.com/upfile...7EDCD51BB3.jpg

removal of motor from assembly:
loosen bolt 4, second pic
loosen bolt 2, first pic (ALSO GOOD PIC OF THIS BOLT ( in red circle) IN PIC 3)
you can then remove bolt 1 (it will not come out, until bolt '2' is loosened) and bolt 3, first pic, and the bolt shown in fourth pic, with a yellow circle, which is on the back side of the h/l motor.

then remove the roll pin in blue circle 3rd pic
The roll pin (blue circle) was tough. I was afraid of manglin' it. I put the penetratin' lube on it, then put the vise grips on it gently and squeezed, so the pin would close a little, and allow the oil to get on the outside of the pin. Turn slowly, and work it - it is tight!!!

I didn't pull it all the way out either - above, first post, red circle.

http://www.corvetteforums.com/upfile...C4FA10E00F.jpg

http://www.corvetteforums.com/upfile...318747D1DF.jpg

http://www.corvetteforums.com/upfile...94F36F14A7.jpg

http://www.corvetteforums.com/upfile...7FF1A19885.jpg

Motor breakdown...

Step '2' here - when you lift off the cover, watch for 2 wafer-thin brass washers post 4, 3rd pic. There's a gasket here, which I replaced with a thin film of RTV silicone.
Step '3' here - I didn't do that part...
Step '4' here - see side note; disregard reference to post 24 and 11. Use caution SLOW - the double click is the two brushes on the armature being pushed out by the TINY springs. post 4, 1st pic, shows a brush spring.
Also watch the nylon gear shaft rotate, as the worm drive/armature is removed, like your distributor from the cam drive. Remember this at re-assembly. I don't know how many teeth you can 'miss' by, with no problems.
(EDIT: watch for a lone ball bearing to drop out from the end of the worm drive, when you pull it from the armature housing - see post 5, 2nd pic, to see the ball bearing).

If you're really dedicated, and want to hear sweet music when the repaired h/l works again, do this: re-grease the washer-type ball bearing inside the armature housing. Carefully remove the manual rotation knob from the shaft, and slowly remove the armature winding/shaft from the housing. Buried in there is the washer-bearing, and a few washers. See post 6 pic and not 'reeding', which holds knob onto shaft.

Continue steps 5 -12; see additional posts and pics for reference/tips. Step 7 here - the shaft is a very tight fit into the nylon gear with the new delrins. I just used hand pressure, no carving.

You'll have to do the fishing line trick to hold the brushes back in - pic 3, and 4, here.

http://www.corvetteforums.com/upfile...2F3678910B.jpg

http://www.corvetteforums.com/upfile...2AD5200D5D.jpg

http://www.corvetteforums.com/upfile...B187967997.jpg

http://www.corvetteforums.com/upfile...0FC3D3F74B.jpg

More breakdown/re-assembly...
pic 3; a slight tap with the screwdriver handle will separate the nylon gear from the shaft.

http://www.corvetteforums.com/upfile...A101BC8940.jpg

http://www.corvetteforums.com/upfile...B8279C680C.jpg

http://www.corvetteforums.com/upfile...92C3085263.jpg

http://www.corvetteforums.com/upfile...0FB29492D0.jpg

At re-assembly, watch the lone ball bearing...

Put a dab of grease on the end of the drive, to hold the ball in place...

http://www.corvetteforums.com/upfile...D1AF495242.jpg

http://www.corvetteforums.com/upfile...D2CB8564BC.jpg

and remember to turn back the nylon gear from its removed position - it got pulled back by the worm drive, like your distributor off the cam drive.

My post-rotation 'click' went away, and this beauty was the cost

http://www.corvetteforums.com/upfile...5DF5CB9BEC.jpg

:sad:

Be careful.

Nice write up, but may I add a few tips?

Put it all into a single document (Word doc, PDF file, or a HTML file and host is somewhere)

Also, the circle tool is your friend :lol:

And finally... make sure to state the years this works for. The headlight motors changed a few times over the C4 range so this may work for some, but look absolutely nothing like the others.



Good job, we need more people willing to take the time to do write ups! :thumbs: :cheers: :cool: THAT'S some dedication!



I just noticed: Are you using the built in web cam on your laptop for taking pics!??! :eek:
http://www.corvetteforums.com/upfile...94F36F14A7.jpg

Thanks GIJoe!

I got a couple of sequence mistakes in here; please correct as necessary! (Easier for another to see yer mistakes, than for you to see your own...)

Great thread!! Thank you. :cheers:

That is a great write-up but we need to fix the title and state that this is for later models

The 84-87 is close to this yet completely different. I just did mine last night. The way the motor couples to the light bucket is different and then inside the motor is different...as well as that large with gear.

the older ones don't have the bushings to worry about. The teeth on the large white gear get ground off right in the middle and soon it starts slipping. Change the white gear on rock on.

Please don't take this as baggin' on your efforts you did a great job...I just wanted to point out the differences for us guys with older models.

88-96 Headlight Bushing Repairs
 

Found a nice guide here:

http://www.corvettemagazine.com/2002...hts/light1.asp

On the other hand ...
 

I have removed one headlight motor -- after trying to follow the guide at the link I posted, I went back to this guide ... more understandable.

BTW -- to get the roll pin out I used a 5/32" pin punch -- see here for one from Sears:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...?keyword=42884

Just light tapping and the pin came out easily -- no fear.

Pete

i just finished my passenger headlight using the home depot bushings. so far it works great. thank you for this great thread. pat

Just done mind today, and saw your instruction, I used these instructions look almost the same.
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/zrjuan/headlight.html

At first I felt this was going to be a challenge, but I got it done and it was easy! after I did the first headlight:cheers: , I felt like I could do 20 more

where do you live? do you want to do mine? Haha

These instructions (above) worked pretty well on my '95.

Here's an addition:

STEP 1: Jack car up and put on jackstands, so that you don't have to bend over the whole time.

Also, I got mine all rebuilt with the slack in the wires (didn't unhook the connector), but I could see wanting to unhook it to take it over to the workbench.

Also, I didn't have the correct diameter punch for the roll pin and didn't feel like a run to the store, so I used a drill bit (individual bits are cheap).

84 - 87 Headlight Motor Repair.

Just a few notes about my experience with the earlier model years. As stated above the 88-96 motors had bushings which could be replaced. In the 84 - 87 MY they had no bushings. JHammons and I did some PMing back and forth and what we both found was that once the headlight was disassembled from the car and the motor was disassembled there were two gears that worked the motor. A large white gear which actually gets turned by the motor and a small black gear that the white gear turns which allows the headlight to move.

JHammons and I found my condition of the motor running but the headlight not moving all the way through it's cycle was caused by a white gear tooth failure. A quick order of a $23 large white gear from ZIP Products and some time breaking into the motor and everything worked perfectly. It seems to me that it's very rare that both headlights won't move at the same time so I took apart the motor of my good headlight and did some camparisons on how everything falls together. An hour and a half or so and everything is fixed and works perfectly.

....
 

I just did this on my new 90 and the headlights work perfectly now. It easier than it looks. I used a 1/8" drill bit to knock out the pin as stated above and it worked great. One of the pins came out in two pieces though. I also learned that the bit part of my torx drives come out and you can then use a 1/4" wrench on the bit to get to one of the bolts. I'm sure all of you knew that, but it was a minor miracle at the time.

The best trick I figured out doing this was how to set the edge distance between the perimeter of the headlight and the hood. I used four strips of corrugated cardboard from a shipping box about 4 inches long. One strip on each side just slips between the headlight and the hood and it holds the edge distance perfectly while you tighten down the nuts and bolts.

Anyhow, hope this helps and thanks for the great write-up.

Scott

Hey all prior posting members:

Thanks a million for all of your suggestions! :flag: I used every one of them and had the passenger side motor done and reinstalled on the car in less than 90 minutes. It now works great. I was going to do the driver's side one too, but it is working quite well and isn't making any bad sounds so I will leave it alone. But I am prepared if it should need the same procedure in the future. Thanks again guys.:thumbs: