Disassembling the PT Headlights

[Artist Formerly Known As CHINO]

Well, today was an interesting day. I finally did what I sooo much was afraid of doing in the past! (all in under 20 minutes per headlight)

I am in the process of installing EMS/Police strobes in my headlights and was disgusted with the way the headlights looked after drilling and spending a long time in cleaning them.
(cleaned for hours and still came out blurry and spotty)

So, being that I had a spare pair of headlights... I figured I give it a shot and try to disassemble them to clean them from the INSIDE!!

(or for anyone who is interested in getting rid of the turn signal reflector, this is what you'll have to do)

Here goes....

The following are the only two tools I used to do this:


heating gun and any device that will help you separate the lens from the back cover. (you can actually do just with the heat gun alone and your hands to do the separating.... but headlights get really hot and will need gloves (which I didn't have at the time, but recommend)

There are two steps in this whole process... that's it.
I actually breezed thru this when doing my second headlight!!
Probably 15 min.. or less!!

Step 1.

Heat around the headlight edges for around 10 minutes using the heat gun. (depending on what brand you use, time will vary.)
There is no need to direct any heat to the transparent lens cover whatsoever, so concentrate on the border of the back of the headlight. (black plastic) This is where all the black silicone is located that keeps the headlight sealed and you'll want to heat this area nicely. Once you think you have heated the border enough... proceed to step 2.
(you can see the headlight separating on its own in some areas once you have provided enough heat.)


Step 2.

Separate the front lens from the back of the headlight.

THAT'S IT!!
No screws, No Nothing!!

Just start at an opened, gapped area and start pulling the two pieces apart. simple as that. If you have heated enough... this shouldn't take you long at all. Have someone help you either by holding the headlight or by pulling. You'll see how incredibly easy this install really is.

P.S - I have friends who have done this to their headlights (not PT's though) and have suggested I put them in the oven for 3-5 minutes and that it's twice as fast and easier to separate....
I really didn't have the b^ll$ to do this, but just wanted to pass the thought along if anyone else did.

Good Luck! (no need for luck... this was a piece of cake!! You'll do FINE)


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[Artist Formerly Known As CHINO]

Here are a few pics of the headlights... (not for the weak of heart)




THIS section, I will paint in stone white to match my color!

[Artist Formerly Known As CHINO]

Forgot to mention something VERY important!!!

Do not clean the inside of the headlight with any cleaning supplies, etc...

EXCEPT water!!!!

I did, and the reflective paint blurred off a bit... not much, but you can see it in this pic on the left of the focal point.


Here are more pics of the rest of the headlights:

[Artist Formerly Known As CHINO]

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[PT-Turbo]

cool,

[Mark1]

The white bezel will look great!!!!!!!! I was thinking of some thing simmaler but dont have a place or time to do it. It is great that yo did it. I cant waite to see it after you are done!

[sakigt]

2 Questions...
How easy was it to remove the assembly in the first place..
And can you still see an amber light when you turn? Wouldnt want to attract the wrong kind of attention

[sakigt]

Although now that I think about it...it would give me an excuse to finally install those M3 mirrors

[Ali N I]

You didnt say anything about reassembly, what sealant or glue did you use?

[SpeedyFarrar]

The piece that you are painting white would look good painted black too. It would look like the "smoked" headlights on Vipers or the SRT-4. Of course you wouldnt want to paint that whole piece or the turn signal would have no reflector. As for the amber piece, I wonder if you could get a white reflector and cut it to replace the amber piece to keep the cops happy. A silver turn signal bulb (that lights up amber) would complete the look.