01+ Broken Headlight Adjuster Fix (E39)

They say 5 minutes.

Mine is also glued with epoxy. It dont come off when i tried to cut the epoxy. Does someone has some suggestions?

I replaced the adjusters on 2001 530i Hella HID headlights today using the procedure in this thread. The procedure worked well. Here are a few observations.

I used the aluminum adjusters from EAC which are threaded. I didn't need to cut threads in the adjuster with the screw.

Mark at EAC suggested baking the headlights at 210 F for 7 minutes instead of 5 minutes at 200 F. After I removed lens, I baked the headlights for two more minutes to ease the removal of the bezel.

I found that if I removed the HID bulb so I could see the auto-leveling motor ball and socket. This made it easier to reinstall the auto-leveling motor ball in the assembly socket. The ball came out of the socket to the right on both headlights.

I removed the socket from the reflector assembly to get the old plastic adjuster remnants out. This allowed me to use a small screwdriver to depress the retaining tab from the back of the socket so the screwdriver did not interfere with the ball removal.

I didn't realize how poorly the lights were working. This repair restored their performance.

I stumbled upon a source of butyl rubber glue for headlights. My headlights went back together well and appear to be well sealed, but I thought it might be helpful to people replacing adjusters if the headlights do not seal well on re-assembly.

Originally Posted by findog

Just want to share my fix for 01 - 03 E39 Headlight adjusters. I found the parts at http://www.odometergears.com and thought I would give it a shot. Parts worked out great, it's nice to have headlights that don't point down.

PDF DIY -
Part 1 - http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/att...9&d=1165817474
Part 2 - http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/att...1&d=1165817580

Followed your instructions and got parts for £10 Great help Thank you 2000 525i

Excellent writeup. I was able to fix my adjusters. Thanks a lot.

For the record, there is useful headlight adjuster information here today:
- E39 (1997 - 2003) > 2003 530i Sport Headlight Adjustment - How

Hello all,
Looks like I have to deal with this issue at well. I have an '03, and the autoleveling headlights have stopped leveling when I turn the car on, and they point rather low on the road. I have not yet attempted to make any adjustments on my own. Mark@EAC, are you still working with these '03 assemblies? Is it pretty clear that I need new adjusters? Thanks all.

Hey, just wanted to drop by and say thank you for the excellent writeup! I followed it this weekend and now the lights adjust properly. Thanks again!