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Tips on Opening Headlight

25K views 27 replies 6 participants last post by  bluebee 
#1 ·
Hey everyone,

I have searched and read all the threads related to opening your headlight to change out the crap broken adjusters. But i can not seem to open my headlights :mad: I've baked it in the oven over and over and even used a hair dryer to keep it warm but i just can't seem to get the lens cover off.

My headlight is the 02 with the black goop inside and i believe it's the 03's that have a different bonding material so I'm sure i should be able to open it but it just wont budge and I've ended up creating small cracks throughout the headlight.

Does anyone have any other tips on how to open the headlight? cause I'm getting really frustrated and starting to think about buying aftermarket headlights.
 
#2 · (Edited)
I take it the cover will not budge at all correct? What temp and time in the oven are you using? I am sure you already know this as you have probably read the DIYs, but there is a small philips screw on the back I think towards the corner that needs to come out. Also I hear you have to start working them open as soon as you get them out of the oven. Use pot holders/oven mitts do no let the light cool down.

From what I have read the two different sealants do not necessarily correlate to years. It seems there are people with 01s & 02s who have the other sealant that can not be opened. Not sure the color of the sealant is a good indicator either of which sealant you have.

A good test I read was to get a small piece of the sealant off of the light and heat that piece on its own in the oven and see if it gets all soft and stringy. If it does you know you have the sealant that can be baked open.

If you end up with the ones you can not open you can cut an access hole in your housing as others have done and then patch the housing back up. You could also contact Mark@EACTuning he will replace the adjusters for you for a fee. He also cuts an access hole, but I believe it is a much smaller one. He will also replace the adjuster on the lights that can be baked open.

Also if you do get yours open and you have halogens read bluebees thread on taking the lights apart. There is a ball on the end of post that you must push out of its socket in order to access the adjusters. On the halogen lights this is much harder as the post does not move at all and you can break the surrounding plastic. I realize I am probably not making sense. Just read her thread and look at the pics and you will understand.

Good luck getting those bad boys open.
 
#4 ·
there is a small philips screw on the back
There are two torx screws that MUST be removed.

They are on the outboard (side light) curved edge, in the aft part of the housing.

Picture below (from this thread).


To the OP, these bestlinks should contain a lot of good information for you.
DIY Headlight threads:
- Broken headlight adjusters (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (21)
- How to buy new headlight adjusters (EAC E39 prior to 9/2000) (EAC aluminum E39 after 9/2000) (EAC plastic after 9/2000) (odometergears) (UK)
- How to make your own headlight adjusters (1) (2) (3)
- A list of your options when your headlight adjusters are broken (1)
- Headlight aiming DIYs (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
- Headlight replacement H7 bulbs (1) (2)
- Headlight plastic polishing & refinishing DIY (1) (2) (3)
- Headlight autopsy DIY (1) (2) (3)
- What's the flat spot on the USA spec headlights (1) (2)
- Explanation of HID versus conventional and why the high beam is always a halogen H7 bulb (1) (2) (3)
- How to replace your headlight bulbs (1)
- DJ Auto or Depo headlights (1) or OEM (1)

 
#3 ·
you can always zip tie it if you cant open it lol
 
#6 ·
Does anyone have any other tips on how to open the headlight?
I opened mine in the hot California sun in a parking lot with just the tools available to me in the trunk toolkit (I had to remove the two torx screws when I returned home with only one eye intact).

I think the biggest "tip" I can provide is to use the edge of a flathead screwdriver as an ever-widening wedge. It took me about a half hour to traverse the circumference of the headlight with the screwdriver from the trunk toolkit, twisting it to widen the wedge.

There's a full set of pictures starting here with a DIY.
 
#8 ·
Here's the problem child, at the other end of that solid stalk.

To the OP: If you have HID headlights, the motor allows (apparently) some wiggle room; but if you have the 2002 filament Hellas (like I do), that stalk is an immovable object and it takes VERY LITTLE force to break the ultrasonically welded plastic stalk base!


 
#9 ·
Thanks for the help solo and bluebee, I just found out that my headlights adhesive is the one that doesn't melt, I pulled some out and with a lighter I tried to melt it but it just turned to flames so I'll be cutting up my headlights so wish me all the best :)
 
#10 ·
Wait! I am not sure the lighter test was a good one. Flammability when introduced to an open flame and melting point by heat are two different things.

Before you start cutting them open get another piece of sealant. Pre heat your oven to 200-250 degrees. Once the oven has reached that temp put the sealant on some foil and stick it in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on it just to be on the safe side.
 
#12 ·
Oh ok I was just following what I read on m5 board
Looking that up, I see this m5 board "Headlamp Surgery" thread where they do perform a headlamp "burn test" so you were doing a good job following their recommendations.

I didn't need it on mine, thankfully. It just opened after I got madder and madder waiting for my painting to be framed ... and ... as I sat in the parking lot, while the headlight warmed under the sun ... I steamed from the inactivity ... until, almost furious with inaction, I broke out the trunk toolkit and ripped the headlight housing off without any oven intrusions!

:)
 

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#13 ·
Bluebee you are so lucky to be able to just open your headlights using the tools in the trunk and using the sun... i've baked mine over and over and it did very little to the bonding material, i tried melting just a small piece in the oven and that didn't work so i ended up doing surgery on my headlight, so i just got some pics to show, the plastic adjusters were so brittle and it didn't take much to snap it.



New Aluminum Adjusters



:thumbdwn: Plastic Adjusters



Ebay Aluminum Adjusters $80 AUD
 
#16 ·
so i just got some pics to show, the plastic adjusters were so brittle and it didn't take much to snap it.
THANK YOU very much for posting pictures. They're gold out here in these forums where folks ask questions but some don't give back to the team with pictures so we all learn together.

I have in my list of options (see here), a dozen replacement choices, but none of them are $80 Ebay aluminum adjusters. Pray tell, can you provide more information.

Is that $80AUD for just one headlamp or for both headlamps (4 pieces)?
 
#17 · (Edited)
No problems Bluebee this forum has provided me with so much information, so all to happy to help out where i can, even though i don't know much about the e39's since i've only owned my car for a little over a month now

The Ebay Adjusters i bought are $25 British Pound for 1 pair so i had to buy 2 pair which made it $50 GBP and $12 postage and with currency conversion came out to be around $80 AUD, it might actually be more cheap for people in the US since your currency is slightly higher than the AUD, here is the ebay link to the seller http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BMW-E39-Headlight-Adjusters-/260682023191?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3cb1dc0117 So maybe you could add this to your options for Headlight Adjusters :thumbup:
 
#18 · (Edited)
So maybe you could add this to your options for Headlight Adjusters
Excellent information!

I love the combined tribal knowledge here. Yes, I will add it to the options available.

Thank you for helping others out!

Note: The cost in the USA is almost exactly $100 USD (£25 GBP for each headlight plus £12 GBP for shipping the set of four aluminum adjusters).

 

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#20 ·
The total cost, for me, in the USA, would be $102 USD for the aluminum adjusters (because shipping is charged only once).

Can you answer an important question for us.

In your aluminum adjusters from GB, are the holes tapped?

Or do they expect YOU to tap them (presumably with the threaded adjusting rod)?


(The question came up over here.)
 
#21 ·
The adjusters didn't come tapped, so when you place the adjuster onto the threaded rod you have to use a 10 mm socket to tighten the threaded rod , which then pulls the aluminum adjuster back towards you and as it is doing that it taps the hole for you and by doing this it gives you room to pop the ball joint into the socket, making things a lot easier, I hope that makes sense and helps you out
 
#22 ·
Thank you for that thread-tapping information.

Self-tapping is news which makes it even easier for us to fabricate our own out of Delrin and/or HDPE (cost is about 75 cents USD per adjuster for the first 8 adjusters).

Or for us to make a mold (cost is pennies per adjuster but about $75 per set for the first set due to mold-making raw materials).

Taking one for the team, I'll buy the $102 USD adjusters (includes shipping from Great Britain to the USA) tomorrow and then post the measurements so we can do a CAD drawing so others may benefit (as per this thread).

PS: This is what the brass E39 headlight adjusters look like.

 
#23 ·
Good luck on your project Bluebee all i can say is i've just finished both headlights and for the first time i can finally see the road a head of me at night time. The ebay adjuster i bought are a perfect fit and i've had no problems fitting them, although it's just a tight squeeze getting them in there
 
#24 ·
it's just a tight squeeze getting them in there
Thanks Zane,

I'm buying your $102 USD aluminum Ebay adjusters today. How long did it take for them to arrive from England? (I hope it's not too long to the USA.)

As for "fitting them", I'm very confused about the description of how to tap the threads. Probably it's because the headlight is in the car right now so I'm working off of memory. I see you have described it aptly, but, I'm still confused about the 10mm bolt (what 10mm bolt?).

Anyway, do you have any pictures of the self-tapping process?
 
#26 ·
BB,you need a 10 mm socket to thread the new aluminum adjuster instead of the indirect Allen key.
Thanks to you, I get it. In fact, thanks to everyone, I just did it. And it was easier than I could possibly have imagined! :)

I am waiting for the aluminum adjusters to arrive, but, since I already bought six dollars of Delrin and HDPE, I decided, for fun, to fabricate the two adjusters, one out of the white Delrin, the other out of the black HDPE.

I was shocked how EASY it was to make them, bearing in mind I have no skills whatsoever, and no tools other than a vise, a saw, and a 5/32" drill bit.

Nonetheless, in an hour, I had two headlight adjusters fabricated. One mistake I made was to leave the headlight on the car. When I took it off, I saw that I could have simplified the design even more than I did, because very few of the intricate nooks and crannies in the OEM adjusters are functionally required.

Now, having actually threaded the Delrin adjuster in place, I see why you don't use the allen key to thread the holes. It might put too much pressure on the plastic gears, and it buys you nothing anyway. The 10mm plastic nut that is inline with the adjustment screw is what you use to thread the adjuster in place.

You turn it counter-clockwise to thread it on. (If you were to use the allen wrench, you'd turn that counterclockwise also, to thread the adjuster onto the adjustment screw).

Here's a pic of the adjusters and the 10mm socket in situ with the old adjuster in the position of the new adjuster below it (hidden from view).

NOTE: I put more fabrication details in this thread.

 

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#27 ·
That's awesome Bluebee your Aluminum Adjusters should be there in a week or so maybe even quicker as i live all the way in the middle of no where in Australia. But yeah installing the adjusters is so easy and such a cost effective mod rather than buying new headlights. Have you re-installed your headlights with the Delrin and HDPE adjusters you just made?
 
#28 · (Edited)
Have you re-installed your headlights with the Delrin and HDPE adjusters you just made?
Yes, and no.

I put the adjusters in but (as explained here in a lessons-learned post), I ran into a minor complication (due to the fact I made the center ridge on the longer lateral adjuster (which "mostly" controls lateral movement) too thin and I put the hole slightly too far from the base.

At the moment, I now know what the critical dimensions are, so, I really should re-make the longer lateral adjuster before completing the task.

However, the "fun" isn't as great anymore as doing it for the first time was the task that I wanted to 'experiment' with. Having done it, and proving (to myself anyway) that it's relatively trivial to do (bearing in mind I didn't measure anything ... I just eyeballed it 'cuz it was a fun experiment), I may just wait for the aluminum adjusters.

Or, if I get in the mood, I'll "correct" the minor offset of the hole in the lateral adjuster and continue. The risk is I break the headlight if I try to force the existing one to fit, so, I'm loathe to try that as I already proved (to myself anyway) that it's easy to make these things (bearing in mind I only used a single saw, a single drill bit, and a vise ... and I did a bit of very minor touchup on the ball with a dremel tool).

BTW, I'm sure the SECOND set would be much better because I've learned which are the critical dimensions (most are not critical at all).

See gory details here.

 
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