BenGreen Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 May sound like a stupid question, Im trying to do a bit of work to my headlights so need to take them out. Ive taken out all the bolts I can see, but it still seems to be held in, do I need to take the front bumper off for more bolts underneath? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Hi mate I know they're not the best things to remove from memory I had to take the front grill off to reveal another bolt. And had to give it some brute force to pull them out :( Just pinched this sorry no pictures and it's for the Blobeye but same thing :) ---------------------YOU NEED:10mm socket wrench or ratchetflat head screwdriverjewelers flathead or small flat headphillips head screwdriveran oven and baking tray and hot mits/pot holdersa small amount of testicular fortitude--------------------- 2. I'll show you how to do the left side light first, the other is identical. First pop the hood, and remove the grill. There are six (6) retention clips that you need to release. The four (4) noted with the red arrows can simply be pressed with a finger to unlock them. The two (2) blue arrows point to holes where you must insert your flat head screwdriver to unlock the tabs. Just look behind the grill and you'll be able to see where they are. Remove the grill by pulling it forward and put it aside. 3. Use your 10mm socket wrench or ratchet to remove the two bolts that hold the top of the headlight fixture to the frame. I use a little cup to put all the bolts in so they won't be misplaced. 4. There is a third bolt holding the light in which is just behind and to the right of where the grill was. You'll need to reach in there with your socket wrench and loosen it, then take it out by hand. The other option is to remove your bumper and make things easier, but it's probably not worth the effort. Make sure you don't drop the bolt... not that i did that or anything... 5. Now to get the light out. It helps if you take a few of the pop tabs out of the top of the bumper so you can pull it back a little bit when getting the light in and out. I removed the three noted below. Just pop up the center with a flat head screwdriver, and pull the whole rivet/tab out. 6. Now, pull out on the left top side of the light. It's held in by clips. This one holds on to the back of the white plastic piece that the third bolt holds down. 7. It's held in on the right side by two pegs 8. You'll have to pull up and out on the left side of the light (as you are facing the front of the car) and sort of wiggle the fixture out while pulling the bumper back a bit. It'll come out, just take it slow. Once you have the light out of it's little home, remove the three harnesses that are connected to the headlight housing. Each has a tab you have to press down to remove. Do the same procedure to the other light, and you'll be left with this: 9. Alrighty, now you've got the lights out, take them inside. NOTE: always work on a soft surface like the carpet or towel. I got a few tiny scratches just from putting the lens side down on a piece of cardboard! Do ONE LIGHT AT A TIME, so when putting one back together you can look at the other as an example. Now, REMOVE ALL THE LITTLE BLACK PHILLIPS HEAD SCREWS that hold the back of the housing to the front. There are two (2) that are hidden. One under the piece of foam padding as noted in the upper of the photo below (just peel back the foam to get to it) and the other is under the white piece of plastic in the bottom right of the photo below. Just remove the two silver screws holding it down, and the other screw is beneath it. 10. Now remove all of the bulbs and wiring. This step may not be necessary, but i did it just in case so as not to melt any wiring or anything. Couldn't hurt. Each of the bulb housings are unseated by turning them 1/4 turn or so. Just pull each bulb out and MAKE SURE NOT TO PUT YOUR GRIMY FINGERS ON THE bulbs! Don't touch them at all! The grease from your fingers can heat up and blow the bulb when they are on. NOTE: I've done this on a set of STi lights as well, and didn't remove any of the bulbs or ballast and it came out fine. The plugs for the parking and turn signals can be slid off of the back of the headlight housing with a little tug. The whole wiring harness comes off with the bulb. The main light bulb is removed by unscrewing the cap, disconnecting the ground (glack) and power (red) wires by pulling them off, then pusing down and up on the retainer clip (as noted below). Pull the bulb out and make sure you don't touch it. Set all this aside... it's time to get cookin'. 11. Now preheat your oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the headlight housing on a baking sheet and put it in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. Seems like most people don't have problems with 15 minutes, but some needed as much as 20. Just do no more than 15 to be safe, try to pry it apart, and if the sealer isn't melty enough yet, plop 'er back in for a few. 12. After the time is up, pull out the headlight housing with some oven mits or potholders. It will be damn hot, so don't try and hold it in your bare hands too long and drop it. Now, starting from the top, pry apart the front of the housing from the back, slowly pulling them in opposite directions. It might be quicker to have someone else help you at this step. A flat head screwdriver might also help get it started if you are having problems. As Brahmzy said in his write up: "DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING INSIDE THE HEADLIGHT. Don't think, 'I'll just wash it off'-just don't touch the chrome or the inside of the lens(you don't have to) You'll end up with them seperated like so: Now unscrew the chrome trim that is held to the front casing with one silver phillips head screw... remembering not to touch the front of the reflectors. 13. Now remove the turn signal amber / orange cover. Pinch both sides of the tabs noted below, and push them out. The whole lens should hinge down and be easily removeable. One down. 14. Remove the side reflector by inserting a flat head screwdriver as shown below, and prying it up. It too should hinge up and be easily removed. Two down. Now screw the reflective trim back to the front of the housing. 15. If you also want to remove the marker light voer that is on the back side of the housing, do so now. Just insert at small jewelers flat head into the slot marked below and pop it out. Be careful not to scrath the reflective surface. If you want to see what it all looks like WITHOUT this removed, check out Brahmzy's pics in this thread. Now to put it all back together! Brahmzy suggested the following:"To ensure a proper reseal of the headlight, I bought a roll of 3M "strip caulk". It's the 1/4"-3/8" thick black sticky windshield caulk. Same stuff Subaru use for these headlights and windshields. The autoparts store should have some. Put a thinnish strip all the way around in the 'trough' of the headlight housing where the lens will 'sink' into" I however didn't do this. There's plenty of caulk left as long as you don't scrape any off. Reinstall the front of the housing to the back, making sure you get all the locking tabs on the bottom to reseat. Press the two halves together as much as you can, but they don't have to seat all the way yet. Pop the light back in the oven at 200 degrees for 10-15 minutes. pull it out when the time is up, and press the housing together until they are firmly seated and sealed, again making sure the tabs are locked. Now screw it all back together and put the bulbs back on... using the other light as a reference for how to route the wires and plugs. If you are putting orange bulbs in the place of where the lenses were, do so now while it's all still accessible. REPEAT procedure for other headlight. 16. Now put it all back in the car! Plug the harnesses in before bolting the lights back down. Replacement is the reverse order of removal. If you need help getting it back in you shouldn't have taken them out in the first place. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay762 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 'nuff said ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenGreen Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 Very useful!!! Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 You're welcome mate hope it goes a bit better now :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenGreen Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 If anyone was wondering why I wanted to take me headlights out... I wanted to give the front a more evil look, may not be everyones taste but Im very happy with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay762 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 I like that - nice bit of red sets off the black a treat :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 It looks good mate I'd get some red hella horns slapped in behind the grill too ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackBosh Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Like that a lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay762 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 So that is the end result, did you take any shots to show how you did it?? ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenGreen Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 Cheers guys..was pretty simple once I managed to get the headlight off the car lol, longest part was sanding down and preparing for painting... I was looking at a set of them, maybe even some red rota grid drifts just to colour co-ordinate lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 I'm all for the above with pictures ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenGreen Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 I will try my best to keep a well documented portfolio of my progress just to show you lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 I will try my best to keep a well documented portfolio of my progress just to show you lol Cheers me much appreciated I do enjoy the picture threads more just like my books really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay762 Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 yup Red Rotas they will set it off a treat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenGreen Posted January 30, 2014 Author Share Posted January 30, 2014 Ive been thinking about the idea of rota wheels, but now thinking completely red is a bit too much.. so what ive decided on is white rota grid drifts with bright red wheel nuts.. the picture below has got me all excited, I need to go and check my bank balance before I agree to anything though lol.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 The Rotas do seem to be the best looking alloy for Subarus. And I agree the white for me too, would look better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay762 Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Its all about the contrast and against the black they will look big - so again I think they will work, but I do like Rotas and with a black background you could probably contrast with most colours and have an awesome statement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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