More headlight woes

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bigboystoy
Posts: 68
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 4:22 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

More headlight woes

Post by bigboystoy »

Tonite I thought I would quickly take the headlights out and clean the one's I'm keeping and remove the one's that are being replaced.

Well, that was the plan.

When trying to remove the nut off the back of the passenger side indicator (RHD) the nut is rusted to the bolt so it turns instead. Now I need to work our how to remove the nut this without stuffing up the indicator housing. Any ideas????? Is the nut somehow accessible from the reflector side or do I have to cut the nut off and work out a solution when replacing the indicator?

So, I turned my attention to the drivers side. I discovered the low beam's little plastic 'joint sleeve's' (see photo) are very brittle when touched or looked at or they just fall apart of their own accord. I hope replacements are available locally instead of having to wait for international carrier pidgeon.
Broken plastic joint sleeve
Broken plastic joint sleeve
headlight2.jpg (95.35 KiB) Viewed 3011 times
As for the high beam, how does this come away from the holder? I thought the pins were for locating the light but they won't come out. Are they part of the light or holder or am I missing something. If they are part of the light, do you have to fully unscrew them to get them separated from the holder.
High beam lights with adjusting pins
High beam lights with adjusting pins
headlight3.jpg (71.68 KiB) Viewed 3011 times
Thought this would be a 5 minute job, not a lesson in over engineering 101.
Past toys:
1979 Volvo282GT
1988 Porsche 944S
Current toy:
1986 635 CSi
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86_6series
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Location: West Nyack, NY

Re: More headlight woes

Post by 86_6series »

86-635CSi
96-MB C220 SOLD
98-740i
71-Continental MK3
bigboystoy
Posts: 68
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 4:22 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: More headlight woes

Post by bigboystoy »

I checked out that site when trying to see what I needed to do but it only shows the wiring. Does anyone have a repair manual that shows how the lights are replaced and could post a picture of the page?
Past toys:
1979 Volvo282GT
1988 Porsche 944S
Current toy:
1986 635 CSi
bigboystoy
Posts: 68
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 4:22 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: More headlight woes

Post by bigboystoy »

Well finally got the headlights out of the holders and started cleaning the good units, one high and one low beam, and ordered some second hand items, making sure the year, model and vin were provided at time of order.

The photo below shows what I have (bottom) Vs what I received (top).
headlight4.jpg
headlight4.jpg (135.36 KiB) Viewed 2942 times
Now, I wasn't aware there were different headlight mounting systems for the various years so I have to return these and find the right ones. So, back to the drawing board. ](*,)
Past toys:
1979 Volvo282GT
1988 Porsche 944S
Current toy:
1986 635 CSi
ron
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Re: More headlight woes

Post by ron »

bigboystoy wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2019 8:52 am Now, I wasn't aware there were different headlight mounting systems for the various years so I have to return these and find the right ones. So, back to the drawing board. ](*,)
There are 3 different headlight mounting systems.

Up to 1982 (E12 based car).

'82- 87 (pre Highline).

'87 on (Highline).
They are ALWAYS rustier than you thought!!!!!!
'85 M #228
'87 M #367
'88 High line.
'10 X5
‘84 Alfasud 1.5 ti
bigboystoy
Posts: 68
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 4:22 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: More headlight woes

Post by bigboystoy »

So, after a long period of chasing suppliers and weeding out the incorrect parts, I thought I struck it lucky today when I picked up a high beam light that is correct, and a low beam light that I believed was correct.

Who would have thought that a light that came from a RHD 1986, Aust delivered 635 (same as mine) could be any different to what I started with.

The pictures speak for themselves.
headlight7.jpg
headlight7.jpg (54.95 KiB) Viewed 2901 times
headlight6.jpg
headlight6.jpg (55.6 KiB) Viewed 2901 times
I'm tired of this problem. Two of the three locating legs are correct, so I'm just going to make an adapter section to relocate the hole over to where it should be. Might not be pretty, but it will get me back on the road.
Past toys:
1979 Volvo282GT
1988 Porsche 944S
Current toy:
1986 635 CSi
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