Removing reflectors from headlights
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well i did it in my 01 galant, im sure it is about the same type of procedure in these. it is a pretty delicate procedure since you are splitting the headlight in half, taking the clear piece off and then removing the reflector and putting it back together. i can go find the tutorial for the galant and post it up if you like. let me know
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Sure, I would like your input on this as the thread where I found this it invoved puting the headlight assembly in the oven to heat it then after carefully removing the reflectors you siliconed it back together.
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89 Posts
When ya yank out the yellow reflectors ya gotta put in yellow bulbs. Why not just buy aftermarket headlights?
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sorry i havent replied sooner i am trying to find the tutorial that i used to accomplish this task
but yes it does involve the oven and depending on how much "goo" is on the chevy headlight between the clear piece and the back piece you may or may not need extra silicone. i say "goo" because it really doesnt seem like silicone to begin with, since it is still soft and gooey all the time. i am going to continue to look for this tutorial and will post it as soon as i find it
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i cant seem to find that damn tutorial anywhere..all my galant websites have changed over to new programs and new servers in the last couple of years also and i think some stuff got lost, but anyway i do kinda of remember how to do it and got a couple of tips searching for it. so here goes.
DISCLAIMER: PERFORM AT OWN RISK. I DO NOT TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILTY IF YOU MESS UP YOUR STUFF.
NOTE: YOU WILL ONLY NEED TO DO THIS IF THE HEADLIGHT IS HELD TOGETHER WITH A RUBBERY ADHESIVE.
Before you start to take your lights apart, look around the edges to find any screws that hold the front and back together. Heat up your oven to 250 for about 10 minutes. SHUT OFF the oven and place the headlight in there for 7-10 minutes. Pull out your headlight and use a putty knife (or butter knife if the wife will let ya lol) and start seperating the clear cover from the back piece. Reheat in the oven as necessary. Now in the galant the reflector was just held in there by little grooves in each of the pieces so all you had to do was pry it out. As for the truck headlights you will have to figure that out when you get them apart. Putting them back together is just as easy. Put the clear piece back onto the back piece, attempting to use as much of the adhesive as possible if the light had screws put them back in as well. Re-heat your oven to 250 for 10 min, SHUT OFF OVEN and put the lights back in there. Remove after 5 minutes and spread the adhesive around the edges to help seal the lights back up. Now rather than putting your light back in the oven at the end you may decide you just want to use new silicone and i guess that would work as well.
Now as i was searching for this method i saw a lot of posts that recommended using a hair dryer or a heat gun. Unless you have some kind of jet engine hair dryer i think that would take way to long to heat up the adhesive that is used. If you dont want to use the oven method the heat gun seems to be like it would work the best, being that you are able to control the heat that you want.
Good luck and let us know if you try it and how it comes out.
DISCLAIMER: PERFORM AT OWN RISK. I DO NOT TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILTY IF YOU MESS UP YOUR STUFF.
NOTE: YOU WILL ONLY NEED TO DO THIS IF THE HEADLIGHT IS HELD TOGETHER WITH A RUBBERY ADHESIVE.
Before you start to take your lights apart, look around the edges to find any screws that hold the front and back together. Heat up your oven to 250 for about 10 minutes. SHUT OFF the oven and place the headlight in there for 7-10 minutes. Pull out your headlight and use a putty knife (or butter knife if the wife will let ya lol) and start seperating the clear cover from the back piece. Reheat in the oven as necessary. Now in the galant the reflector was just held in there by little grooves in each of the pieces so all you had to do was pry it out. As for the truck headlights you will have to figure that out when you get them apart. Putting them back together is just as easy. Put the clear piece back onto the back piece, attempting to use as much of the adhesive as possible if the light had screws put them back in as well. Re-heat your oven to 250 for 10 min, SHUT OFF OVEN and put the lights back in there. Remove after 5 minutes and spread the adhesive around the edges to help seal the lights back up. Now rather than putting your light back in the oven at the end you may decide you just want to use new silicone and i guess that would work as well.
Now as i was searching for this method i saw a lot of posts that recommended using a hair dryer or a heat gun. Unless you have some kind of jet engine hair dryer i think that would take way to long to heat up the adhesive that is used. If you dont want to use the oven method the heat gun seems to be like it would work the best, being that you are able to control the heat that you want.
Good luck and let us know if you try it and how it comes out.
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82 Posts
P.S. it is only illegal to not have a reflector AT ALL on the front corners of your vehicle, they do not have to specifically be inside the headlight. so if you really wanted to or had a problem with it from your local athourities you could always add some sort of reflector to your front bumper or something. Also they really wont give you a hard time if you stay with the amber bulbs. they only really mess with you if you start putting other colored bulbs in there. sylvanna has some pretty cool bulbs that are chrome colored on the outside but blink amber so you dont have that amber bulb eye sore in there after you remove the reflector.
hope all this helps and good luck
hope all this helps and good luck
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2,805 Posts
although finding aftermarket ones is prob the best bet it may be hard to find anyone who sells them without the reflectors... its gonna be a very annoying and tedious process to get them out.... plus if it doesnt go back together right and there is a tiny hole moisture will get in there and it will look terrible and you will have to buy new headlights anyway.... however it will look great when you are done
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