Oxidized headlight driving me insane.

[bujeezus]

After a failed attempt to clear up my lenses on my OEM HID headlights this weekend, I've been trying to research my options for replacing them. $1800 for a new pair is out of the question. HID bulbs in halogen housings seems to be hit or miss, mostly miss. The most sure fire solution is the most intimidating. Remove the lenses from a brand new pair of halogen housings to replace the old shitty ones with. Can anyone confirm the lenses are identical on the halogen and HID housings? I know the reflectors are completely different. What's the best method to get the lenses off and swapped? An oven? Will a heat gun work? Is there a company I can just ship them to to do the dirty work? Is there an option I haven't come across?

 

[skwerl]

Search Google, Amazon and eBay for aftermarket replacement lenses? All the body shops use Chinese imitation replacements these days and you can usually find somebody selling them online. Replaced my 2002 F150 headlights for less than $100 almost 2 years ago and they look great, indistinguishable from factory.

 

[travelers]

I have a the ones off my '07 that I took off when I did the GT500 nose. They were changed about 2 or 3K after I bought it new. They are the halogen ones. If you need them make me an offer and I can send them right out. They are packaged in the GT500 head lite boxes.

 

[bujeezus]

I have a the ones off my '07 that I took off when I did the GT500 nose. They were changed about 2 or 3K after I bought it new. They are the halogen ones. If you need them make me an offer and I can send them right out. They are packaged in the GT500 head lite boxes.

Got any pics? Scale of 1-10, what would you grade them?

 

[07 Boss]

Take them off and take them down to your local body shop. Most do headlight restoration. I had a pair done on one of my other cars when I was selling it. Made a huge difference. I think I paid $40 each.




Here's a not so good before pic but I think you can see how clouded they were.

 

[skwerl]

The restoration thing is a short term solution. Good if you're selling or trading the car, not so good if you're keeping it for years. The plastic degrades and is full of micro cracks. You can fill the cracks but they keep getting worse. New plastic will at least get you another 8-10 years.

 

[travelers]

Got any pics? Scale of 1-10, what would you grade them?

I will dig them out tomorrow and take some pics for you.

 

[travelers]

I would say they are an 8 or 9 being really good. I don't know if you can see it in the pics but they do have a few tiny stone chips. I'll also throw in the yellow lenses. Hows 75.00 + shipping for the pair?

 

[bujeezus]

Got any idea what shipping to 36925 would be?

 

[travelers]

3 business day is 22.00 FedEx

 

[07 Boss]

I'm not familiar with the HID housings but I took my headlights apart twice. One time was a failure and the second worked fine. I believe I was told that there wee two manufacturers for the lights and they used different sealant. One came apart pretty easily with heat and a good blade,hobby knife. The other one I ended up cracking the lens. Anyways, if you want to keep your HID housings and change just the cover you might as well see if you can dismantle them. I mean if you are going to replace them you might as well try.

Here are mine after I painted the buckets and re-assembled them.

 

[13v6]

After you get them fixed up or replaced, put a little ceramic coating on them to keep them new.

 

[bujeezus]

I'm not familiar with the HID housings but I took my headlights apart twice. One time was a failure and the second worked fine. I believe I was told that there wee two manufacturers for the lights and they used different sealant. One came apart pretty easily with heat and a good blade,hobby knife. The other one I ended up cracking the lens. Anyways, if you want to keep your HID housings and change just the cover you might as well see if you can dismantle them. I mean if you are going to replace them you might as well try.

Here are mine after I painted the buckets and re-assembled them.

Man, that looks so much better color matched. Did you use the oven method or heat gun?

 

[07 Boss]

Man, that looks so much better color matched. Did you use the oven method or heat gun?

Heat gun. It was a lot of frustrating work but well worth it in the end.