clear headlight mod (56k RIP)

so i just finished clearing out the headlights on my gt wagon, and it looks so much better now. i plan on ordering the silvervisions to finish up the 'cleared' look while retaining the amber signals.. let me tell you that this mod is first off a PITA. simply because you MUST take off the front bumper. and since it looks like i am the first one to document this, i took a lot of pictures and will post some advice on what i think you should focus on. additionally, i also took some measurements of the bumper beam and general setup for those curious about doing the jdm swap (which i plan on as well :wink: ) ok.. so the first thing you need to do is get is some needle nose pliers, ratchet set (10mm is the bolt size), and allen wrenches, oh and of course the screwdrivers. also, its a great help if you have the pages from the service manual for the front grille, bumper, headlight removal pages. make sure you set out alot of time since this took me about 6 hrs...but its mainly cause i was just really cautious and took my time with the oven process. 1. alright so remove the front grille, which is very simple to do. i didnt take pics of this since everything is shown. 2. take off bumper...there are like 6 or 7 clips on the bottom and 1 on each side that hold this guy in, and the 2 screws you remove to hold the grille in. the one in the wheel well is pretty tough just remember to remove the bottom ones first so that it loosens the mud guards so you can get at the side ones easier. 3. headlight removal was straightforward as well...basically remove all the bolts you see holding it down, but there are also ones hidden under the bumper (which is why it needs to be removed) if you dont have the pdfs for these 3 things...get them..i am willing to send em once to someone else whos willing to disseminate the info and add to the tutorial with additional tips. OVEN part... alright now that you have the headlights out... i basically mirrored the WRX steps. i put the headlight on a cookie tray with lots of foil (3-4 sheets and a few crumpled up to give the light some support) also very important...unscrew the four screws on the back of the light BEFORE heating. it makes it much faster since time is critical with the silicone hot. another thing is to make sure you remove the turn signal light before heating. because when you separate the front lens from the back part, the bulb will be caught and broken as i did (no big deal since im getting the silvervisions anyhow) now heating...i used a rather new oven which i would hope to be accurate...i set it to 285 degrees and had it in there for around 8 minutes...it may not be enough though, as i often got half way and would need to reheat for an additional 5 minutes at 285 till it got real gooey. so YMMV depending on your oven. anyways once you remove the lens and the back part...there are 3 allen wrench screws that hold the chrome brackets in place. remove those ... to get at the amber reflector which are essentially 2 pieces held on to the middle clear bar pieces by a bracket. (see pic) anyhow, after you remove the amber reflector, and get the clear bar piece back on...be careful putting the chrome bracket in place as its easy to get silicone on the front end of the chrome bracket that will visiblymar your headlights. once this is done though..reheat the 2 pieces at 285 for another 5 minutes and reassemble. and just spend extra time ensuring all the brackets click into place when your headlight reassembly. you may want to get additional silicone and reapply...i didnt, but i didnt for the wrx either and its fine. and go in reverse order for reassembly of the headlight, bumper, grille... and you will hopefully have a clear headlight setup (that will hopefully be condensation free) pics to follow...

ok i had to compress them and stuff em into a rar file. someone open them and repost if you wish...its too late and im too tired. but heres the rar file. [url=http://24.175.25.79/eric/headlightmod.rar]click here to download the rar[/url]

thanks for sharing! more pics would be great. :) is it just me? but i think the JDM headlights still look better than the USDM's...

[quote name='gt_ltd']thanks for sharing! more pics would be great. :) is it just me? but i think the JDM headlights still look better than the USDM's...[/quote] It's just you. :P Nice work, good call with the bumper beam measurments! hey eric, I noticed you're a fellow Houstonian! When can I come over so we can do my lights? 8)

Looks so much better with the cleared headlights, good job on it and for posting lots of pics and instructions.

So where are the pics?

[quote name='Th3Franz']So where are the pics?[/quote] Um....read the thread much? bottom of teh second post, it's a linked .rar file. :P

Can't wait to get home and unrar that beyotch! Any pix of the finished product you'd care to post in the meantime?

a preview of whats in the rar...

Wow- that's 100% nicer looking! Great job!

[quote name='thatericguy']a preview of whats in the rar...[/quote] You never answered my question! :o

[quote name='Drift Monkey'][quote name='thatericguy']a preview of whats in the rar...[/quote] You never answered my question! :o[/quote] answering by not answering... :P

[quote name='gt_ltd'][quote name='Drift Monkey'][quote name='thatericguy']a preview of whats in the rar...[/quote] You never answered my question! :o[/quote] answering by not answering... :P[/quote] I'll let him answer that! :oops:

haha i honestly missed your question... sent you a pm about where im at and what not..though as you'll read im planning on traveling on the weekends soon...maybe if we had a shop day or something. but if you need any advice or explanations i'll try and help out.

I think it looks better than actual JDM....longer front bumper makes it look more aggressive. post some more pics of the car!!...here again...I wish i had a legacy....... :( :(

Ugh...not my cuppa, I'm afraid. I'm glad all the "baking" stuff went well for you. I would be frightened out of my mind to put my headlights in the oven. :lol: Kevin

[quote name='gtguy']Ugh...not my cuppa, I'm afraid. I'm glad all the "baking" stuff went well for you. I would be frightened out of my mind to put my headlights in the oven. :lol: Kevin[/quote] It does take some nerve.

I think that looks excellent. I wasn't planning on doing that to my car, but it looks really good on SWP.

[quote name='gtguy']Ugh...not my cuppa, I'm afraid. I'm glad all the "baking" stuff went well for you. I would be frightened out of my mind to put my headlights in the oven. :lol: Kevin[/quote] Which is why he's going to help me out with it. I'm terrified! :lol:

honestly theres no big reason to be afraid to put these parts in the oven..with the black housing normally in the engine bay.. and with a turbo, the heat gets much hotter than 285 degrees im sure. at worst you can take your time and start at 220 which is what i did and i moved up until i noticed the sealant more gooey at 285...using 5 min intervals. just make sure your wires arent dangling around..follow the instructions and you should be fine.

I don't care what you say, that was a ballsy move. Nice job. They look great.

I thought you removed the wires prior to putting them in the oven?

there are some wires that are attached to the housing, but i just positioned htem to be stuck near the center of the housing...away from the foil. the wires can handle the heat i just didnt want hot spots to form on them.

[url]www.imageshack.us[/url] for image hosting.. who wants to host them all up on that and post them?

[quote name='highwaydrifter']www.imageshack.us for image hosting.. who wants to host them all up on that and post them?[/quote] I'd be glad to host them, if people don't like using winrar.