OEM headlights lens removal??

They have a metal clip on either side. I was wondering if you pop those off if you could remove the lenses from the housing? I wasn't sure if there was a rubber gasket there or if there is some kind of sealant there. Anybody ever pull a headlight apart?

 

pull all the plastic bits off the lights, take the bulb out etc, remove those two clips....pre heat the oven to 350F...put the lights in the oven on a baking sheet for 7 minutes

take the light out and gently pry the lense away from the housing (be careful, the light will be very hot)

watch the selant goop, and make sure you don't get any on the reflector

good luck

 

^^^ put the headlight on a piece of cardboard then on the cookie sheet just don't want ur whole light to melt onto the cookie sheet. A lot of people have done it w success.

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/lighting/65226-how-black-head-light-mod.html

Here you go. This is a how-to to perform the black headlight mod but it shows how to remove the clear lens from the bezel and all the parts you need to remove before baking.

 

pre heat the oven...shake and bake

 

thanks for the replies...I'm not going to be baking the headlights, although I'm familiar with the process. I bought two new headlight assemblies from Rockauto for $29 each and I'm just going to swap out the whole assembly. It's a hell of a lot easier wet sanding the lenses when the assembly is off and in two years if I need to swap back I can do that and just flip flop the two sets.

 

oh yeah...this is all to fix hazy headlights. I will post before & after photos and do a write up on it in case someone else would want to do it too.

 

Please do, I want to do that to mine but am worried I'll screw it up. I tried one of those restore kits but I don't think it did anything.

 

They do work, but it's a pain in the ass while on the car. It's hard not to hit the paint with the pads that come with those kits. I figure for $60 I can put a brand new headlight assembly in (they even come with bulbs) and make it much easier to clear up the lenses on the old ones. A little extreme? Maybe...

Rockauto part #'s

Right...part # 20607300 $29.89
Left...part # 20607400 $29.89

 

That is why you mask off around the headlight assembly. Also, you don't need those headlight restore kits. All that is needed is some automotive polish, different levels of sandpaper all the way up to 2000 grit and some arm strength.

 

and a UV sealant or they will end up hazing over very soon