Headlights in the Oven!

[mond12345]

Well i will be attempting the headlight openning using the oven method! I was told 200* for about 15 mins. Im just wondering if anyone has so good tips on anything and what brand i should use to re-seal them!

[CATerina]

Um the last 4 pairs i did i just used a hair dryer. IDK about oven

[puma1]

why an oven??? thats crazy!! use a heat gun or hair dryer for god sake!

[crazyoldcougar]

heat gun will get just as hot as an oven...but on a side note with a heat gun you wont have to remove the guts..not sure if you even have too i just did to be sure they didnt melt..

PS not every owns a heat gun...

hair dryier will work too but it doesnt get anywhere near as soft and plyable as it does in the oven...

YOU WONT NEED ANY ADDITIONAL SEALENT IF YOU USE A HEAT METHOD..like any of the three prementioned ones.

[Velocity19]

I used the oven just cause im lazy and didnt have much time. I did 250 for about 8 min and i made sure it was on a flat pan. make sure you wear oven mitts the front will not get that hot but the back is major hot : ) lol then simply get a flathead screw driver and split it apart slowley and it will come apart very easy. When I was finished taking the yellow piece out (remember theres a star faced screw holding the chrome piece to the clear part once its open) gotta love ford;;; I put it back together and back in the oven for about 5 min and pushed the parts together to reform the glue and placed the metal clips back one VOILA clear headlights with an ugly boxed off part where the yellow piece once went..Im working on making clear pieces molded off my yellow ones to fit perfect If anyone is interested post and I might make some more to sell : )..

[Velocity19]

Oh by the way I added red lights once i cleared it out heres the pics right now im just waiting to get pulled over and act like I didnt know.

[mond12345]

NICE!

[Excelcier]

An oven is the easiest way though as it evenly heats all the seals at the same time... a hair dryer or heat gun takes longer as you have to do a small bit at a time. About 10 mins in the oven and it just pops open easily, same for resealing them, just heat it up again and push it back together with the origonal sealant goop. I've had NO troubles when doing it that way.

[Blessed]

Have you all had any leaks since you have done it? What about the humitidy and moisture getting into there.

[bubby]

I was also thinking about doing this and when I told my girlfriend she looked at me like I was crazy. I knew I heard about the oven method somewhere, so I'm glad I found this. Also, I think they make clear headlight markers (like the Euro-style headlights), but I'm not to sure where to find them.

[Excelcier]

I have had a few brief moments of some fogging which clears up within an hour usually.

[Catwoman3700]

Mine are fogging like CRAZY so I need to re-seal them. I didn't do the oven method the first time so I'm sure I didn't get a good seal. Bah. If I need new sealant, where do I get it? What kind?

[Moraki]

Just get any black exterior trim sealer, should be at any car part shop or walmart even.

[jaged]

or run with the backs off of the headlights

oh the humor of this thread eh ron :biggrin:

[Excelcier]

yeah, since it was rebirthed after like 2 years shortly after Maya's...

[CincyZetec]

does anyone know if this oven method would work for opening the taillights?

[Excelcier]

yes it does

[carajo]

PS not every owns a heat gun...

Go to Home Depot.

Buy heat gun.

Take it home.

Use it for a few minutes for particular task of the day.

Go back to Home Depot.

Go to returns desk and return heat gun.

[Rikenbomb]

Too much work carajo, not to mention the cost of gas. Oven method is far much better.

[carajo]

Too much work carajo, not to mention the cost of gas. Oven method is far much better.

Maybe for you, but HD is a mile and a half from my house. No way I'm putting car parts in the same oven as my food, the Maytag repairmen are nasty, I'd rather not need them to come fix.

[TacomaCoug]

Alright, I'm gonna take my headlight appart. After I get past the oven, is there anything else I will run into. I have a 99, so i dont know if that is any different from a 01-02. Someone said something about a star screw or something? This is my only car so I dont want to have to drive to Home Depot w/o a headlight. I'm gonna do that rings around my headlight and put in some headlight strobes. So is there a forum or anything that gives a walkthrough of it all? Thanks guys... There's a guy down the street who has the same gold coug as mine but he has a spoiler and we always go out at the same time. Its getting on my nerves cause he's a douch and friends w/ my ex. I need to step it up a little.

[Excelcier]

I just did a set of 99 headlights this weekend at a mod meet. The oven is truly the best and easiest way to do them. Screw the heat gun... too much work.

I set the oven to it's minimum of 170 degrees and popped a headlight in for about 10 mins, took it out and started using 4 screwdrivers and gently pryed the seems open using screwdrivers to stick in to hold the open where I already pryed it.

Before even starting though, pop off the 6 or so little metal tabs around the seems. Don't worry about the wires in the headlight assembly, they won't melt.

Just be smart and cautious and don't leave them in the oven un-attended and forget about them or you'll melt them. Just use your brain.

Once they are open, there is one single screw holding the middle black plastic piece in place. some of the gooey sealer may be holding it down too from flowing so pull it out right away while it's still hot or put it back in the oven for a few more minutes to soften it up again.

You'll see it's very easy once you're working on it.

To put it all back together again when you're done, do the same thing... warm it up in the oven and using 2 people, push it all back together and snap the little metal tabs back in place while it's still hot.

[Goldie]

I need a bigger oven ;) damn apartment sized kitchen.

[mond12345]

I just put the oven on 225 and waited for about 10 mines. Took them out and just pulled them right apart, no screwdrivers.

I took off all the clips and removed the wiring harness when i did mine just to be safe.

[Excelcier]

See! Told ya, easy... wasn't it. No screwing around with a heat gun trying to warm it up one part at a time while the rest cools off.

[scrupul0us]

seriously... the easiest method is this... figure out where the sun comes up in the morning and place your headlights outside such that they soak up the morning sun... then just pull them apart... this is how me and tr0nic did mine... just so happened the my car sat in the sun for about 3-4 hours that morning and they just pulled apart... cake

[crazyoldcougar]

I just did a set of 99 headlights this weekend at a mod meet. The oven is truly the best and easiest way to do them. Screw the heat gun... too much work.

I set the oven to it's minimum of 170 degrees and popped a headlight in for about 10 mins, took it out and started using 4 screwdrivers and gently pryed the seems open using screwdrivers to stick in to hold the open where I already pryed it.

Before even starting though, pop off the 6 or so little metal tabs around the seems. Don't worry about the wires in the headlight assembly, they won't melt.

Just be smart and cautious and don't leave them in the oven un-attended and forget about them or you'll melt them. Just use your brain.

Once they are open, there is one single screw holding the middle black plastic piece in place. some of the gooey sealer may be holding it down too from flowing so pull it out right away while it's still hot or put it back in the oven for a few more minutes to soften it up again.

You'll see it's very easy once you're working on it.

To put it all back together again when you're done, do the same thing... warm it up in the oven and using 2 people, push it all back together and snap the little metal tabs back in place while it's still hot.

one tiny thing to add....especially with the 99-00's... there is a tiny plastic tab on the outer corner of the lamp that sticks into the housing...be sure to start at the centre of the car and work your way out, the lens will hinge itself on the plastic tab in the corner that way..rather then breaking it off and possibly cracking the lens..

[Pyro81]

The only thing i don't like about this method is that my oven is too small to fit the headlights in. That pissed me off because i had already removed all the guts from the headlights before trying to put it into the oven...

[mond12345]

Mine didn't fit too, i just didn't close the door all the way.

[TacomaCoug]

Ok, and there was also debate of how to hook the computer fan lights on. Some where saying like some kinda glue or whatever and some were saying like zip ties or something. If i do this, i want to do it 1 time, @ least for my car. So I never really got an official answer to what ist he best/easiest.

[Excelcier]

I've done 3 sets now. I've used 2 different methods, either works very well and is not really visible.

1) place the rings against the plastic housing in their position, dab a few dots of clear silicone and set it in place and tape it down to stay put for about 2 hours, then pull of the tape and it's permanent. Only problem is if you have to replace one later, the silicone is a pain.

2) place the rings against the plastic housing in their position, using a tiny drill bit, drill a tiny hole in the plastic housing behind the rings final resting place. Take a baggy twister, pull the paper off it so it's just a super thin metal "string" and feed it through the hole and wrap the ring and twist it together on the underside of the housing where it's not visible. To 99% of the people, the thin twister is near transparent and you'll never have to worry about it and you can just cut it off it you ever need to replace it.

[Drewmanfu0]

You could also use fishing line for INVISIBLE mounting

[Excelcier]

But it's a pain to tie off and guarantee it won't slip out. This is a job you DON'T want to have to go back to, that's why twist ties are much better.

[mond12345]

I used the clear silicone with mine and they wont ever move!

[jezport]

Done mine. Just seem to have a gap around each light when I re assemble the lights.
What am I doing wrong?

[CougarGuy1802]

i did my headlights in the oven about 3 weeks ago, went fabulously. and they look sick! no angel eyes or anything yet, fogging isn't bad, headlights and brights on for 15 minutes clears it up whenever it occurs which is only right after coming out the car wash for some reason. i have many pics if anybody needs them as well. thumbs up for a great modification. especialy if your car is blacked out.

[chessie]

I know that this thread hasn't been read for a few months, but I was just wondering if I should have any problems getting my driver's side headlight back together. I pulled it apart (no oven, no heat, just tugged gently) to fix a crack and removed all of the glue so that I could replace it with new sealant so it wouldn't leak. I am starting to think that this wasn't a good idea...what kind of sealant would be CLOSE to the factory or (if possible) better?

[COOGAH]

Re: Headlights in the Oven!

Poor Nick

[Murdock]

I know that this thread hasn't been read for a few months, but I was just wondering if I should have any problems getting my driver's side headlight back together. I pulled it apart (no oven, no heat, just tugged gently) to fix a crack and removed all of the glue so that I could replace it with new sealant so it wouldn't leak. I am starting to think that this wasn't a good idea...what kind of sealant would be CLOSE to the factory or (if possible) better?
I would say, just use a good quality silicone sealant. It should work just fine.

[NightDragon]

why would you want to open your headlights?

[Excelcier]

why would you want to open your headlights?

That's a silly question... to modify them of course!

[sheldon729]

THE BEST STUFF TO RESEAL YOUR HEADLIGHTS WITH IS WINDSHEILD ADHEASIVE SEALANT ITS BLACK AND WOW IT SEALS UMMM AND STICKS SEARIOUSLY STICKS!!!! NO FOGGING OR LEAKING AT ALL!! HAHA The headlight would be coming appart anymore tho. I only found it at a body shop/glass shop