Part 1

From the desk of the Junkman, another how to for dummies!

First of all, is this what you hear (http://pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/headlight_noise.wav) when your lights go down? If so, then you've come to the right thread!

There are a couple of threads that show how to do this but what scared me about the job was the lack of pictures. Thus, I kinda blindly walked around the car and scratched my head until I figured some things out. After completing the job I also realized how many tips that I could pass on for us "not mechanically inclined." And so, I've created this super detailed version of the instructions for people like me.

Now there are two ways to do this. You can remove just the motor itself (which is a tough job for those with large hands), or you can remove the entire headlight assembly. I thought about doing just the motor but when I picked up the first Torx bit to see what size I needed, it conveniently slipped out of my fingers and into the headlight cavity. Great. It looks like I'll be removing the headlight assembly. This was the better decision in the long run because I also learned how to change my headlight bulbs, my fog lamps, and I found out where water was entering the running lights and blowing the lamps.

Whatever you do, don't take both headlight assemblies out at the same time. You'll probably need to look at the other one to see how the wiring is run behind the lights. If you don't run the harness exactly as it is installed from the factory, then you won't be able to put everything back exactly as it was. Plus, you could end up chopping the harness in half when the lights go up and down enough times. That advice saved my butt big time on this job.

With that said, dial up users beware. Lots of pictures!

Important Note: This write up contains instructions written for and performed on the passenger headlight. The driver's side headlight is almost exactly the same with the exception of one less harness that you will need to unplug. You will see that harness and a note to the same further down in the instructions.

Let's Get Started!

The main secret to this fix is to fix it right away! As soon as you hear that dreaded jack hammer going off under the hood, you need to get the gear(s) ordered and take Saturday off to fix it. I got my gears from Brent Franker and here's why. Other gears being sold require you to re-use the rubber insert inside the gear housing.

http://pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/gears1.jpg

Brent's gear is not hollowed out like the stock gear is and thus does not require the re-use of the rubber insert. This is good because I've seen pictures posted by a forum member where the rubber insert was all chewed up. Since you can't buy the rubber insert by itself, you're kinda up a creek unless you have a gear like Brent's. You can learn all about his gear and order it at http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/headlightfix/index.htm. This same gear fits the 1993 -2002 Firebird but trust me, it also fits the C5 Corvette headlight motor perfectly.

Tools

The tool list that you'll need is not that long. You will need a 10mm deep socket, preferably a quarter-inch drive and ratchet. You'll also need a Phillips screwdriver and a small flathead one too. There is another standard socket that you'll need but I can't for the sake of me remember the size. I think it was a 1/2 inch, but don't quote me on that. It doesn't have to be a deep socket though. You'll be able to figure it out when you get to those bolts. The last thing is a T-15 torx bit and some clamps

http://pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/popeye.jpg

The first thing that you'll need to establish is whether or not you have "Popeye arms". If you do, you're going to have to access the headlight mounting screws from the bottom of the car. That's a little more work. Here's how to tell. First, open your hood and raise the headlight that has the stripped gear. If you are addressing this problem early enough, you can simply turn on your headlights. If not, you'll need to crank the offending headlight up manually. To do this, remove this cap if it is still on the headlight motor (the headlight motor is located just to the side of the headlight).

http://pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/headlight_motorcap.jpg

Next, you will need to crank the headlight to it's fully up position. You can do so by turning the knob on the back of the motor. Counter-clockwise for up, clockwise for down. It may take a few turns before you see the headlight begin to rise so just keep cranking away.

http://pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/motor_crankknob.jpg

If the knob is hard to turn, then you've reached the fully up or fully down position.

IMPORTANT! At this point, you should disconnect the power to the headlight. I have read a couple of post where guys have had their hands "ate" by these headlights and they said it was really painful, days later. Don't take a chance. Unplug the power to the headlights. This will also be the very last thing you plug up at the end of the job.

Here's how: Locate the connector in the pictures below.

http://pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/headlight_power.jpg

This is what I mean by seated and unseated in the pictures. There is a small tab that holds the power connector in place. Removing the power connector or unseating it from that tab is pretty easy. Once you get everything put back together, re-seating the connector is a major pain! I spent 20 minutes bent over the car trying to line the connector and that tab up. My back was hurting when I finally got it connected. Well, I'm going to tell you how to avoid that fiasco later.

Those connectors always confuse me as to how they separate so I also included a picture above of what it looks like once you take it apart.

Here's that tab I'm talking about:

http://pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/headlight_powertab.jpg

Once the headlight is completely raised, you'll need to remove the 3 Phillips head screws that hold the black trim on surrounding the headlight.

http://pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/trim_screws.jpg

The 3rd one is hiding in the back.

http://pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/trim_screws2.jpg

Now that you have removed those screws, the black trim should slide forward and off the car. There a piece at the top of the headlight that helps hold it on. You'll need to work the trim off of that piece in order to remove it. Check out the picture below.

http://pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/trim_clip.jpg

Now here's a tip for those of us who seem to have parts left over after the job is complete. Take the 3 screws you removed and place them back into the holes that they came out of. You can put them back into the headlight assembly or the black trim (if you put them into the trim, tape them in place with masking tape). This way, you'll know which screws go in which holes when you go to put everything back together. Talk about a life saver...if there are more than 2 screws, I'll forget where they go later.

I also removed the painted headlight cover so that it wouldn't get scratch up during the repair. It’s easy to do. There are 4 T-15 Torx screws that you remove and the thing pops right off. Two in the back and 1 on each side. You can see the two in the back with the headlight raised. You'll see the ones on the side once you remove the black trim. Remember to place the screws back in their respective holes during the repair!

Now here's where you find out if you have Popeye arms. Here's a picture of the headlight cavity with the headlight assembly removed.

http://pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/headlight_cavity.jpg

If you can get your hand into the cavity and touch all 6 of the bracket nuts and bolts, then you don't have Popeye arms and you should be able to remove all 6 nuts and bolts without raising the car and going in from the bottom. Note: C5 models earlier to mine (2001) may only have 5 bolts holding the headlight bracket onto the car. Removing the hood stop post will give you a little more room if necessary. As you can see, I didn't have to remove the hood stop and although it was a tight squeeze, I didn't have to go through the bottom of the car either. Lucky me! If you do have to remove the hood stop post, be sure and mark it somehow so that you know how far to put it back in during reassembly.

If you do have to go in from the bottom, here's a photo that may help you figure out which screws to remove. Yea, there's that stinkin' Torx bit.

http://pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/bottom_cavity.jpg

Once you get the bolts and nuts removed, you're almost ready to lift the assembly out of the car. However, you'll first need to disconnect an additional harness. Here's a picture:

http://pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/headlight_harness.jpg

MCGiles pointed out an important fact about this harness that I didn't know. This harness is for the headlight door control module and is only located on the passenger's side of the car. It controls both headlights. The diver's side headlight will not have this harness! Good call Giles!

Here's what you should be staring at now.

http://pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/headlight_assembly.jpg

Part 2 of this DIY can be found by clicking this link (http://www.smokinvette.com/corvetteforum/showthread.php?t=8271).