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I have this gap that has been on the headlights since i bought this car 5years ago i tried to play and figure out if could line it up/wiggle it into place from the blots in the hood but it wont budge please help
thanks
Yes. It is fairly easy. Might take a few tries to get it into the proper position though as there is a lot of adjustment room.
This is assuming that none of the attachment points for the headlight are damaged. There are 3 in total. 2 bolts are accessible from the top, and the 3rd one is just above the orange sidemarker, inside the bumper. Can you post a photo of the top of the headlight and attachment areas with the hood open?
If you know what you're doing, you won't even have to raise the car.
1. Remove the fender liner. 4 bolts and I think 6 push pins. The liner doesn't have to be completely removed. Just disengage it from the bottom of the bumper cover, such that you have enough room to reach into the space behind the headlight from the wheel well. Turn the front wheels as needed.
2. On the side with the loose headlight, unclip half of the grill from the bumper cover, and remove the fasteners attaching the cover to the actual bumper (1 or 2 screw, all from the top). Also loosen both top headlight bolts.
3. There is a long metal clip that holds the fender tight against the bumper cover. Reach into the wheel liner gap and remove the 1 screw first (located towards the back of the car). The entire clip then slides outwards towards the back of the car. It'll probably be jammed in there good thanks to years of dirt, but it will eventually move with a bit of wobbling. Before sliding it out completely, notice that there's a plastic liner piece on the metal (ie fender/upper) side of the clip. Understand how it goes back together. The way I remember it is that there is no metal to metal contact anywhere. The fender side has the plastic piece, and the bumper cover (ie lower) side does not.
4. Unhook the bumper cover from the fender. The bumper cover has a C clip attached (located almost at the front edge of the seam) that keeps the fender in place. Pull the front edge of the fender away from the car (ie towards the side of the car) to unhook. Be careful not to scratch the fender paint.
5. At this point the bumper cover on this side of the car should be almost completely "loose" from the car. The last thing holding it in place is a large round "nub" that doubles as the atachment point for the headlight. Pull this part of the bumper cover towards the front of the car to pop the cover off the nub. 5-10cm movement is enough. Once the cover pops off, the nub with the bolt in the middle will be exposed.
6. Loosen the bolt. No need to remove it completely. Once you've done this, the headlight can be wobbled into the correct position.
Reverse all the steps when done.
The nub bolt allows for a whole lot of adjustment room (3cm or so both horizontally and vertically) for the headlight. There is only a small section where the fit will be proper. Too high and the hood won't close (and the gap looks too small), too low and the bumper cover won't clip back properly to the fender and nub. At this point it's trial and error.
I'll be honest. It looks like the position of the other headlight is also off on your car. Was it in a front end collision at one point?
Good luck.
Last edited by slammer111; Oct 5, 2020 at 12:48 PM.
Looks like your passenger headlight is missing at least 2 of the bolts. See attached photo, and compare to your driver's side for reference. Dealership should have those bolts.
Try adjusting the headlights according to my instructions after you have the bolts. It actually might be easier to shift everything around if you loosen the bumper cover on both sides before trying this.
That whole front end needs a little "massaging". May be worth a couple hours labor at a body shop. Not trying to discourage you, but I think hood, fenders, bumper (maybe the radiator support) all need some adjustment to get you looking proper
Something is really, really wrong there. I'm wondering if whoever "fixed" the car may have used C55 fenders, or front clip, which are actually CLK fenders. The C55 had a longer nose to fit the V8 under the hood. No amount of adjustment will fix those gaps. Maybe some C55 headlamp assemblies will fit properly.
Something is really, really wrong there. I'm wondering if whoever "fixed" the car may have used C55 fenders, or front clip, which are actually CLK fenders. The C55 had a longer nose to fit the V8 under the hood. No amount of adjustment will fix those gaps. Maybe some C55 headlamp assemblies will fit properly.
I thought the same thing, at least about the headlights. Maybe someone did an HID upgrade with C55 lights which are W209/CLK parts. They both look more "laid back" than the W203 headlights, and of course the W203 fenders would be higher and more upright. Look for a part number on them and see if it begins with A203 or A209. Of course, the C55 part may still say A203 even though they are CLK parts (C55 front end part numbers are a mixed bag of both), but you can still Google the part number and see what comes up.
You could also go to mbdecoder.com and put in your VIN. It would say if the car originally had HID/Xenon lights.
The hood, grill, fenders, and bumper would all have to be changed to fit together and the seam line is different since the grill on an C55/CLK is attached to the bumper instead of the hood. Those are definitely W203 parts.
I wouldn't have lasted 5 WEEKS without that bugging the heck outta me.
Last edited by Spooky55; Oct 13, 2020 at 06:10 AM.
