viguera

Alright, I've looked through every thread here dealing with it and I'm still too stupid to figure it out, so here's a new one...

I've been trying to replace the passenger side fog lamp lens on my W208, which almost turned to dust after a high-speed meeting with some debris. I've jacked the car to get some clearance, removed the plastic cover underneath and everything...

I can SEE the whole fog lamp assembly, I can TOUCH it, but I can't remove it... I've gotten as far as removing the black plastic backing (which I assume is used to replace the bulb?), but as far as removing the whole thing so I can change the glass, nothing seems to work -- and I obviously don't want to force anything and end up in much worse shape than I am now.

Any clear(er) suggestions ("look over there, pull that thingie" type of suggestion ), pictures, diagrams or pointers would be GREATLY appreciated... I'm tired of having to take the car to replace a fog lamp (or glass) and this is something that I can (can I?) do myself.

TIA

varainstructor

Are you dealing with the 320 rectangular configuration or the round 430? The housings are very different from one another. The lamp replacement in each is very simple. The housing replacement, which is the only way to replace a broken lens since they are both sealed units, can be a little more labor intensive but still very do-able in your own garage.

viguera

It's a 320... I can see the metal clips holding what's left of the old lens in place, and it figures there's some special way to remove the thing to replace it, but I'll be damned if I can figure it out.

scorchie

The lenses are replaceable.

You need to remove the bumper, then remove the two bolts holding the fog light to the bumper. After that, it is quite easy to replace the lens.

-s-

viguera

Thx scorchie... it sounds like it's more trouble than it's worth though. If there was a way to remove it from underneath then that's one thing... removing the bumper is just about too much work for me just for that. I'll probably bite the bullet and take it to the dealership...

Viet_in_a_clk

You don't need to remove the bumper.Jack it up on the passenger side,remove the plastic shield under the car(10 mm bolts)There are 2 clips pop them out carefully so you dont chip the bumper.Remove the old foglight lens.Its harder putting it back in but it will go in.The clips on the other hand are a pain in the ***.I only got one back in but its good enough.It took me about 30 mins to replace the passenger side lens.

Good Luck
Huey

scorchie

It's a lot easier to pull the bumper off to do this than to try and fiddle with getting the lens in or even worse, the clips back on. The first time you do the bumper might take a little longer, but once you've done it, it is a whole lot easier.

You only really need to pull forward on one side, not completely off... that will give you enough clearance to get in and remove the fog light. I am assuming you do not have a lift, because otherwise it would be easier to remove the fender well panelling to get under remove the fog light. If your car is low, it is difficult to remove the fender well panelling.

The two screws near the headlights have to come out, and the spreading-rivets and screws in the wheelwells (you can turn the wheels left and right to get access to the wheel wells easily). Also where the bumper joins the fender is a clip. On your car I believe it has a rotary clip that you can just turn to unlock. AMG bumpers have a T20 here instead. You also need to disconnect the fog light wires and the temperature sensor. Then there are two more nuts where the grill corners are... (remove one) and the one side of the bumper should slide forward.

Before removal you may want to have a friend to help hold it steady so it doesn't fall to the ground, and a place to put it so it doesn't get scratched, like on some fabric. Then you can easily unscrew the fog light and replace the lens.

If you had done it before, you could do it in 15 mins easily. So I suspect the first time will be 30-45 minutes, if you like to take it slowly to make sure it's done right!

-s-

viguera

You see, that sounds like a lot of work... I'm sure that it might not be, but for something like this, I have to figure out if it's worth my time (as opposed to somebody else's).

viguera

I tried that before, but no luck. I'm assuming you mean the 2 little rivet doodahs directly in front of the fog lamp itself... I removed them both and while the whole thing felt "looser", it still didn't come off -- I'm assuming that they do, and then I'd be able to replace the lens after removing the clips.

This is proving to be too much of a hassle though, and chances are that I'll just stop by the service place tomorrow and hope they don't try to charge me $300 to replace it.

wizkid

any update?

I have to change the glass on the driver's side fog light along with a new bulb.

I have a set of ramps and jack stands I am going to prop the front of the car up with.

Did you take any pictures?

Eric

www.installuniversity.com