OldNate

I bought a used depo headlight and the prior owner didn't seal it correctly so it leaked. How do I remove the lense from the rest of the depo headlight assembly to clean it? it seems like the lense is glued on by the factory sealant which we already know doesn't seal very well. Any help would be appreciated and thanks

raymond g-

what has worked for me....

Disassembly

a) Open back of Depo and remove all bulbs, hose. Sort/label parts carefully!

b) Heat convection oven to 200-250ºF. Turn off. We’re trying to soften
sealant, not bake the headlight.

c) Place Depo on cardboard, on cookie sheet and slide into oven for 10 mins

i) test to separate outer lens. If not easily removable, return housing to
oven and heat another 2-3 mins.

d) Remove and use wide, flat blade screwdriver to pry off clear, front lens.


understand that the goop inside the groove is sealant and adhesive. the
use of this stuff is uneven and may explain why it has the potential for
leaking. once heated, it softens and changes shape; it is somewhat reuseable.

but unless you're planning on pouring in more of same goop, it isn't wise to
rely on this stuff anyway. i'd utilize a multi layered approach and seal the
outside seam as well.



again, what has worked successfully for me.....

Resealing outer lens
a) Reheat headlight housing and clear, outer lens in oven to soften gray adhesive.

b) Carefully fit clear lens to headlight and hold together firmly for a couple of
minutes. (I placed the whole unit lens down on mattress and put some body
weight on it which I thought would be more even pressured.

c) Apply bead of windshield silicone sealant to perimeter of outer lens….at
juncture where clear lens meets housing. The windshield sealant is more
viscous and seeps deeper into the crevices.

d) After bead dries, follow up and reapply using thicker, RTV silicone
sealant. Bead doesn’t need to be pretty. The figure 8, rubber gasket will hide
it very well.

DO NOT make the mistake (as someone else has) and rest the clear outer
lens on fabric or microfleece towel etc while in oven. heated too hot and the
synthetic fabric might melt and leave imprint of pattern on clear lens.

Caution - too acidic silicone may result in fumes and cloud the clear lens, I've
read. keep area well ventilated, especially surrounding headlight assembly.

OldNate

oh boy.. that seems like a pain. All i want to do is clean the inside of the lense a bit =\\\

raymond g-

are you close to Zam? you really need to be careful not to scratch the reflector
/ plastic chrome surround. it is *very* delicate and doesn't take much to leave
scars. no alcohol, no solvents etc you can try using canned air, but other than
that, be careful (!!)

OldNate

Thanks Raymond, I tried taking it apart without taking the lense off but had no luck. There are small little pieces of bugs etc. in the inside of the lense which just bug me. I guess i'll just seal it and not worry about what is inside =\

zam2000

If you're in SoCal, you can drop it by my place, I'll do it all for you (open up, clean, seal). I will not charge you anything. Just give me few days to work on it.

If you have to ship, then you handle shipping both way (probably around $40 via FedEx), still I will not charge you anything

Just hope we all could help you to get your car back soon

OldNate

Thanks Zam, what i'm probably going to do is get the car completely fixed, and once the car is completely fixed, then get this done. One small step at a time I guess =\ Thanks Zam, it's nice to know that I have support