So,
I took off at noon today. Came home and decided to get the headlights fixed. Stopped and got a $8.99 Turtle Wax headlight resotation kit and a $18.99 set of mini driving lights. Got home, put the car in the garage and went to work.
Leaned a piece of plywood up against the front of the RV for shade and dug in. Found the right driver tip to get the trim screw out and climbed up inside the front end. Turns out there are 3 bolts holding the frame in. 1 is a lag bolt that needs a 3/8" wrench to get it out. The other 2 are nuts requiring a 10MM (yep, 10mm) wrench for removal. After that, the trim, blinker and side marker light wiggled out.
The headlight itself is from a 95 ford F-150 pickup. I went to 4 parts stores, a dealer and a salvage yard to figure that out. The drivers side light was fine, just dirty and out of alignment. The passenger side has a broken adjuster bolt end. As you tried to adjust the the headlight up, the bolt just pushed into the headlight's socket.
Of course, no one in town has one. Dealer can get one for $20, that is the whole adjuster assembly. Used headlight with adjuster can be gotten (friend discount) for $30, but lense quality is not guarenteed. Came home empty handed.
I put the adjuster bolt back in, but let it rest against the piece in the headlight instead of going thru it. This way it will push the bottom out (aim up) for adjusting. I ran it all the way in to start. Put the trim pieces back on and bolted them into place. Used the headlight restoration glaze to polish the lenses, and it did a good job. Looks like they have been sanded down before. Will save the sanding part of the kit for a later date.
We did some packing for the weekend trip and let it get dark.
Turned the RV around (always fun) and parked it idling on a level piece of concrete. Got my piece of plywood out, sat it in front of the headlights and marked the center of the lights on the plywood with masking tape. Measured off and moved the plywood 25 feet away from the RV. Propped it against a ladder and started adjusting. The top line of the low beams need to be at the tape line on the plywood.
I had to climb up inside the front end again and turn the adjusters with a small cresent wrench (no adjuster tool). Drivers side was quick, but the passenger side took alot of turns to get it up to the mark. Climbed out from under and adjusted the new driving lights to hit just above the bottom of the plywood. Moved the plywood out of the way and got in the RV.
WOW, you can actually see the pavement in front of you. A click of the switch and the high beams come on, glaring down the expanse in front of you. Click the driving lights on and the whole world lights up. This was definately worth the effort. I knew they were way off adjustment, but I didn't realize just how far off they were.
Still needs aroad trip, this weekend, to do a real-world test, but I know I will be able to see well after dark. Best fix I've done yet!
Let the good times roll!!!!!!!!
Mike
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