Headlight screws/clips/ugh

[magnj]

So I went to get the pwny inspected a few weeks ago and failed, because my headlights are jiggly. I managed to get the passenger side all tightened up but the driver side is another issue.
Long story short, the damn screws that clip into the headlight assembly have come loose so they spin freely, not a problem except these 2 particular screws still have nuts attached to them. How the hell do I get the headlights off without just maning them out.
Right now I'm driving around with a failed inspection sticker and I'm passed the 45 days(I'm lazy and poor) and I'm not going back until I know I can pass. Right now I'm looking at buying a new headlight but I feel like this should be an easy fix.

 

[spoulson]

Do you have aftermarket headlight housings? OEM will have Ford molded into the back side. Aftermarket reproductions have a couple rubber vent tubes on the back.

I found that the aftermarkets have more slack in the fitment after you snap the clips on. I haven't found a solution to this. I'm curious to hear if anyone else has a workaround.

 

[magnj]

No I'm talking about getting the Ford OEM pieces off so I can reattach the screws to the housing with the clips.

 

[bynummustang]

Must suck to live in an area where you don't personally know the shop.

JB and call it a day.

 

[87GT Drop Top]

Goop

 

[magnj]

Must suck to live in an area where you don't personally know the shop.

JB and call it a day.

Free state inspections, tried the private option once. A friend said they would refer me to a place that'd pass me. $80 later I failed for metal pedals, windshield wipers, tires.

I did consider the option of wedging something in there so it doesn't move around but I was hoping someone has run into the same issue.

 

[spoulson]

I'm confused how this can't be fixed with either a new headlight bracket or housing, depending on what screw you're talking about.

 

[SMOKEDYA]

WTH do you live that does that thero of an inspection? Never heard of that inspection? peace

john

 

[magnj]

I'm confused how this can't be fixed with either a new headlight bracket or housing, depending on what screw you're talking about.

The easy solution is order a new headlight, but that still requires me ripping off the headlight that's on there now. I'll go out and get a picture.

WTH do you live that does that thero of an inspection? Never heard of that inspection? peace

john

Thanks for the input.

 

[magnj]

So these are the screws holding the headlight to the car. The nuts are rusted on to the screws.

And this is one of the clips that hold the screw into the headlight. This one is in just fine, others are missing or disconnected. This allows the screw to spin freely in the headlight assembly making it impossible to get the nut and the headlight off the car.

If I could get it off it's be as simple as getting new clips and tightening up the headlight. But right now they are all loose and the headlight bobs up and down when driving or if you pull on it with your fingers.

 

[jrichker]

The screws have a hex shank that you can use to hold the screw still.

Headlight replacement cautions:

It took about 7 days to get the lenses, 20 minutes per side to install all 3 lenses and forever to try to align them.

I drove around for several days with the driver’s side headlight scanning the upper branches of trees for squirrels, owls and UFO’s. The headlight lens had extra slack between the retaining clip and the screw head which allowed the lens to shift around. Fixed that with some small washers between the screw heads and the bottom of the mounting hole. I would recommend that you find 2 extra adjustment screws per side - they are the ones with the hex ends on the end of the screw where it sticks through the mounting plate. That may help the alignment problems, as the stock setup only allows adjustment with 2 screws, and is hard to adjust in and down at the same time.

If you bought Genuine Ford headlights, the adjustment will be easy. If you bought reproduction headlights, they will be very difficult to align properly. I bought reproduction units the first time, and my headlights could not be aligned: they would shine up in the trees and across the road. I even had all 3 screws set up as adjustment screws.

The set of headlights I now have say "Ford" on them and they seem to line up properly.

The adjustment screws are upper inside and lower outside screws. If the headlights were re-assembled properly, they will have a 5/32" hex on the screw. You can use a 1/4" ratchet with a 5/32" socket. The upper screws can be reached with the hood up, while the lower screws may require you to lay on the ground in front of the car and reach them from the bottom.

To align the headlights, find a level spot with a wall 25-30 feet away. Put a fender cover over the driver light and align up the passenger light so that the light pattern is slightly below of the actual centerline of the headlight. This is to illuminate the right hand side of the road.

Uncover the driver light and cover the passenger light. The driver light should be aimed so that the light pattern on the wall is inward about 6" and slightly below the centerline of the headlight. This keeps you from blinding the oncoming cars.

Covering and uncovering the headlights helps to show which headlight is shining in what direction. Reproduction headlights may shine in several directions at the same time, making it very difficult to align them if both lights are on at the same time.

 

[magnj]

The screws have a hex shank that you can use to hold the screw still.

That was exactly the tip I needed thanks! Unfortunately whoever put the headlights back together used some of the originals and some new screws. Of course the ones with rusted nuts are different screws with no hex at the end. And there is no room to get a pair of pliers on them AND a wrench for the nut. Lovely, god damned hillbilly PO.

 

[Repostyle]

Your first pic shows the nut that holds the headlight in, your second pic is of the adjustment screw, There are three nuts that hold the headlight in the housing. It's probably the adjustment screw that is adjusted too far out and is only pushing on the headlight rather than holding it in place. Screw it in 2-3 turns and it should have very minimal play when the threads catch.

 

[magnj]

I tried tightening the loos screws (as duh as that sounds) but if they are supposed to thread back in I can't get it to work. I'm just going to go try and get it inspected anyway, I'll try a different station. I would like to get them adjusted properly in the future so I'll keep working on the issue but the main problem atm is having a legal vehicle.

 

[MahFiVeOh]

You should be able to snap those clips off with some needle nose pliers.Then you will be able to see the end of the adjustment screw, it has a slot at the end of it where the clip will sit in.You just need to tighten or loosen the adjustment screw to where you see the slot then snap the clip back on.Make sure you put the clip on the correct way, one of mine were backwards from the "factory" causing my light to move back and forth like you described. In the meantime soak those rusty nuts with some penetrating oil.