Headlight door

[unleadedbrew]

My left headlight door doesn't lay flat and tight when closed. Has about 1/8" play to it. Could this be worn out gears? Even comparing it to the right side, I can not find the problem. It works OK, it just looks like poo-poo/ca-ca when closed.


Gordon

 

[corvetterider84]

I have the same problem with my 84. Its like the door isn't flush with the hood when closed, but opens and shuts on command. Anyone have any ideas??

 

[Vettefan87]

Yes i have the same problem with mine it is like the headlight closes a little to far and it is not flush with the hood. Is there anyway to adjust this?

 

[plumcrazy]

dont know if this will solve your problem or not but
i was replacing my headlights the other day and
noticed that there are shims underneath the headlight
door mounting tabs on my 85 to make it sit nice and
flush and i believe what is an adj. travel stop bumper.
one of the areas might just help you guys out

 

[84 Cherry]

Yes i have the same problem with mine it is like the headlight closes a little to far and it is not flush with the hood. Is there anyway to adjust this?

Yes, there is a few ways to adjust the doors. I just did a full gear rebuild and found this out the hard way. If it is out of adjustment on the top and bottom then you can adjust the stopper that is located at the top of the housing when the hood is up and the lights are off. Just unplug the motor (Gray 3 prong harness in the wheel well). Screw the knob on the bottom of the motor to open the headlights manually, once they are open enought adjust the stopper screw to the right spot and then reverse the steps. If it is only off on one side it is a bit more time consuming but still very simple. Follow the steps above except for adjusting the stopper screw. So once you have the headlights open about 1/4 of the way take the upper housing off. It has to 10mm? bolts and 2 hex head screws. The hex heads will be on the outside of the hood. Once that is off take out the headlight and you will then have 4 more bolts that actually hold on the flat cover that should be flush with the hood. You need to losen those 4 bolts and them adjust the cover however you need to. Once that is done just reverse the steps and you are done. It took me about 15 minutes per side to do it start to finish. Hope this helps.

Solomon

 

[unleadedbrew]

Thanks, Solomon..........Gonna start the process now.

Gordon

 

[unleadedbrew]

Well, youse guys, I think I have deduced what my droopy lid problem is and it may or may not be the same problem you have. In my case, when I use the manual open and close knob, it continues to turn even after the light is closed. The other side tightens up once the lid is closed. Worn out gear? Seems like it to me. The only problem I have is that I downloaded the instructions and pictures from CorvetteFever, for changing out gears and it says that the motor housing should not be disassembled from the gear housing at any cost. It says that it can be put back together but it's not a fun job. Oh Joy, Oh Joy! I'd like to find a cutaway of that housing to see if there's a gear in there or how it's connected to the gear housing. Anyway, that's where I stand at the moment. Check that knob and see if it tightens up. If not, well.............

Vettefan........Seems like all you need is to adjust the stop if it's going too far.

Thanks all,
Gordon

 

[rrhayden]

It is not a difficult job at all. I just did my 92's and it only takes a couple of hours. If your is like a 92 the motor has a worm gear that mates with a plastic gear. The plastic gear slopps over a metal casting with the output shaft pressed into it. There are 3 plastic pellets inside that transfer the torque from the plastic gear to the metal hub. The normal failier is the plastic peller a 3 dollar fix. In my case it was the fit between the shaft and the metal hub, the splines had warn the hub. I used JB weld to secure them together and no more mr winkie

 

[unleadedbrew]

Thanks, rrhayden.......The '87 and older don't have the pellets, instead they have a large and small gear. The job seems simple enough (I have pictures, heh, heh). I'm just trying to make sure that it is those gears and not something else. I don't know, but I would guess that there is a worm gear or something from the knob on the manual control, down through the motor housing? mating with a gear in the gear housing. I'm probably making more of this than needs to be, but I don't want to start tearing it apart until I have my you-know-what together. Since that's all that is sold to rebuild the thing, I'm sure the gears are the problem. Can you believe, 40.00 for 2 plastic gears. I'm in the wrong business. :eyerole


Gordon

 

[unleadedbrew]

I used JB weld to secure them together and no more mr winkie

I'm beginning to believe that JB Weld is right up there with duct tape for keeping the world functioning.

 

[84 Cherry]

Well, youse guys, I think I have deduced what my droopy lid problem is and it may or may not be the same problem you have. In my case, when I use the manual open and close knob, it continues to turn even after the light is closed. The other side tightens up once the lid is closed. Worn out gear? Seems like it to me. The only problem I have is that I downloaded the instructions and pictures from CorvetteFever, for changing out gears and it says that the motor housing should not be disassembled from the gear housing at any cost. It says that it can be put back together but it's not a fun job. Oh Joy, Oh Joy! I'd like to find a cutaway of that housing to see if there's a gear in there or how it's connected to the gear housing. Anyway, that's where I stand at the moment. Check that knob and see if it tightens up. If not, well.............

Vettefan........Seems like all you need is to adjust the stop if it's going too far.

Thanks all,
Gordon

If it continues to turn even once the door is at full open or closed then it is one of the 2 gears inside the motor. I replaced the 2 big gears on mine and it works fine now. Pulling the motor is a pain but it only take a few hours to do it.

 

[spyysee]

If you like JB Weld, you'll love Marine Tex, which is like JB Weld on steroids.
By the way, I looked in my Helms service manual and I failed to find the
poo-poo/ca-ca trouble shooting section!

 

[unleadedbrew]

If it continues to turn even once the door is at full open or closed then it is one of the 2 gears inside the motor. I replaced the 2 big gears on mine and it works fine now. Pulling the motor is a pain but it only take a few hours to do it.

Thanks again, Solomon.......Getting new gears right now.

Gordon

 

[unleadedbrew]

By the way, I looked in my Helms service manual and I failed to find the
poo-poo/ca-ca trouble shooting section!

After checking I notice it was only in the Preliminary Service Manual. Something to do with copyright laws.