Sticking Headlight

[w2op]

My 1984 has a driver's side headlamp that sticks open. After turning the lights off, the right side closes but the left , 90% of the time,needs to be physically coaxed to close by pushing on it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.Mike

 

[hotshotzny]

i have the same problem... i ordered a new set of gears from mid america and just have to take the time to replace them... does yours do the same crap mine does and work fine in your driveway but screw up everytime there are people around checking out your car as you pull in! mine does it every time!!

 

[w2op]

exactly! whenever I am showing it off, it sticks, in the garage works fine.Thanks for the reply let me know how the gear replacement works out. Thanks, Mike

 

[hotshotzny]

glad im not the only one...spent HOURS the other day shining it up and when i pulled up to my bar in front of about 10 guys on bikes with them all staring the damn thing stuck open! ad

 

[J Brennan]

Hey Guys! Im not saying this your problem but most headlight problems are due to failing bushings. Right now for a great price you can purchase them on ebay Item number: 360141110614. Enough for both headlights There are threads on this site that will make instalation fairly easy Id like to add that early c4s do have a wheel gear with teeth around the edge. When they begin to wear out you will get the same problem.

 

[Oldskool153]

i changed the bushings on my drivers side 88 because it was doing the same thing, the bushings are $5 a set and take roughly an hour to install yourself, corvette enthusiast has a step by step article with pictures on how to change them, i followed the article step by step and had it finished in about an hour. (google the article) Again mine is an 88 so i dont know how dofferant that is from an 84, but I do know that corvette central has a kit to switch the 84-85 style motors to the more reliable 88-96 style for a fairly reasonable price...I hope I helped out some, if you have any questions let me know.

 

[Norsky4360]

Had a similar problem on "The Beast" as the left light would not rotate to full open and then would flop about while driving. Bought new nylon bushings for both sides and followed the CE article. All that was left of the bushings was dust on both lights - they work perfectly now.

 

[hotshotzny]

is there link tot he article in ce..... i cant seem to find it

 

[J Brennan]

To Oldskool & everyone repairing lights. Plan on doing both lights. Over the years, approx. 15/20 the plastics composition breaksdown plus how often vehicle is driven at night. If one is failing the other is not far behind Check this out. This will make the job "a walk in the park" http://home.comcast.net/~zrjuan/headlight.html http://home.comcast.net/~zrjuan/headlight.html

 

[Oldskool153]

you can fix both, i only chose to fix what was broken, my other hedlight still works perfectly so if and when that breaks ill fix it at that time.

 

[w2op]

Thanks everyone for the replies,im going to order the gear/bushing replacement kit and see what happens. Mike

 

[J Brennan]

Im sorry if I ruffled a feather or two. Fix what you want, But the other headlight will go soon & buying two kits now will save money:bash Maybe this message is for those who are interested in preventive maintenance & embarassment at our coming up summer cruises

 

[Oldskool153]

lol no feathers ruffled, were all family here. Im jus saying that my other light still works perfectly with no motor noise or the slightest sticking

 

[J Brennan]

Yes WE are all family Thanks The Best

 

[Norsky4360]

you can fix both, i only chose to fix what was broken, my other hedlight still works perfectly so if and when that breaks ill fix it at that time.

I was originally only going to fix the left light as the right one was working fine. But as long as the hood was open I figured I might as well fix the right one as well.

After opening things up I was surprised that the right light was working at all...!!! All that remained of the nylon bushings was dust, just like in the left light. Glad I decided to fix it and not wait for it to fail.

 

[Paul Higg]

Sounds like you need to do the Delrin bushing mod. Eckler's sells 'em. Ask the Junk man, like he said, most of us have worked on those headlights so many times we can do 'em hung upside down, drunk, blindfolded and using just our toes.

Do a search here for Delrin and you will find reams of info on how to do it. I even had a machinist friend machine new metal bushings that go in the horseshoe brackets and they run in synch and are perfect now. What I found when I took mine apart was sinful. Some clown put two each nuts glued together with gray silicone in each corner in the light motor for a total of 12 nuts. What a mess!

Lemme know if you need help, I have a full folder on my computer of files that cover lights.

Paul