i was told that on my 1978 vette the reson 1 of the lights wont go up is because there is a leak in the house....its getting on my nerves that i need to go ut and pull it up, anyone that can help that would be awsome as how to fix this

thanks 18 year old corvette driver woohoo

 

Certainly a leak in the hose is a possibility, but there are others as well. There could be a leak in the actuator diaphragm, there could be a leak in the seal at the actuator, you could have a bad valves elsewhere in the system.

check out this site http://www.vetteweb.com/tech/0212vet_intothevoid/
or this http://www.corvettemagazine.com/2002...acuum/vac1.ASP
and finally http://corvette-101.com/ (click on vacuum troubles)

 

I fail to see how a leak in your house could have anything to do with your headlights. :confused:

:lol: :jester :p:

 

Corvette Central, P.O. Box 16 Sawyer Michigan 49125 put out a great booklet. "Troubleshoothing the 1968 to 1982 Corvette headlights and wiper door vacuum systems". It is full of good, useful information and diagrams. :thumbs:


[Modified by vsbkv, 12:48 AM 12/10/2002]

 

hey guys thanks for the quick replys from what ive seen i dont think i can fix the problem myself but it never hurts to try

 

another guy you might want to talk to is Cali77-L82 - he just went through the whole headlight thing and I'm sure he would be more than willing to talk you through it - it is not all that difficult but probably requires at least a vacuum pump for proper diagnosis.

 

My guess would be the actuator seal. That's what I did. It's rather simple to remove. I am about the same age as you and did this myself. I have a friend who goes to Riverside, and if you want, I'll teach him how to do it and have him teach you sometime, otherwise, I'll give you my best tutorial.
http://www.corvettemagazine.com has a great walkthrough.

1. Remove the vacuum hose at the back of the actuator (you can see it with the hood lifted, in front of the rad).
2. Remove the vacuum hose at the front of the actuator.
3. Lift the headlamp assembly manually.
4. Pull off the 2 springs which attach to a pin that heads through the actuator shaft's clevis.
5. Pull out the cotter pin on the clevis pin.
6. Pull out the clevis pin.
7. With the hood SHUT, compress the actuator shaft and wiggle it out towards the center of the car. Open the hood, and very CAREFULLY, VERY CAREFULLY, VERY VERY VERY CAREFULLY, pull the actuator out from between the nose and hood. (Don't scratch. YOU MUST BE CAREFUL!!!!)
8. Remove the clevis from the actuator shaft by unscrewing it.
9. Remove the dust boot. Just rip that sucker off.
10. Remove the seal retaining ring... use a small pair of jeweler's screwdrives to gently pull the clamps off the side.
11. Remove the original seal.
12. Coat the shaft with WD40 and carefully thread the new seal back on.
13. Reattach the seal retaining ring, clamp it down by pushing the clamps back in.
14. Put a new dust boot on, tuck the bottom under the seal retaining ring.
15. Put the clevis back on, and tighten down all the bolts you loosened previously.
16. I used a ratchet extension for this, stuck it through the holes that the clevis pin goes through, and raised and lowered the headlight to make sure fit was right. If the headlight is too high, tighten the clevis more (there is a limit, of course.) If it is too low, loosen the clevis. When this is done, reattach the cotter pin, and the two springs. (Yes, it's just as big a pain in the butt this time as before, actually, worse.)
17. Reattach vacuum hoses and test headlamps.


That's what my seal looked like when I pulled it out. (Coupled with my sexy hand.)

YOU CAN DO THIS YOURSELF! IN UNDER TWO HOURS! Trust me! It's fun! :)

-Steve

 

If all else fails you can have a dealership (oooo - I said a dirty word) fix it for you. Costs about $300. Good luck!

 

Also an 18 year old, and I don't have alot of car-work background. Don't give up so easy! My headlights are slow and uneven rising, so I'm think I'm going to have to start some diagnosis soon. Get yourself a vacuum pump at NAPA and let the healing begin!

good luck,
Chris