Early this week my '87 developed lazy eye. The right side doesn't pop up at all. Other side fine. For now I cranked it up by hand and unplugged them both so they're just up all the time for now. My question is does my '87 have those self destructing bushings that I've read so much about? Is that the likely cause? Thanks in advance.

 

The answer is yes to the bushings.

I'm currently working on my '89 driver side which looks nothing like the prescribed "Corvette Fever" article outlining the replacement.

So as not to hijack your thread, I'm starting another.
Good luck.

 

i had a problem with my driver side one. I took the headlight connection and loaded it up with di-electric grease, then wrapped the crap out of it with electrical tape. Hasnt done it in about a year.

 

Thats a NEGATIVE. The 87 DOES NOT have those bushes. Thats 88-96.

 

I just replaced the bushings in my 89 a couple weeks ago. its not too bad.

Let me know if I can help.

 

Thanks, so is there a common problem with the '84-'87 I should zero in on or just break out my test light and start looking.

 

Do you have electrical power to the faulty side? Does the motor turn and not actually drive the assembly? I have honestly never seen the gears fail in an 84-87 assembly, a mate has an 84 and the ONLY thing that still works on it are the headlight assemblies. I have seen electrical issues, mainly in the plugs. Clean them, reconect them, and try them then, if one is still not working, wrap a towel around your hand and bang on the hood around the light, and if that does nothing, lift the hood and tap on the motor, you may need someone to turn the lights on and off for this, but if you set the light about half way up/down, it should go to where its ment to be as soon as it has power. Check all that and let me know where youre at.

 

http://members.shaw.ca/agent86/Headlight%20Doors.pdf

 

Thank you Agent 86 and Case. My usual proceedure with anything is take out a hammer and beat on it. I did bang on the hood and disconnect and reconnect the plug. I half way assume the gears are ok because it cranked up by hand easilly and smoothly. It doesn't make a sound when I pull the switch. It just quietly lays there. It was opening a touch slower than the other side for some time now. Thanks for the diagram. I'll study it for a while and have at it.

Thanks again guys.

 

this has happened to my 93 5 yrs ago. I went to the dealer they told me I need a new motor. I almost going to buy it. But $149? so I went to a friend who works at the Dodge dealer and I told him about the problem. He says I have a bad ground and it will caused this. So he unscrew the bolt that hold the ground wire and buffed off the paint and put the bolt and ground wire back. The head light work flawless ever since.

 

If you have no sound at all from it, and it was going slower, its electrical issues of some kind. If it wound up smoothly by hand and was tight at each end, (meaning it wont slip if you put more presure on it) then youre gears should be good. Did you try tapping on the motor housing with a screwdriver handle? The brushes in the motor may have something in them stopping them from making good contact with the comm. This is very very unlikely but everything is worth a try!!!

 

If a headlight doesn't go up or down, open the hood and try to turn the ****. If it suddenly rotates up or down, depending on which position the headlight switch is in, it's probably the limit switch or brushes in the motor. These contacts frequently get dirty, sometimes it's the limit switch contacts, brushes or the comutator that's dirty. Dismantling and cleaning is a good short time fix. Be aware of the so-called re-built units found on the internet for the early years. They aren't really rebuilt but rehab units. No one makes a replacement limit switch contact or comutator brush board. This is the part that is removeable but not replaceable and does wear out. The so called rebuilts are just motors that are assembled from mutiple motors so they work again. That's why they can warranty them for 30, 60, 90 days. Sure they'll work for at least that long. You can do the same thing to yours, clean them up. I cleaned mine up several times, they eventually just wear out the brushes and contacts and they can't be salvaged for anything but the armatures and comutators. If you have the correct voltages on all the terminals when up or down using the Helms to troubleshoot it, then the problem is probably the motors. Upgrading to the 88 and up motors is about $500+ but then you now have to deal with the bushings later.

Art

 

does anyone know where to buy replacement brushes? i cracked mine trying to get the damn comutator back in, i would like to get new brushes and the carrier as a whole ,, and not from the junk yard- thanks

 

As far as I know, they are not manufactured now or were even replaceable when the early models were new. You had to buy a new motor. Your only solution is to gamble on a used one, Ebay or forum, or get a so-called rebuilt. If any part on the board is broken or worn out then the entire component is history. You can get one from another motor. Sometimes you can get a motor that has a broken housing cheap.

Art