Headlight issue
Thread Starter
2nd Gear
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Headlight issue
Howdy - just found out about this forum, so I am not sure if this question has been posted before.
Have an 89 - headlights will not go up - when they do, will not lock in place. In talking with the local Chevy garage - they claim the the little gear inside the motor(?) has worn out and should be replaced. Ecklers and Mid-America both sell replacements - one in plastic as original and also a brass gear - looks to be about 1-1 1/2 inch wide.
Has anyone come across this problem before and if it is the gear - how difficult to replace? - the local Chevy dealer would not give me a quote without brining in the car. Can a limited tool, limited intelligence mechanic (me) replace the gear without creating a major problem?
Any help deeply appreciated.
thanks in advance
Bill
Have an 89 - headlights will not go up - when they do, will not lock in place. In talking with the local Chevy garage - they claim the the little gear inside the motor(?) has worn out and should be replaced. Ecklers and Mid-America both sell replacements - one in plastic as original and also a brass gear - looks to be about 1-1 1/2 inch wide.
Has anyone come across this problem before and if it is the gear - how difficult to replace? - the local Chevy dealer would not give me a quote without brining in the car. Can a limited tool, limited intelligence mechanic (me) replace the gear without creating a major problem?
Any help deeply appreciated.
thanks in advance
Bill
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,510
Likes: 4
From: Austin Texas
Bill - welcome! 
Your headlight problem is very common to C4's. It is usually the plastic bushing's turning to dust or the main gear stripping. I have done this job more times than I care to mention, and it is not hard. With that said, it does take time and patience however. Take a look at this writeup, and then decide if this is a job you feel you can handle. Just don't let a "stealership" rob you for this work:
http://www.corvettefever.com/howto/33098/
Your headlight problem is very common to C4's. It is usually the plastic bushing's turning to dust or the main gear stripping. I have done this job more times than I care to mention, and it is not hard. With that said, it does take time and patience however. Take a look at this writeup, and then decide if this is a job you feel you can handle. Just don't let a "stealership" rob you for this work:
http://www.corvettefever.com/howto/33098/
Last edited by MikeC4; May 28, 2007 at 01:41 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,324
Likes: 5
From: Charlotte NC
I've done the job on mine, and just did a bushing replacement on a friend's car 2 weeks ago. It's easy, but takes time to remove the motor(s)...that can be a pain. With a few hours and a few dollars you can fix this yourself.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,473
Likes: 732
Welcome to the Forum. The same thing happened to the headlights in my 1990 coupe. I worked on just one headlight for over an hour and was just one step away from reaching the gear, but couldn't get the cap off. So, I took the headlight assemblies to a repair place and let them do the work. It saved me over $100 because the repair shop didn't have to deal with removing the headlight assemblies.
I had done half of the work.
Tip: I took a small pocket knife and marked the line up of the headlight assemblies under the hood before I removed them.
I had the Corvette repair shop replace the plastic gears with metal gears and install new bushings. They've worked beautifully for over three years and 25,000 miles.
Good luck.
I had done half of the work.
Tip: I took a small pocket knife and marked the line up of the headlight assemblies under the hood before I removed them.
I had the Corvette repair shop replace the plastic gears with metal gears and install new bushings. They've worked beautifully for over three years and 25,000 miles.
Good luck.
Thread Starter
2nd Gear
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Headlight issue
Hey guys - thanks for the info, especially MikeC4 - printed out the directives - may pick up the parts and take the car to a friend who is a fairly decent backyard mechanic and give it a whirl - cannnot be anyworse than it is now.
thanks again
Bill
thanks again
Bill
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 96,443
Likes: 9
From: Fort Knox, KY
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Check out the C4 TechTips section on this Forum, too. There are several great articles that tell you how to replace your headlight motor gears and bushings.
It's not hard, just a series of steps. Lay everything out on a white shop towel on your workbench and take your time.
It's not hard, just a series of steps. Lay everything out on a white shop towel on your workbench and take your time.
