Headlight Gel
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From: Lubbock for now, headed for Oklahoma
Headlight Gel
Has anyone found the gel that goes in the headlight motors? I realize there are all kinds of replacements out there, but if my 94 motors and internals still work, why would I not just replace the gel.
They are slowing down and hang for a second now and then. It just seems that more than a decade later if this still works it may serve much faster and easier to just replace the gel...
They are slowing down and hang for a second now and then. It just seems that more than a decade later if this still works it may serve much faster and easier to just replace the gel...
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From: Fort Knox, KY
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I'm not aware of any "gel" per se. Sounds like your O.E.M. Delrin bushings have turned to powder and need replacing. I used white lithium grease to lube my internals when I replaced my bushings.
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I understood these where like the F-bodies and used a hard gel instead of a bushing?
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St. Jude Donor '05-'06
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From: Ft. Lauderdale Fl
Has anyone found the gel that goes in the headlight motors? I realize there are all kinds of replacements out there, but if my 94 motors and internals still work, why would I not just replace the gel.
They are slowing down and hang for a second now and then. It just seems that more than a decade later if this still works it may serve much faster and easier to just replace the gel...
They are slowing down and hang for a second now and then. It just seems that more than a decade later if this still works it may serve much faster and easier to just replace the gel...
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From: Fort Knox, KY
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This is what the Delrin bushings look like inserted within the gear. You can order them online from Mid-America Motorworks (MAM), Eckler's Corvette Parts and from other specialty parts houses.
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Joined: May 2007
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From: LA California
Gel
The description for the Eckler Corvette Headlight Repair Kit Item# 29304 reads as follows:
Inside the 1988-96 headlight motors is a gear which turns the lights. From the factory, the inside of the gear is packed with a special hard gel that turns the gear. As time passes, the gel deteriorates and no longer has the strength to turn the gear so it free wheels. Our headlight repair kit, consisting of 3 specially made Delrin bushings, replaces the gel and makes motors operate like new. One kit repairs one motor. http://www.ecklers.com/product.asp?pf_id=29304&dept_id=1476
When C4 owners who repair their headlights open up the gear cover, they see a granulated, powdery substance like this:
http://home.comcast.net/~zrjuan/head14.jpg
or this
http://www.corvettemagazine.com/2002/february/c4lights/light8.asp
This is what they look like when they are in relatively good condition: http://wagtail.home.att.net/extras/gel.jpg after 19 years in my ’90. Note that they have an elliptical shape with a flat spot on one side (which I colored in black. They measure .450 high, .507 across the wide part, and .452 across the flat part. IMHO I would not characterize their composition as gel. Rather I would say they are more like this http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=4299&ProductID=1432 91, Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) polyethylene.
Because most of the pictures in the headlight sticky have been pulled, you may want to refer to this site for pictures. The procedure worked like a champ for the driver’s side headlight on my ’90: http://home.comcast.net/~zrjuan/headlight.html. Note that the gear in the passenger side motor comes apart differently. On this side I had to insert a 5/32” drill through the hole and pull like hell to get it apart, similar to this: http://www.corvettemagazine.com/2002/february/c4lights/light8.asp.
Inside the 1988-96 headlight motors is a gear which turns the lights. From the factory, the inside of the gear is packed with a special hard gel that turns the gear. As time passes, the gel deteriorates and no longer has the strength to turn the gear so it free wheels. Our headlight repair kit, consisting of 3 specially made Delrin bushings, replaces the gel and makes motors operate like new. One kit repairs one motor. http://www.ecklers.com/product.asp?pf_id=29304&dept_id=1476
When C4 owners who repair their headlights open up the gear cover, they see a granulated, powdery substance like this:
http://home.comcast.net/~zrjuan/head14.jpg
or this
http://www.corvettemagazine.com/2002/february/c4lights/light8.asp
This is what they look like when they are in relatively good condition: http://wagtail.home.att.net/extras/gel.jpg after 19 years in my ’90. Note that they have an elliptical shape with a flat spot on one side (which I colored in black. They measure .450 high, .507 across the wide part, and .452 across the flat part. IMHO I would not characterize their composition as gel. Rather I would say they are more like this http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=4299&ProductID=1432 91, Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) polyethylene.
Because most of the pictures in the headlight sticky have been pulled, you may want to refer to this site for pictures. The procedure worked like a champ for the driver’s side headlight on my ’90: http://home.comcast.net/~zrjuan/headlight.html. Note that the gear in the passenger side motor comes apart differently. On this side I had to insert a 5/32” drill through the hole and pull like hell to get it apart, similar to this: http://www.corvettemagazine.com/2002/february/c4lights/light8.asp.
Last edited by chevylu; May 1, 2009 at 01:14 PM.
