What are the toque settings for the 2 headlamp bracket nuts that connect the headlights to the headlamp stud plate? I'm thinking of taking out the headlight to make the motor reinstall easier. I put in Brent Franker's gears.

 

Honestly dont know, but theres no rotation, compression, expansion or any type of stress on that connection, so I would imagine just "tight" is fine. If you're worried about it, use some thread locker and hand tight plus a quarter turn.

I mean you could look up general torque specs for the diameter and tread pitch of the threaded part and the fastener, but IMO it really doesnt matter there.

Good luck


Re-read your question, if you mean the two pivot bolts that pass through the plastic spacers and allow the rear of the headlight "bucket" to hinge as the lights go up and down, I still dont have a torque spec for you but I do know they do call for thread locker. Ive had mine in and out a bunch of times, put them back just "tight" with locker and no problems.

 

Yes, I did mean the pivot posts. Did you use thread locker on them when you put them back? Some forum members indicate that they are a bit difficult to remove the first time. Was that your experience?

Thanks!

 

Difficult?.....no....not difficult....just a #&^%%$&*&*%^ pain

Its not rocket science, its just that for some unknown reason instead of putting a regular head on the bolt so you could use a wrench on it, they decided to put a torx screw head on the inboard side. This coupled with the fact that the outboard side (with the nut at the other end of the bolt) doesnt leave enough clearance for you to get a box end on the nut (well at least niether of the two 8mm box ends I had fit between the protruding end of the bolt and the edge of the plate).

Sooo....I wound up having to use the open end side on the nut and a torx driver on the head of the bolt. They were.......gorilla tight. I had some rounding of the nut. A 90 degree angled torx driver might have made it easier, as well as a slimmer box end for the nut (both my sets are ratcheting box ends so they are a little thicker).

At any rate, its no big deal. Just work slow and they will come out (hopefully with little or no rounding). When you get the rear pivot bolts out, make sure you dont loose the plastic bushings they slide through (the hole in the bracket is slightly larger than the shaft of the bolt that passes through it, the bushing slips in the hole and allows the bolt to fit properly and rotate freely without imparting a torsional friction to the shaft of the bolt). Thats a lotta words but when you look at it its very simple.

And yes, I did use thread locker every time I reassembled them. After getting them out the first time I had no problem getting them out after that (Ive had them apart three or four times I guess).

One thing you might want to look at if you are going to remove the light buckets , is that the other (third) pivot pin, the one up front that passes through the arm that lifts the lights, is held in place by a friction ring (no freeking idea why they did this this way either). Its one of those affaris where the arm that raises the lights fits into a slot on the bucket, the end of the arm has a hole in it as well as both sides of the slot. The pin is smooth and has a head on one end (like a nail). It passes through the holes on the slot and the one on the end of the arm, forming a hinge. The friction ring slides over the smooth end of the pin (theoreticaly) preventing it from backing out.

When I first reassembled mine, I slid the pin back in and slipped the friction ring over the smooth end (looks like a lockwasher). I knew it wasnt going to hold. Sure enough it fell off as I drove and must be in the witness protection program now because I never found it.

I replaced the smooth pin with a conventional bolt with a head on one end and a nylon (metal outside, nylon inside) lock nut on the other. Works fine. Just bring the big silver pin to your local hardware and select a bolt that is the same length and diameter as the pin and is only threaded at the end.

It may seem like "a gawd aweful contraption" that you are hesitant to mess with for fear of messing the lights up, but its not. Its like a lot of things, once you've had them out and put back in, you will do it the second time in less then half the time.

BTW, prior to removing the rear pivot bolts, stuff a large towel in the space under the light (over the break duct you see at the bottom when you look in there). When you remove the rear pivot bolts the bucket will still be attached to the car by the arm in front. Unless you have three hands you will have to carefully lower the bucket down into the space below the lights normal position so you can get to the third pivot pin on the arm. You can rest it on the towel in there so you dont scratch anything up as you work.

Good luck

 

Thanks so much! I really appreciate the time you took to provide me such a thorough response. I feel much better about taking my light out now.

 

Save yourself the trouble and leave those bolts alone. You can pull the whole assembly by removing the 3 or 4 bolts that attach to the wheel well. Just remove the lamp assembly and you will see them under the lamp. If you manage to not destroy the threads on those pivot bolts you will still have difficulty getting them back on and not cross threaded. if these bolts aren't perfectly snug you will have jiggly headlamps. The factory puts a threadlock sealant on them and they are a pain in the *** to remove, let alone not damage. Mine cross threaded just trying to loosen them, and then they wouldn't retighten. had to buy used ones and replace them.

 

+1, I can take out the whole headlight assembly in just a few minutes it's very easy.

 

OK, you're talking about the method that service manual specifies, but that requires going in underneath I thought.

 

No, remove the lid then the black surround houing. Then you can get your hand in their and remove the nuts.

 

I see. I'll give that a try. Thanks!

 

If you do a search and look for" headlight removal procedure" you will find some write ups. Trust me once you do it you will be like wow that was simple. If you have big hands then it may be tuff but I don't so no issues for me.

Open the hood, remove the (2) T15 screws in the rear covers.

Turn on the lights and then disconnect the power cords.

Now comes the fun part with your ratchet. So stick your hand/arm in their and remove the (3) 10mm bolts behind on the triangle shaped bracket and the (3) 13MM bolts on frame and pull her straight up. Be carefull not to scratch anything so maybe putting some tape along the edges before may be a good idea.

If you are doing the passenger side make sure you disconnect two plugs on the headlight control module before removing.



Post 2 if you want a quick reference
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...iy-thread.html

 

I must admit that I've never heard of anyone cross threading on removal.

 

Exactly. No need to ever get under the car. There is a lot of room once you have the lamp out. Also if you haven't already use some WD40 on your adjustment rods, or they will snap off if they are frozen. Gently work them back and forth if you have to adjust the light pattern afterwards.

 

Well it happened and I'm the most cautious person when it comes to threading and unthreading. The factory may have messed up the threads before hand and the threadlock just made it worse.

 

Thanks to all!