I know this has been covered quite a lot but I have some questions before I tackle this DIY on the headlight motor gear.
I have read that the headlight assembly does NOT have to be removed to get to the gear and change it. Is this true?
Also, there is an issue about some C5 years having a "sealed" motor. My vette is a 2000. How does this affect changing the gear?

I'm not mechanically inclined so any help will be greatly appreciated! I did however, change the gears in both headlights on my C4 so there is hope!

Thanks, guys and gals!

Jerry

 

I just replaced mine and I did NOT remove the headlight assembly. Its a tight fit for wrenches, etc., but it can be done without removing the entire assembly. I would recommend removing the headlight cover though - gives you a bit more room.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...ight=headlight

Good luck!

 

Thanks, double-oh-coupe. See you around The Woodlands (Alden Bridge)

Jerry

 

I also recently repaired my headlights. I found that removing the rubber stopper for the hood helped quite a bit in getting your hands where they need to be. Be sure and leave the nut in the original position and you will not have to re-adjust it, just screw it back in until the nut touches and snug the nut down.

My car is also a 2000 and this was the transition year for the headlight motors. The early 2000s have the aluminum housings that can be unbolted, later 2000s have the plastic (mine) housing. Be sure and check before you order because the kits will be different.

 

Thanks,2000C5,
Mine is a late 2000 with the plastic. I just ordered the kit from Rodney.

 

Can you give me the link to wehere you bought this kit from, im about to do mine too.

 

www.rodneydickman.com

If you have a 2000 make sure you order the right kit, early 2000 or late 2000 makes a difference.

Jerry

 

I removed the headlight assy when I put my metal gears in. It's not bad, only a few bolts/nuts and the headlight harness and it pulls right out.

 

I have a 1999. How much was this kit?

 

including shipping it was $94.00 for two kits to do both headlights. The gears are brass not plastic.

 

Its cheaper here.... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/97-04...48025509QQrdZ1

 

It's the same place and same price. I got two at $43.95 ea plus shipping, came out to $94.00

jerry

 

If you remove the entire motor during the fix, make sure to note the direction the lift arm is supposed to go. I got mine backwards the first time. That makes for a very amused spouse - winking headlights (one up, one down).

Also, be careful when disassebling the motor. It is possible to loosen the worm gear portion which will make it have less contact with your new gear. This caused me to strip a brand new plastic gear. I ended up ordering a brand new motor.

chris

 

Also recently performed the repair on my 2000. You don't need to remove the headlight assembly nor the headlight cover, but the latter helps you see a bit better into the cavity. It's not as easy but with 2 10mm wrenches and patience you can get the motor out.

The motor case is plastic and comes apart relatively easily after carefully breaking the seam. The entire repair was easy and well worth it compared to letting dealer monkeys destroy your headlight cover and paying several hundred dollars for the parts and labor.

 

Thanks for the post. I'm going to tackle this thing. There are definitely two schools of thought on whether or not to take the complete headlight assembly out. We must have the same motor. Mine has the plastic cover also. I've done this before on my C4 and I have heard that the C5 is easier. I hope so! I'm no mechanic!!

 

What do you guys think about this procedure that was previously posted by another member??

Raise the headlamps.

Remove the screws that hold the plastic bezel around the headlamp.

Remove (3) 10mm bolts holding the motor to the headlamp assy. (one is a bolt with a nut on the end, the other two are just bolts)

Unplug the wiring to the motor.

Remove (3) 7mm bolts holding the cover for the gear.

Replace gear, reinstall.

Literally a 10 minute fix.

…it is completely unnecessary to remove the headlamp assy to pull the motor off to get to the gear

 

Sounds easy, i wish someone would do a How To on this with pictures, because im about to do the same.

 

Any advice on doing this job on the 2000 vette that has the "sealed" headlight motor? Mine is sealed and I think it is quite a different job.
I just received the new gears from Rodney with complete instructions and it looks very complicated!!!

 

Definitly not a 10 minute fix. It takes longer than that to break the motor apart, replace the gear and epoxy it back. You should probably figure on at least an hour (for both), not including the 24 hours the epoxy needs to sit before you can use your lights.

I didn't remove the assembly, but I did remove the plastic shroud around the light and the hood stops. I have big hands and this made it a lot easier to access. The motor is held on with three bolts, and a nut holding the headlight arm to the motor shaft (all 10 mm).

After you remove it, take a real small screwdriver and tap around the edge of the motor where the lid seperates. It doesn't take a lot of pressure to break the old epoxy loose. Replace the guts with the pieces in the kit, grease good and epoxy the lid back on. The kits now come with a brace that applies pressure to the lid to aid in keeping the epoxy from breaking loose after you put them back in use.

If this is a daily driver you may want to do this on a weekend as you will need 24 hours of drying time for the epoxy before you use your lights.

 

Best Gear from:

http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/headlightfix/index.htm

I recently performed this repair on my late model 2000. When I attempted to remove the motor w/o taking the assembly out the last of the (3) bolts holding the motor in hit the hood hinge preventing its removal. Also, when you remove the Motor/Actuator and separate it from the linkage the headlight unit will drop and lining it back up with the linkage will be difficult. I followed the directions in the GM Service manual and it was not that difficult. It took about 30 minutes each for removal and reinstall the assm. And about 10-20 minutes each for the removal and reinstall of the Motor/Actuator (not counting epoxy set up time).

I suggest the following:

Put the front of the car up on ramps (rhino ramps work w/ a couple of 2 x 4’s placed at the leading edge).

Remove the HDLP Maxi Circuit breaker #54 located under the passenger side foot board.

Disconnect the headlamp wiring harness for the appropriate headlamp.

Raise the headlamp manually.

Remove the headlamp bezel and headlamp cover. (Lower the headlamp assm. slightly to remove the two rear screws from the cover)

This is the ramps come in. Remove the front bumper close out panel on the effected side. This panel is directly under the headlamp. There are five 5/32 screws – easy to do. Don’t worry about the brake duct you can work around it.

Have a helper support the headlamp assm. Remove the two (2) bolts mounting the headlamp bracket to the frame. Then remove the three (3) nuts mounting the headlamp bracket the stud plate. Removing the three mounting nuts was easiest from underneath the car, and the two frame bolts can be done for up top.

Carefully lift the assm out of the vehicle; they have to clear the (3) studs extending from the headlamp stud plate. These studs also maintain headlamp alignment so realignment is not necessary after you reinstall the headlamp unit.

**Motor/Actuator – Take note of the linkage to motor relationship for reassembly.

Remove the nut retaining the headlamp assm pivot arm the headlamp motor.

Remove the three (3) bolts mounting the motor to the assm.

Do your motor repair and reverse the process.

Best of Luck! -- Ed