headlight motor rebuild
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 142
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headlight motor rebuild
a few years back i rebuilt drivers side with the plastic gear. i read some into it and my thinking was this. this gear was put in as plastic as the weak point in the system. the worm gear on the motor is metal. this way if something goes wrong and the motor keeps running, the plastic gear with break. if you replace gear with a copper one, and something goes wrong the motor will burn itself up. the weak point is eliminated and the repair is going to be much more expensive. my passenger side is making the grinding noise, and the drivers side is stuck up. it will not go down on its own, or manually. what do you all suggest i rebuild them with, and is my train of thought incorrect. thanks
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 10,962
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From: Van Buren Arkansas
Wounded Warrior Escort '11
Regarding the driver's side, I'm suspecting something that happened with mine. My son had this car for about two years and he rebuilt one of the motors. What happened when I got it back, the one side would get stuck unless you turned the manual ****, just a hair, then try the switch again and it would magically work. It turns out, the motor/gear spacers in there, can be put back in wrongly. The metal bumper stops will ride up and over the rubber bumper causing it to jam, if the spacers are in wrong. I took a good look at things an figured it out, changed the location of the spacers and now it works just fine.
PHILLY JOE
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,683
Likes: 59
From: NAVARRE FLORIDA
The plastic gear is fine. I don,t no what year your vett is. But i belive in 99 0r 2000 the eliminated the screws on the side of the motor cover and they used eboxy to hold the cover on. It can be poped of easy but be carful not to pry to hard. Clean it good and after gear replacement epoxy it back on. Also be careful of the spacer shims. They have to go the way they come off. Joe
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2007
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ive got a 2000. the cover to the motor does have screws so makes job a little easier. ive spun the manual **** and its not doing a thing. im just going to pick up 2 plastic rebuild kits and open them both up this weekend. ive got the wire in my hid headlights while im in there anyway. thanks for info.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,152
Likes: 890
From: South Western Ontario
The original ones in my car went 100k miles. So, I picked up a new plastic gear for <$10 and changed it. The bolt together housings make it pretty simple to do. If you don't know, the gear can be bought from Dorman bubble packed as a HELP part for cheap. I can pull out the extra gear I have and get the p/n if you need it.
Peter
Peter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 807
Likes: 21
From: Los Altos CA
a few years back i rebuilt drivers side with the plastic gear. i read some into it and my thinking was this. this gear was put in as plastic as the weak point in the system. the worm gear on the motor is metal. this way if something goes wrong and the motor keeps running, the plastic gear with break. if you replace gear with a copper one, and something goes wrong the motor will burn itself up. the weak point is eliminated and the repair is going to be much more expensive. my passenger side is making the grinding noise, and the drivers side is stuck up. it will not go down on its own, or manually. what do you all suggest i rebuild them with, and is my train of thought incorrect. thanks
PHILLY JOE
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,683
Likes: 59
From: NAVARRE FLORIDA
The plastic gear is suppose to break. And 2000 is the year i thoght it was around that year. Great reponse. I think the plastic gear is is better than the brass. Too heavy. You want the plasic to go before the metal worm gear. Great job. Philly joe
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Tech Contributor
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From: Dyer, IN
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
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From: South Western Ontario
I think the headlight modules a range of currents where they shut-off. I've read of cars here that have stripped the brass gears fairly quickly, so those motors are seeing some decent torque to do that damage. My car has been good on the gears so I suspect it shuts off at on the low end of the current.
Peter
Peter
Racer
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 427
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From: Redding Ca
This has to be the first thread, I've ever read actually promoting the plastic gear
Many members here have including myself have replaced w/ brass. I know that I don't wanna do that job again.
Many members here have including myself have replaced w/ brass. I know that I don't wanna do that job again.
Last edited by 02koolC5; Aug 5, 2011 at 10:00 PM.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 10,962
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From: Van Buren Arkansas
Wounded Warrior Escort '11
The GM designers might have used the plastic gear in case of the headlamp controller failing and continuing to run the headlamp motor, therefore saving the motor by allowing the gear to strip OR they might have cheaped out to use a less expensive part from the manufacturer in order to save money. The plastic will bake and become brittle with time and heat, therefore "it will" fail eventually. No clue what was in their heads at the time and consider that it might not have been GM rather their subcontractor trying to save money for themselves too....
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,152
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From: South Western Ontario
It would likely be a cost decision. The plastic is a molded piece that is dirt cheap to make. The brass gears must be machined.
I didn't mean to imply that GM did the plastic because of the modules, but rather that some modules are likely harder on the gears compared to others.
Peter
I didn't mean to imply that GM did the plastic because of the modules, but rather that some modules are likely harder on the gears compared to others.
Peter
