Its just a headlight bulb..right?

[General Zod]

Treating it with what? I’ve tried a couple three things and nothing’s worked yet.

If the foggy texture is on the outside, something mildly abrasive like Brasso or even toothpaste will polish a lot of it out. Takes time, though. Use something like a scrap of newspaper to rub the polish in, then buff it with a soft cloth.

 

[mongoose]

View attachment 340043
Did the same on mine when we did some motor work and upgrades, Easier to pull the cab then the motor.

Buy a Dodge with a Cummins and you can change the injectors in a day with the body left intact. Also you don't

There are some things about my 2002 F150 that really bother me. Sometimes I think about selling it.

Y'all are convincing me I should hang on to it. At least when something goes wrong I can usually see what's broken.

Wish I'd never sold my 70 GMC. She was a mule that was easy to work on.

 

[Mowingmaniac 24/7]

Looky heah: A vehicle that needs a new head light?

Easy Peasy - Give it away and buy a new one...

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Treating it with what? I’ve tried a couple three things and nothing’s worked yet.

Google is your friend.

 

[Axxe55]

Google is your friend.

Plastic headlamp lenses are the problem.

 

[leVieux]

There are some things about my 2002 F150 that really bother me. Sometimes I think about selling it.

Y'all are convincing me I should hang on to it. At least when something goes wrong I can usually see what's broken.

My old 2010 F150 w/ 115,000 miles has been remarkably trouble-free. Only problem was once, the "master chip" went out at Winnie, I drove the 100+ miles to the Ford place in ElCampo, who kept it 3 days, then said they couldn't fix it & charged me $100. Drove it back to New Orleans in 3rd gear, got it fixed for another $100. It was a $3,400 repair. Believe this or not but the 12 year old truck is still under the Ford Factory extended warranty until 3/01/23 ! I've been looking at new, but don't like the stupid "stop-start" features.
Then, a Jeep would just die. Two Jeep dealers told me: Our computers say that there is nothing wrong, so there is nothing wrong. I'd protest: Just go drive it down the highway for 20 minutes & see what happens. "Sorry, we must trust our computers!" What a crock!

 

[BillM]

View attachment 340043
Did the same on mine when we did some motor work and upgrades, Easier to pull the cab then the motor.

Cadillac Northstar wants you lift the body up off the engine/trans frame to get trans out.

 

[BillM]

My old 2010 F150 w/ 115,000 miles has been remarkably trouble-free. Only problem was once, the "master chip" went out at Winnie, I drove the 100+ miles to the Ford place in ElCampo, who kept it 3 days, then said they couldn't fix it & charged me $100. Drove it back to New Orleans in 3rd gear, got it fixed for another $100. It was a $3,400 repair. Believe this or not but the 12 year old truck is still under the Ford Factory extended warranty until 3/01/23 ! I've been looking at new, but don't like the stupid "stop-start" features.
Then, a Jeep would just die. Two Jeep dealers told me: Our computers say that there is nothing wrong, so there is nothing wrong. I'd protest: Just go drive it down the highway for 20 minutes & see what happens. "Sorry, we must trust our computers!" What a crock!

When that happens it means they don't have people that know how to diagnose things.

 

[Sam7sf]

There are some things about my 2002 F150 that really bother me. Sometimes I think about selling it.

Y'all are convincing me I should hang on to it. At least when something goes wrong I can usually see what's broken.

Keep it Ben! The 2 valve aint that bad compared to engines now. You can rebuild it no problem.

 

[mongoose]

Keep it Ben! The 2 valve aint that bad compared to engines now. You can rebuild it no problem.

You can also buy a crate engine and swap it out.

 

[Texasgordo]

I thought my 2006 Dodge Ram was a pain in the ass with 2 bolts behind the grill and 1 nut that is accessed from the wheel well liner. Of course you need the elusive 10mm socket which is impossible to find when you finally need it.

Now I will admit that my parents 2005 Silverado headlights are the easiest to change. No tools needed just 2 pins at the top of the housings are removed.

 

[Grumps21]

I bought one of those headlight restoration kits at the auto parts store. They do work if the headlamp isn't too clouded up. Toothpaste works pretty good too.

I’ve used toothpaste. Didn‘t get them perfect because there were pock marked from 240k miles of rocks and sand, but did get the lights back to about 80%. Totally acceptable.

 

[Grumps21]

Absolute truth. Starting about 20 years ago, more and more cars were designed to discourage the owner from doing any repairs or maintenance themselves, and some have even succeeded in making it flat-out impossible. This is a strategy to drive revenue back to the dealerships. Most cars now, when you open the hood all you can see is a molded plastic engine cover that hides everything. Parts like the starter and alternator that used to be readily accessible are now buried below and behind the engine. My old Lexus SUV that my son now drives requires you to remove the right front tire and inner wheel well to access all of the pullies you have to wind the serpentine belt around if it needs to be replaced. The headlight bulbs are a little difficult to replace. The taillights? Once you remove the interior trim back there, there's about a 4x4" opening you have to reach into, apply force to turn the housing, and get new bulbs into.

These are not poor design choices or engineers who don't know any better. This is a concerted effort to remove our ability to do the work ourselves.

The transmission in my wife’s old Camry is sealed for life, and the fluid is supposed to last the lifetime of the car. I suppose lifetime is defined as whenever the transmission finally craps out. I did find a procedure to do it, but it’s rather involved and not something I wanted to tackle so I had the dealer do it at 150k miles. Damn near the same PITA factor on my F150. They did away with the transmission dipstick, so there’s no easy way to check the level or fill it without a lift.

 

[vmax]

It has been my experience that headlight restoration kits can make the lenses clear for awhile but they don't last and within a few months they cloud up again
I've been just buying complete new headlight assemblies that come with new bulbs installed

 

[Axxe55]

It has been my experience that headlight restoration kits can make the lenses clear for awhile but they don't last and within a few months they cloud up again
I've been just buying complete new headlight assemblies that come with new bulbs installed

Plus you have to do them before they get too clouded.

 

[General Zod]

It has been my experience that headlight restoration kits can make the lenses clear for awhile but they don't last and within a few months they cloud up again
I've been just buying complete new headlight assemblies that come with new bulbs installed

A lot of those kits wax the surface of the headlight, which fills in the roughness and makes them nice and shiny-clear again...until the wax wears off. Actually polishing the plastic is a longer-term fix and still a lot cheaper than a new headlight assembly.

 

[vmax]

A lot of those kits wax the surface of the headlight, which fills in the roughness and makes them nice and shiny-clear again...until the wax wears off. Actually polishing the plastic is a longer-term fix and still a lot cheaper than a new headlight assembly.

I'm talking about the polishing kits with abrasives and even the clear coat step

None one them seem to last that long

 

[mongoose]

I'm talking about the polishing kits with abrasives and even the clear coat step

None one them seem to last that long

the one I saw that lasted the longest used very fine wet sandpaper step and a clear coat finish.

 

[Vaquero]

We had a detail shop do a set of headlight lenses a few years ago.
They looked brand new when we traded last month.
Hunnerd bucks or so.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

I bought something off the shelf from Walmart.
It worked great.