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DIY Bumper and Headlight Removal

210K views 175 replies 116 participants last post by  dcrouch 
#1 ·
I had a few people asking how to remove the headlights to clear them out...here goes

Quick run down.
There is one screw on each side in the wheel well, (looking at car on drivers side screw is at 10:00 position...2:00 on the passenger)



Remove the plastic cover that hangs over your grill via 4 pop off tabs




Remove 2 screws on top of grill I JUST NOTICED I CIRCLED THE WRONG ONE ON THE RIGHT...REMOVE THE BLACK BOLT NOT SILVER



Remove 7 of the pop off tabs under the bumper.




Remove 2 10mm bolts 1 at each corner of the bumper where it meets the wheel well on the bottom



Grab the end of the bumper and gently pull away from fender (it pops into place and will pop out with minimal effort)





Remove bumper from car. Set on something soft so the paint doesn't get scratched

If you have fogs remember to disconnect after you get the bumper a few inches away from the car


There are 5 10mm bolts holding each headlight on. They are the only silver 10mm bolts in the area. (1 on the side of the light nearest fender, 1 on top of radiator support, 2 under the inner portion of the headlight ( only 1 needs to be removed to get the light out but the other has to come off when you bake the light)and 1 where the end of the fender bolts to the rad support.) There is a rubber guide nipple on top of the light so pull the light downward to clear it of the alignment hole








I used the thread at fgcoupe.com for reference on how to take the lights apart themselves. FGcoupe



To take the lights apart you will need flat screwdrivers (2) and a torx bit (not sure on size)

Total time to remove, clear lights and replace was 1 hour and 45 minutes which includes a 25-30 minute trip to Home Depot to buy the torx bits I couldn't find

It really is quite simple. Just take your time and don't force anything. If it doesn't come off easy, theres another fastener somewhere

I used chrome amber bulbs # 3157 from www.autolumination.com Tail Light Brake Light Turn Signal LED Bulbs Took 4 days to arrive from NM



 
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#4 ·
heyy blaksi... i finished my project last night... tnx for the tips... looks nice... for now i used my white bulbs with blue tint on it coz i didnt wanna order the chrome lights yet... so ill stick with this one for now...
 
#7 ·
06blaksi said:
Nice!!! A job well done it really cleans up the front of the car....now you have 2 things for the cops...tint and bulbs :laughing:
yeah true lol... is it illegal to have a white turn signals?
 
#11 ·
wow Jace that looks awesome on GG! did you have to reseal it? What about the fear of moisture and water in the headlight? Thanks bro.
 
#13 ·
06CivEXJon said:
wow Jace that looks awesome on GG! did you have to reseal it? What about the fear of moisture and water in the headlight? Thanks bro.

uhmm i used the old sealant that came with the assembly... as long as u bake it agen when ur sealing it back together i would say ur all good... i cleaned my car like 5 times already n no moisture as of now...
 
#17 ·
:banghead: I am so frustrated. I finally gathered up the courage to do this and then I spent about 45 min trying to get the little pull tabs under the bumper out and the buggers won't budge. They pop but they don't come out. I wanna :banghead: Plus its starting to rain.AUGH! Any tips? I hate the amber. I swear to god, if there was an icon for a temper tantrum I'd place one right HERE.
 
#18 ·
atruhondagrl said:
:banghead: I am so frustrated. I finally gathered up the courage to do this and then I spent about 45 min trying to get the little pull tabs under the bumper out and the buggers won't budge. They pop but they don't come out. I wanna :banghead: Plus its starting to rain.AUGH! Any tips? I hate the amber. I swear to god, if there was an icon for a temper tantrum I'd place one right HERE.
relax...=p uhmm u need to have some tools especially a rachet extension... the black metal bar under the headlight assembly should be completely unscrew n the only way to unscrew the screw beside the radiator is to reach it with the rachet extension... it takes time to do this...
 
#20 ·
atruhondagrl said:
Thanks I'll take as many tips as possible on the DIY stuff. One of my buddies offered up his garage and tool box for this adventure. I think I'm going to knock out clearing the lights and Fog lights all at one time. This thread is a great help though!
black si posted a video of somebody doin it... it'll help alot... just ask us if u have questions... ill be glad to help
 
#23 ·
so, help me out here: to clear out headlights, wouldn't you need to have amber headlights only? Those headlights pictured look like they've been cleared out already...perhaps I'm just missing the point. Someone let me know if they've cleared out their sedan or coupe (not the SI)
 
#24 ·
suspect said:
umm silly question here. Do you have to put the light on a baking pan or strait on the rack? i didn't know if it would burn lines in it or not...Better to ask a question then **** up my only set of lights.:help:

Put them on a cookie sheet (baking pan) be careful as to how much of the light touches the pan or sides of the oven as anyplace that touches the light will be significantly hotter than the surrounding air. I did it so the mounting tabs were on the pan so if it did melt it wouldn't destroy the light itself
 
#25 ·
tomasro said:
so, help me out here: to clear out headlights, wouldn't you need to have amber headlights only? Those headlights pictured look like they've been cleared out already...perhaps I'm just missing the point. Someone let me know if they've cleared out their sedan or coupe (not the SI)
Si lights and DX, LX lights etc. are different.



SI light




After clearing


 
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