Free baking and separating the housing, has anyone successfully (without shredding the lens or housing) removed the colored lenses on S4 taillights. I want to remove them to fix my taillights (black surround cracked) but I have yet to find anyone trying or successfully doing this. Thank you guys as always for your support

 

I have, but please don't disassemble those euro-spec lights. I'm looking for an intact set. The best method I've found for taillight disassembly is to use a hair dryer, two butter knives and a long flathead screwdriver. Heat it up at the seam, then carefully work a knife in and pry gently around while keeping the two parts separate with the other knife & screwdriver. Go slow and be gentle and it'll come apart nice and easy.

 

I have no choice. USPS broke the housings like a bunch of a*holes. I already separated the vert tails that I am going to put the lenses into, I just need to figure out how to pull the colored portion out.

This is how I got my package -_-

 

Looks like it wasn't packed properly. As for separating the lenses from the black surround, try my method. Works like a charm for pulling the lens from the lamp housing, so I see no reason it wouldn't work for extracting the lenses from the surround

 

To remove the housings I baked at 250 for 3 minutes they all separated in 1 piece and first try.

My boss used to work for GM and he said the lenses may have been sonic welded in which case I'm screwed because there's special tools to remove them /:

But I'll give the heat gun and knives a try soon

 

Be careful using a heat gun, they put out a bit too much heat for these applications. A hair dryer on high is just about right. Plus, its 'cool' setting can cool down the adhesive too. Very useful

 

Sounds good!

 

Please post what you find. I also recently ordered a set of Euro tails and received them busted, but the lens and housing are still good.

 

"Sonic" welding is a shorthand term for "ultrasonic welding". It's done on plastic assemblies like lighting a lot. They use a machine to induce ultrasonic vibrations in on piece and apply pressure to the two pieces. The friction (even though there is no visible movement between the two pieces), causes the plastic to melt and fuse together.

If they are truly sonic welded, this is what you are dealing with. Just saying...

 

I am quite slow. I have owned a dealer manual for like 2 years now and I never thought to look there. They say to do it with a hair drier and to make sure that you remove the hot melt if it will not be re-used. EXCITED!

 

Tried this last night for about 20 mins on one spot highest setting with NO result :/

 

DAFUQ??? Try heating it from the rear, as close to the adhesive as you can reasonably get. 4-5 minutes will be enough to slide a butter knife in. Then work it carefully and inch your way around, prying gently as you go while putting 'blocks' between the two halves to keep them separated till you get the whole thing apart

 

That's what I had tried. I was on the inside and heated it for like I said about 20 mins and went in with a plaster spatula because it's thin and it would not get through. Then the screw driver started to crack a lens

 

If you got a harbor freight by you or the like, go get their cheap $15 heat guns . I got one last year for some painting I was doing during the winter . Unless you got some kickass blowdryer it's not going to heat up hot enough

 

I have a heat gun just worried about the temp. I'll try it anyways thanks for all the advice guys

 

Okay so I tried the hair drier... not even close, bought a heat gun at harbor freight, tried both high and low... the low was not giving me any luck, tried high and the lens began to get soft when I tried to put the screw driver under it...

I am going to call Mazda today and see what their thoughts are.

 

lol, let us know how THAT goes

 

Lol^

 

The service manager gave me an "off the books" recommendation. He did his research and came back with baking at 400 degrees and keep an eye on them. He said somewhere between 5 - 10 minutes you should be able to get a screw driver in there to slowly pry the colored portions of the lens out. He said with a heat gun/hair drier you will be there for hours and it probably still wont get the results. He expressed that Mazda will not recommend it officially so he left it as "our little secret" lol he said he had to do this to a set of headlights back in his time and deal with the wrath of his mom for baking headlights in the oven.

I attempted this method but at 250 degrees like I had done to get the housings free, but it was only about 3-4 minutes and there was no luck

I am going to give this a shot tonight with my spare set that were already broken.

I will keep you guys posted.

 

its cool he talked to you, usually they are bitchy ***** even when I call a dealer I have a car still under warranty with, but 400 degrees sounds incredibly crazy think them ***** are going to melt

I have split many lights with just a heat gun, work an area until it loosens enough to put a screwdriver or even a butter knife, heat and lift use a razor knife

I have to split my pickup headlights those are assembled with a permaglue and even then they dont suggest 400 degrees.

Good luck but I think you got some bad info be careful with those lights. Good thing is S4 lights are dirt cheap if you do end up melting them

 

yeah im not too worried. I tried a long time ago but it was a fail because it was at 350 for 15 minutes and i left them unattended.

 

i think you are dealing with the same stuff that my pickup lights are made with, its almost like they are plastic welded its not a pliable adhesive

get roofing blades for your razor knife and just keep at it

 

They are probably ultrasonically welded, almost all new light are like this. Poly-carbonates (most likely what your lens is) melt right at about *400. Be careful. Modern automotive lighting uses newer high temp poly-carbonates that melt around *450 or so.

The worries here are what the back of the light is made of. If it's poly-propelene (very common) then it melts about *350. Which ever softens first will be the one you pry off. Just be careful at *400.

 

They say in the manual it's just an epoxy

 

What about very, very carefully going around the seam with a Dremel cutting wheel? Then to install the new lens, use epoxy?

Not that I've ever done this, but I will likely be attempting it soon because I'd like to convert my Cosmo tail lights to full LED panels.