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Taking apart tail lights?

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Old 09-14-09, 11:07 AM
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Taking apart tail lights?

Got a set a series 5 lights that need a good cleaning and everything seems so brittle i dont wanna go into it just breakin ****. Does anyone know a thread that did this before?
Old 09-14-09, 11:56 AM
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I can't name a thread but per the FSM it says to use a heat gun to heat up the surface and loosen the glue then use like a hammer handle or something narrow through the holes where the bulbs go to push the lens off. From there scrape off the old glue, do your cleaning and reseal it with new glue. Check it in a bucket of water to make sure it's air tight.
Old 09-14-09, 05:09 PM
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Sunlight and evaporation of oils cause brittleness near the surface. I can imagine thin pieces being quite brittle but anything thick should be just fine underneath. I dunno but the tail light plastic seems thick enough to me.
Old 09-14-09, 05:44 PM
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you can bake them in your oven, you gotta use good judgement and be smart, you dont leave them in for a long time, just til they are hot/warm, but not hot enough to damage anything, just enough to heat up the glue, then you gently pry the plastic around the hold tabs etc.. you will also want to pick up some glue to reseal them. like Shoe goo, automotive glue, clear adhesive , glue gun etc.. when you put them back together heat them up real quick and then apply more glue.

I suggest picking up some clear plastic polish and polish them while your at it. good luck
Old 09-14-09, 07:44 PM
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idk about older lights. but i have a 2006 cobalt. i painted the insides of the headlights. and the way i got them apart was baking the housing at 250 for 10-15 minutes on a cookie sheet. then taking it apart, and scraping all the excess sealant off (do this multiple times whenever sealant starts hardening again). clean it out, and make sure you use a LOT of sealant to re-seal, so there's no leaks. goodluck
Old 09-23-09, 10:13 PM
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Thanks for all the help ill prolly go with the oven trick because i dont feel like getting a heat gun
Old 06-25-10, 11:56 PM
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Whats the best adhesive for this job? Im searching for one that can be applied and removed if needed. The manual mentions "hot melt" and uni-sealer" but cant find it anywhere....




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