How To.....Rebuild headlamp frames.

    Well here I have the second part of my thrilling lighting "How to's", how to reassemble and adjust the base setting of the headlamp frame.

    Whilst everyone knows full well the issues of headlamp adjusters, I have never seen anyone actually consider if their headlamp was actually rising the correct amount, and whether some owners are trying to adjust the beam setting when in fact, the entire lamp may not be in the specified position?

    So here is how to assemble or service the headlamp frame, and set the pod lift correctly.

    This is what we are starting with.........



    Our first task is to refit the mechanism that moves whilst the headlamp lifts. Taking the shaft and bushes, lightly oil the shaft and bush.....



    and refit the bush to the shaft both ends.....



    and after inserting the shaft into the fixed end, refit the detachable end onto the shaft.....



    and secure with the 2 bolts through the frame from underneath.....



    Check the newly installed shaft for free and smooth operation.

    Next we install the lift actuator/motor.....



    getting all 3 bolts started before tightening all 3.



    The wiring for the actuator is secured with 2 clips here..........



    and here.



    We can now connect the link from the actuator to the frame mechanism like this.



    but do not fully tighten yet, just nip the bolt about midway along the sliding joint adjustment.

    Next we refit the frame edge protection with a small bead of high tack, low strength contact ahesive............



    and allowing to dry for a moment before refitting the edging trim.



    We can now fit the headlamp bucket back onto the frame with these shaft pivots.



    These were VERY tight on my car and I needed to buff and polish the captive bolt shaft and lightly oil the fibrous bushes to get a smooth operation.

    Next, the small damper needs to be fitted and this is done at the same time as the bucket is being fitted to the frame..........



    using this M8 FINE THREAD nut on one end......and this circlip on the other.



    To check whether the installed length of the sliding joint is correct, the lamp needs to be raised manually with the handwheel to its maximum height........



    and the installed length of the damper measured. This needs to be 102mm +/- 1.0mm.



    You can now make any adjustments the best you can by trial and error or use the special tool 60 0 030 that is no longer available from BMW but I have made a small number for any interested parties. :top:



    To use the special tool, rmove the small hydraulic damper using special tool 60 0 010, or a 15mm spanner ground down very thin.......



    To undo the damper and remove it.



    and refitting the special tool on the mechanism end..........



    and checking to see if the other end will fit. Here you can see how far out mine was.



    Now slacken the bolt in the sliding link..............



    and open the link to its full extension before slowly shortening it by gripping it...........



    until the tool slides into position. The link is now exactly 102mm long. The sliding link bolt can now be fully tightened.......



    and the tool removed and the damper refitted in it's place.



    You can now refit the complete assembly back in the car knowing that the headlamps will pop-up exactly the correct amount. Next I will post instructions on the correct way to install the pods into the car. Then it will just be the final adjustments with the dreaded adjusters to get those lamps working and adjusted 100%.

    8Tech.

    Very nice description. :top:


    The dampers are in 101% of all cases shot. Get 2 new ones (very expensive for those tiny things) beforehand.


    The "shaft pivots" are IIRC handed, ie there is a left & a right one. One being longer because it must also hold the damper. Only one of those can be purchased new - an oversight in the parts catalogue, so keep an eye on them.


    To add insult to injury the dampers do not last long - in one of my cars I replaced them when installing HIDs and found them gone only 3yrs later without much use. Rubbish.


    Thanks Gerry!
    Cheers
    Reinhard


    On 2nd thought it ought to be part #6 in the scheme below with differing lengths but only one part number whereas #9 mentioned above by Gerry ought to be the same on both sides only you cannot buy the bushes new:


    My passenger side headlamp has not been popping up correctly for a long time now, and once up can manually be moved up and down about three centimetres! When down it sits nice and flush with the bonnet, but again I can move it up and down the three centimetres. I assumed something had failed but never got around to getting it fixed. As I need to change the wiring of the headlamps, and finally got around to getting started on it, I removed the headlamps from the car and low and behold, the removable bracket that holds the cross-bar is missing (see photo below). I've checked the parts catalogue but cannot see this particular part listed! Does anyone know if they can be had?


    8er.org/forum/index.php?attachment/29440/


    More worrying, under the headlamp pod (passenger side on LHD) there's an air duct that comes from the left hand air collector that has had a chunk of it cut out (see photo below). Now I remember years ago after having some repair work done after a bit of an accident, I had to take the car back to BMW as the headlamp would not pop back down sometimes. I assume that this duct was hindering the movement, hence them butchering it. Does this mean that something is out of line!!!? Everything else looks ok.


    8er.org/forum/index.php?attachment/29441/


    Cheers,


    Ivan

    The air duct is normally capped off. It is without practical use in the V8, installed only so they did not need to re-design the entire bumpers ;)
    Why it is cut is beyond me - normally the headlamp pod does not interfere.
    The big air collector is part of the front mask/bumper assy and sits in there snugly without any place to go. Probably the bumper was pushed upwards back then and the air duct broke / was cut which they remedied by cutting more which is sometimes useful to stop a crack from propagating. :dontknow: Don´t worry about this part too much - it is cosmetic only.


    Cheers
    Reinhard

    Thanks Reinhard,


    I realised it wasn't super important, just worried as to why they'd cut it out. Maybe just coincidence that it was suposedly done before the light was popping uo and down correctly. With it not being capped, will this result in less air-flow going to the air box on the other side of the air collector. Basically, should I fix the cut-out, and cap the air duct, or not bother?


    Ivan

    01/1994 E31 840i M60 European LHD automatic, prod code EF61

    The bracket can be seen in Gerry´s pictorial of the headlamp R&R way above.


    and here is how it needs to be fitted:


    and secured:


    I assume that the bracket is in theory available but one of the parts missing from the parts catalogue. I can only see the entire supporting plate 1970565/566 in the parts catalogue which might indicate that the bracket is part of this assy.
    You´ll need to get a used bracket or make a practically useful clone thereof yourself - does not look that complicated.
    ----------
    "The air boxes are not connected to each other"... is what I wanted to write but remembered that the opposite is the case. From that point of view it actually makes (some) sense that the end of the unused air box is capped in the V8.


    The connections are shown in the diagram and picture below:
    8er.org/forum/index.php?attachment/29453/ 8er.org/forum/index.php?attachment/29454/


    It is entirely likely that the air box is broken in two parts itself (happens rather easily once the chin hits the ground...) hence all sealing attempts may be in vain but if you wanted to give it a try I´d take wide sticky tape and wrap the cutout and hole or buy a new rubber cap 1702111 - roughly 30 EUR - for the hole.


    The only "bad thing" happening if left open is that engine compartment air is being used e.g. air intake temperature will be higher and hence power slightly down. Same as with any run of the mill open K&N filter.


    :winkwink:
    Reinhard

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