Headlamp replacement, there has got to be an easier way...

[zbane]

Try Harder.

The metal plate that holds the lamp in the bay is difficult to move about, what with the AC line, inner fender, and the light itself getting in the way.

But it can be done, if you are willing to risk bending something. Once you have the thought that something might be bent, and accept that possibility, with a bit of squeezing and a touch of extra force, the whole thing moves about-not out, mind you-but becomes workable.

Since I already had so much of the front end off, I went ahead and pulled both fenders, so I could take off the sugar scoops.

In doing so, I found an error in the FSM. According to the FSM, there are only two bolts attaching the bucket to the fender. This is incorrect. There are THREE, and the third one REQUIRES that the fender be removed in order to access it 'cause it's way up there.

I found a few baby rust gremlins while I was in there, and have kept the fenders off until I can clean, prep and paint the inner fenders and wheel wells.

The bumper went back on because not having turn signals irritates me, though I must say that the car is looking a little odd, being only half dressed, so to speak.

Also, I think I may have found the cause of my wet floorboards, but I need to check the matter more.

Anyway, thanks to all for jumping in. This has indeed been a learning experience, and quite a bit of fun, too.

Oh, and yes I did change the bulb.

[EScanlon]

I'd forgotten that you were dealing with a ZX. That's the reason for my prior post.

On the 240's the Acorn Cup is solid and the only way to access the headlamp to change it or an H4 bulb is to remove the Acorn cup from inside the fender.

2¢

E

[=Enigma=]

I found a few baby rust gremlins while I was in there, and have kept the fenders off until I can clean, prep and paint the inner fenders and wheel wells.

Hard to tell from the pic but I'd be more then a little worried if this is what and where I think it is. See pic and red arrow below.

[zbane]

You are correct, Enigma. That is what and where you think it is, and it isn't the prettiest. The rails are an issue with this car, and will be dealt with soon, if all goes well. Here's a better picture, and this is the good rail :dead:

[sblake01]

I'm beginnig to understand what your going through! This is from the 82 FSM

[sblake01]

This is what I was trying to show in the last post. How can you remove the headlamp before you remove the headlamp case?

<a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i18.tinypic.com/40fvzie.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>

[zbane]

As it turns out, you can remove the headlamp before the case, but it's a bit difficult, due to the cramped area involved, and the job would be much easier if one could access the retaining ring from the front. I suspect that that was indeed the intention of the designers, but for some reason I wasn't able to to manipulate the plate. At least now I know (and knowing is half the battle...)

What you cannot remove as stated in the FSM is the headlamp case; the fender must come of in order to reach all three of the connecting nuts.

[zbane]

These poor quality photos of my FSM just wouldn't upload with the previous post, but here they are for reference.