pete_j
Active Member
My 1993 200Tdi has a halogen headlight conversion. One bulb has blown, but the screws holding the sidelight and indicator are all knackered -- heads have corroded away -- so I can't remove the panel to get at the headlight.
How do I proceed?
I tried drilling out the remains of the screw heads, with some success, but failed on the 'earth' screws. The sidelight is now only held by this one headless screw.
Both light units are very brown inside, and the surface of the white plastic looks 'rough' suggesting it is terminally aged. So, I'm going to have to buy replacement units before I can try removing the old ones...
I could get standard units again, which are cheap but dim, but I was thinking about going LED instead.
The RDX LED replacement units from Bolt-On Bits look good: much more expensive, and I'd need a complete front set to ensure they match left/right (ouch), but it would make sense long-term. (I might see if the piggy bank will stretch to a full set all round, as the standard rear lights are not exactly bright either!)
Two questions:
-- (1) How difficult should it be to drill out the old self-tap screws? Am I accidentally using blunt drill bits? Do I need something more than an 'ordinary' HSS bit?
-- (2) The RDX LED units are for later Defenders and will each need two new mounting holes drilled. Are there likely to be any problems doing this? (yes I will check behind the panel first). Anything I should do to the metal once I've drilled the holes? Any other advice?
How do I proceed?
I tried drilling out the remains of the screw heads, with some success, but failed on the 'earth' screws. The sidelight is now only held by this one headless screw.
Both light units are very brown inside, and the surface of the white plastic looks 'rough' suggesting it is terminally aged. So, I'm going to have to buy replacement units before I can try removing the old ones...
I could get standard units again, which are cheap but dim, but I was thinking about going LED instead.
The RDX LED replacement units from Bolt-On Bits look good: much more expensive, and I'd need a complete front set to ensure they match left/right (ouch), but it would make sense long-term. (I might see if the piggy bank will stretch to a full set all round, as the standard rear lights are not exactly bright either!)
Two questions:
-- (1) How difficult should it be to drill out the old self-tap screws? Am I accidentally using blunt drill bits? Do I need something more than an 'ordinary' HSS bit?
-- (2) The RDX LED units are for later Defenders and will each need two new mounting holes drilled. Are there likely to be any problems doing this? (yes I will check behind the panel first). Anything I should do to the metal once I've drilled the holes? Any other advice?
