Bird325
Enthusiast
Got clear lenses for my front side markers and put them in tonight. Wanted to share some ideas for those that haven't dealt with it yet to save you some irritation and time. A lot of this is based on what I've read and figured out this evening. 
First, it may be easy with the facia off, but you can do it without that or taking wheels off. Small hands WILL help, but so does being able to flex your wrist and start a nut or bolt without being able to see it. The first one took me THREE tries (I'll explain later how to avoid that) and about 1 1/2 hours! Once I figured out what you are about to read (which is probably common sense), the second one only took 5 minutes.
I found out that you can remove the lens without taking the entire assembly off the body. Lesson number one ... if you aren't painting the base, DON'T take it all the way off. Just loosen the nut up enough to pull the base out away from the body and pop the lens off. I was painting mine, so this one doesn't count in the ******** count down.
Once painted, I installed the whole assembly, base plus lens, into the hole and rethreaded the nuts onto the studs. No big deal, I was fresh and my wrists had not been stressed at this point. Was able to thread the nuts and get them tight in about 5 minutes. As I was putting the amber light/socket back in the complete fitting, the bulb popped out inside the lens. CRAP!
Here I go, undoing it all to start all over again. I actually had this happen two more times before I realized that I was REALLY doing something wrong.
This one counts for TWO ******** points!
I sat back and thought about what was going wrong and decided to take the lens off and only mount the base. THIS was the key.
You can put the lens on AFTER you get the nuts started and the bulb holder in place in the base. Seems simple, doesn't it? Wish someone had told me to do this before I wasted so much time doing it wrong.
If you're pulling the whole assembly out to paint it, read on. If you take the nut off the stud, put a small drop of CA (Super Glue) on the nut/washer assembly. CA doesn't do well with moisture or vibration, so the bond will break down before long. This lets you spin the nut onto the stud sight unseen without the washer just spinning and frustrating you as you contort your body to get the right angle. The front stud is easy, it's the one at the back that will have you throwing things.
You can reach it all from the hole that has the plug in it in front of the wheel. If you have really big forearms, FORGET it. That hole is tight. Another thing, after spending a few minutes trying to fish the nut out of the front end with a magnet, it FINALLY occured to me to just reach in there. Pulled out some dead grass hoppers, but finally was able to find the nut and give it another shot.
The bottom line is that it's easy once you've experienced it and learned what NOT to do. Lesson learned ... mount it all up without the lens and then snap the lens on once everything is in place.
If you're in the DFW area and frustrated with trying this, give me a call and I'll come over and show you just how easy it is.
First, it may be easy with the facia off, but you can do it without that or taking wheels off. Small hands WILL help, but so does being able to flex your wrist and start a nut or bolt without being able to see it. The first one took me THREE tries (I'll explain later how to avoid that) and about 1 1/2 hours! Once I figured out what you are about to read (which is probably common sense), the second one only took 5 minutes.
I found out that you can remove the lens without taking the entire assembly off the body. Lesson number one ... if you aren't painting the base, DON'T take it all the way off. Just loosen the nut up enough to pull the base out away from the body and pop the lens off. I was painting mine, so this one doesn't count in the ******** count down.
Once painted, I installed the whole assembly, base plus lens, into the hole and rethreaded the nuts onto the studs. No big deal, I was fresh and my wrists had not been stressed at this point. Was able to thread the nuts and get them tight in about 5 minutes. As I was putting the amber light/socket back in the complete fitting, the bulb popped out inside the lens. CRAP!
Here I go, undoing it all to start all over again. I actually had this happen two more times before I realized that I was REALLY doing something wrong. This one counts for TWO ******** points!I sat back and thought about what was going wrong and decided to take the lens off and only mount the base. THIS was the key.
You can put the lens on AFTER you get the nuts started and the bulb holder in place in the base. Seems simple, doesn't it? Wish someone had told me to do this before I wasted so much time doing it wrong.If you're pulling the whole assembly out to paint it, read on. If you take the nut off the stud, put a small drop of CA (Super Glue) on the nut/washer assembly. CA doesn't do well with moisture or vibration, so the bond will break down before long. This lets you spin the nut onto the stud sight unseen without the washer just spinning and frustrating you as you contort your body to get the right angle. The front stud is easy, it's the one at the back that will have you throwing things.
You can reach it all from the hole that has the plug in it in front of the wheel. If you have really big forearms, FORGET it. That hole is tight. Another thing, after spending a few minutes trying to fish the nut out of the front end with a magnet, it FINALLY occured to me to just reach in there. Pulled out some dead grass hoppers, but finally was able to find the nut and give it another shot.
The bottom line is that it's easy once you've experienced it and learned what NOT to do. Lesson learned ... mount it all up without the lens and then snap the lens on once everything is in place.
If you're in the DFW area and frustrated with trying this, give me a call and I'll come over and show you just how easy it is.
