headlight bulb removal?

[mikedudley17]

while on the subject of headlights http://www.racinglab.com/car-light-bulbs.html
these guys have some good deals on bulbs.

How To Remove the lights:
1 remove grill
2 remove the 3 bolts that hold the housing in place

All right, my headlight just went out and I got to this step and found that there's some plastic clip keeping the damn assembly in. It's all the way up against the quarterpanel and my hands are too beefy to squeeze in there. How the hell does it come out? (2005 model)

[B1rdbrain]

Did you take the grill off?

Obviously if I followed steps 1 and 2 I have the grill off...

it's a round plastic piece that locks into the metal frame around the assembly near the outer edge of the light (behind the outermost lens). I think I'll just yank the battery to get into it because I tried pulling and prying on the assembly for an hour yesterday and it didn't budge. That clip isn't in the manual or even mentioned.

[B1rdbrain]

you should be able to just remove the whole light assembly then the wires are easy to take off the back once you have the rubber off and the wires off you need to be very carefull and remove the sring loaded wire that holds the bulb in place it is this damn wire that makes this whole thing a bitch in the first place

Nope I get the grill off and remove the three bolts and it won't come out. Drivers side, far outer corner is held in by some odd plastic clip. It's round and actually has a tab that locks it in.

[B1rdbrain]

Don't know what that is.

try taking the wires off the rubber part so you can see the 1 screw that holds the bulb in and attemp to do it with the housing still attached to the frame

[xstevex]

just use your fingers to reach in there, you dont need your whole hand. just your the index and middle finger.

Take the rubber boot off, Unhook the wire retainer (push in towards the headlight, and then squeeze both sides towards each other), Then the bulb will almost fall out.

This is probably the EASIEST car to change light bulbs in. It shouldnt take more than 60 seconds a side.

Well I got the light changed and found that there was an actual screw holding the light in at that end. It took me an hour to unscrew it an 1/8 turn at a time with a 10mm wrench. Then I needed a pair of pliers to pull the other end out of the plastic clip. Here's a pic of the screw/bolt. The graph paper is 4 squares to the inch.

[xstevex]

you didnt need to take that out. thats just to stabilize the headlight. you should have just wiggled the headlight, and it should have came out. some times it takes a little bit more time, but it should come out with just those three bolts on the headlight tabs.