Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2006 09:09:37 -0400
Reply-To: Joy Hecht <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Joy Hecht <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU>
Subject: headlight alignment parts, headlight replacement - RON SALMON,
please read!
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
So, I faced my fears and took Matilda in for her safety inspection. Which
she failed, but not for the reasons I expected. (She doesn’t need emissions
for another year - that challenge will be tackled later!)
Two of her failures had to do with headlights.
First, the low beams need proper alignment, and I need parts. I'm trying to
sort out which parts. There’s not much to go by in looking at the current
state of Matilda’s headlights, I think they’ve been held up by anti-gravity
forces, not hardware. And yes, Sam, I’ve searched the archives! Found some
useful info, too.
The Bentley has no useful info on this matter.
The Haynes says there are two alignment points on each low beam (large
rectangular lens - she's an '89). The ones on the outer-upper corners
control lateral setting, the ones on inner-lower corners control vertical
setting.
Bus Depot's website shows the following for low beams:
Price
Part Ref. No.*
Headlight <http://busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=255941133> Adjustment
Piece
Low Beam, left or right (located on Top/Inner Corner)
$6.77
255941133
Headlight <http://busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=191941297> Adjustment
Screw
Low Beam, left or right, for vertical adjustment (located on bottom)
$7.92
191941297
Headlight <http://busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=255941141C>
Adjustment Screw
Low Beam, left or right, for horizontal adjustment (located on Top/Outer
Corner)
$4.25
255941141C
There are no pictures, so I’m not quite sure what is what. However, I
assume that “headlight adjustment piece” is the vaguely disk-like piece of
plastic with a sort of fan-like form about 1˝ inches in diameter that seems
to snap into the bracket, and that the two different headlight adjustment
screws are the screws with caps of plastic and half-inch sheaths of plastic
that screw into the headlight adjustment piece.
Is that correct?
The Bus Depot website says the headlight adjustment piece goes on the
top/inner corner, but the corresponding screw appears to go in the top/outer
corner. The picture in the Haynes shows it in the top/outer corner. Is this
an error in the Bus Depot website, and they meant top/outer? Ron, are you
reading?
So, if in fact the headlight adjustment piece goes in the upper/outer
corners, then several questions:
What does the lower/inner headlight adjustment screw attach to? In
Matilda’s headlights there’s nothing there at all for them to screw into.
What should there be in the other headlight corners (upper/inner and
lower/outer) to hold them in place? Matilda has a headlight attachment
piece in one upper/inner corner, nothing in the other. She has various
screws waving into empty space back there.
And the other question: My left low beam light also flunked because it has
water inside. The mechanic (not someone who works on VWs – I don’t think
there are any in this part of Virginia, and a Maryland one can’t do Virginia
inspections) said I could just replace the lens, but I thought he was wrong.
Can I just replace the lens? Or do I have to replace the whole headlight?
If so, would that be this (from Bus Depot website):
Headlight <http://busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=255941105A> Assembly
Low-Beam (Outer), Left, 86-91 Vanagon
$113.93
255941105A
And if so (Ron, are you reading??), does that include the attachment and
alignment hardware as well?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Joy
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Joy Hecht
now living in a real house in northern Virginia
and Matilda, 1989 Burgundy Vanagon
now living in the driveway and resting after two and a half years
lugging Joy and her stuff around...
For musings about life and the vanadventures:
http://www.joyhecht.net
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