525i headlamp removal

[spanish pants]

I spent part of this afternoon trying to remove the grill and old headlights so i can put on my new smoked set.

So far I have managed to get the grill off and the passenger side lamps off.
I thought the drivers side would be the same, but no, it´s harder because the final screw is hidden between the A/C canister so i can´t get a screwdriver in there.

Trying to do this has been my Khan moment for the week so far. Has anyone done this before and have a tip to make it easier.

[5Toes]

Yes I have - its quite easy.

If I dont recall, arent the headlights held in with phillips screws from the FRONT of the car?

The grill is the hardest part to get off! Good job on doing that part lol

Remove the whole headlight assembly and then tackle the lights off car.

http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Maintenance/Electrical/Headlamp.htm

[spanish pants]

Yes I have - its quite easy.

If I dont recall, arent the headlights held in with phillips screws from the FRONT of the car?

The grill is the hardest part to get off! Good job on doing that part lol

Remove the whole headlight assembly and then tackle the lights off car.

http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Mainte...l/Headlamp.htm

The grill was a real pain in the ass. You have as much chance to get it off as a visually impaired person.

In this case the headlamps is held on by three hex-head screws on the front and one from the back. The one on the back i had to feel around to find.
The passenger side wasn´t too bad but the driver´s side...

You can see the canister on the bottom left and just behind it the bracket . Well inside that little bracket is the screw.


I guess i´m going to have to remove the airbox and the canister bracket and canister to get at the screw.

[5Toes]

strange, I remember getting mine out very easy

[spanish pants]

strange, I remember getting mine out very easy

I came back today and attempted this again. After alot of wondering and look it became clear i needed to remove the airbox cover, unbolt the p/s resevoir and the canister just to get the screw driver into the bracket and remove the last screw. 4 fasteners per side total (3 from the front and 1 you need to access from inside near turn signal)

Buah! what a pain in the ass, though i did manage to get everything off. Tomorrow i´ll try to install the new headlight units.

[MeanM50]

I came back today and attempted this again. After alot of wondering and look it became clear i needed to remove the airbox cover, unbolt the p/s resevoir and the canister just to get the screw driver into the bracket and remove the last screw. 4 fasteners per side total (3 from the front and 1 you need to access from inside near turn signal)

Buah! what a pain in the ass, though i did manage to get everything off. Tomorrow i´ll try to install the new headlight units.

The corner light is held in my several screws...if you can't get the headlight bucket out WITH the corner lights, unscrew the OTHER two corner light bulbs (that hold the corner light to the bucket) and then attack the PITA screw with the bucket/headlights off the car.

Most previous owners were lazy last time they changed the turn signal bulb and didn't put the PITA screw back in...probably the case for Toes...

[South26]

You need to use the screw driver that has 2 ends on it and is bent in 2 places. It is just the right size for getting to the screw.


Andy