This is a modification I identified as a must have even before I bought the Hawkeye STI. It has taken since March to do the research, find the time and make sure my wife was out so I could use the oven
Alot of stories about it being much harder then the Blobeye modification, that you have to take the bumper of and the headlights are very expensive if you break them......but I thought in Top Gear style '
How Hard Can It Be' !!!!!!
Before Modification :
1. Mask up around edge of headlight and around edges of centre and left/right grills. These need to come out to gain access to the headlight mounting bolts.
2. Remove large trim clips from top edge of bumper, along slam panel.
3. Remove small trim clips holding grills in place, and 1 small trim clip on each top edge of headlight.
4. Remove centre grill by placing hand down behind and releasing 4 plastic clips, 2 easg side.
5. Remove left and right hand grills in a similar fashion. They are a bit of a fiddle but they will come out and you will realise why masking the bumper is a good idea.
6. Remove the single M6 bolt from the top of the headlight where it bolts to the slam panel.
7. Remove the 2 M6 bolts, 2 M6 nuts and 1 trim clip that hold the headlight in place that are located behind the grill you have just removed.
8. Now comes the removal of the light. Give it a wiggle and a tug on the outer/wing edge. It should partly pop out (If anyone has removed the sidelight on a classic they will be familiar with the pin/clip that hold it into the wing retainer). Tilt the light forward and try to get it under the slam panel as far as possible, making sure the mounting bracket that was un-bolted previously draws of it's mounting bolts . The light will not fully come out like this, but once it is as far as possible place your hand behind the light and lift up, you should now be able to see between the bottom of the light and the bumper to see what's stopping it coming forward. Basically nothing is stopping at apart from the base of the light just touching the top edge of the appature/bumper lip. A twist and a shove from behind should pop it out, all the time making sure the mounting bracket hasn't managed to slip back onto it's mount bolts.
9. At this stage it will be partly out bar from the loom connector. Disconnect these and your done. Steps 1 - 9 above took me approx 30 mins, alot quicker then i thought it would take.
10. Repeat the above for the other light. I managed to get this one out alot quicker after learning on the other side.
Looks quite cool don't it
11. Retire to the comfort of the kitchen breakfast bar
12. Remove the 5 self-tapping screws from the rear of the light.
13. I also removed the Ballast resistor that's screwed to the bottom of the housing, as didn't want to risk damaging that in the oven. Remove the 3 screws holding this in place and disonnect the cable harness from it.
14. Set oven to 100 DegC and timer to 10 mins, place light in oven on baking tray.
Yes I know the oven door needs cleaning, but that's not my department.......
15. Remove after 10 minutes and leaver open the headlight with a large flat blade screwdriver, it comes apart wuite easy. I started at the bottom incase the screwdriver damaged/marked the plastics. It did make small marks but by the time you work round to the top edge which will be visible when re-fitted, it comes off easier and hence doesn't mark the plastic. Once it is loose and you have a gap one end it can be pulled apart by hand. Cut or catch the excess sealant as you go.
16. You now have 2 halves.
17. Put rear section to one side after tapping the stringy/excess sealant roughly back in place. Do the same with the front lense.
18. Remove the self-tapper screws that hold the refelctor in place on the front lense. Then remove the reflector
19. I then masked a ring around the HID apature to maintain a chrome ring. Some people spray the whole reflector black, other spray a coloured rings around the HID. But I decide to stick with chrome.
20. Spray reflector with colour of your choice. I used Satin Black Plasti-kote.
21. Remove masked HID ring and ready for re-fitting
22. Refit refelctor into lense.
23. To soften the sealant prior to refitting I placed both halves back in the over for 5 mins at 100DegC.
24. Remove from oven and while still hot quickly push two halves together and screw back in place.
25. Refit ballast resistor......job done in about 30 mins including paint (dried with hair drier)
Compared lights :
26. Repeat for other side.
Took approx 2 hours to remove dismantle, paint and re-assemble both lights. At the moment they are not back in the car as waiting for 2 silvertec indicator bulbs and some high power LED side lights to arrive (these are a bitch to change with the headlight fitted, so will leave until hopefully tomorrow).
Will post finished article ASAP.