Headlights....

[Darkelf]

Anyone have any leads on a set of headlights for an 87? Mine are shot, both are holding water from god knows when....

[hberdan]

If you are talking about composite headlights , all I can say is "good luck!".
A few years ago I had a composite light on my 87 go south, and ended up having to buy a brand new one from a west-coast discount Toyota OEM parts dealer--and it was about $80, iirc, for just one globe, not the entire bucket assembly, which was over $200. I searched and searched all over the internet and on the phone for a couple of weeks before breaking down and buying a new globe.

So, try all the searches listed under the "how to find a used part" section of the forum, and keep looking in junk yards.

Alternatively, you could try removing the globes, draining out the water, drying out the globes, and then sealing the gaskets with a silicone gasket material--don't try to separate the reflectors from the lenses, just seal around the exterior. Small rock damage in the lenses can be repaired the same way, with a clear silicone or the type of epoxy used to repair windshield cracks. Replace the bezels that hold the bulbs into the globes with new ones, which are inexpensive and will give you a more water-tight seal.

It might be possible to completely switch out the entire headlamp and side lamp assemblies on your 87 with the earlier sealed beam headlamp bucket assemblies from an 85 or 86--but I'm not sure if it could be done--you'd need to swap out the entire grill and trim package, and do some simple rewiring.

[Petros]

I could use a driver's side one too. I have been driving for 35+years, I have only broke a head light twice. I found a set of '87 headlights for my '84 in a wrecking yard this summer (after searching for 2 years), and less than two weeks later got a bull's eye hole in the driver's side lamp. GRRRR! I have epoxy over the hole and cracks, but moisture still gets in (not much). Wrecking yards are best bet, sometimes they show up on ebay for $75.

[toughtercel]

1983-88 tercel fenders/headlights
by toughtercel » Fri Jun 26, 2009 3:17 pm in Tercel 4WD Repair Questions , sorry i tried move pictures in there no luck , if you look at title and date then there will be pictures , you can switch from 87 front face to older style OR older style to 87-88 , cost money yeah like $50 -100 ( front grill , whole headlight assemble include side marker and double check head light plug ) then in future you just have to worry about normal head light instead of Tercel 's custume headlight .

[bleakhorizon]

or just drill a hole in the bottom and let em drain lol.....i was looking at a late 80's nissan (sentra i think) at the wrecking yard. they have composite headlights, and look damn close...... almost snaged em to try but one of em was crackd and i dont know what i woulda done with my grill...

[hberdan]

1983-88 tercel fenders/headlights
by toughtercel » Fri Jun 26, 2009 3:17 pm in Tercel 4WD Repair Questions , sorry i tried move pictures in there no luck , if you look at title and date then there will be pictures , you can switch from 87 front face to older style OR older style to 87-88 , cost money yeah like $50 -100 ( front grill , whole headlight assemble include side marker and double check head light plug ) then in future you just have to worry about normal head light instead of Tercel 's custume headlight .

Thanks for posting that!
It seems the best thing to do~! Since it can be done so easily, I'd replace the whole assembly from an 87 with a junkyard sealed beam assembly. The sealed beams on my 86 were always brighter than the composites on the 87 anyway--I wish I'd kept the 86 just so I could switch the parts out.
Sealed beams are so much cheaper to replace, $10 vs $100 each for composite globes. And the globes get scratched and yellow after a while, and in the one I replaced all the chrome plating inside the globe had corroded from water damage.