New headlight idea
- HomeSkool
- Top Notch Member
- Posts: 130
- Joined: Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:00 am
- My tercel:: 87
- Location: Nelson B.C
New headlight idea
Hey everyone,
I have two tercels currently that have leaky headlights,
Both are 1987, One is my 4wd one is a 2wd. I often remove the headlight and use a heatlamp to remove moisture.
I have to do that once every three months or so on each one.
Because they are 87 they have the newest style of headlights the tercels came with. They are hard to find and expensive to buy new from toyota.
Insanily expensive as a matter of fact.
My Yellow tercel I take pride in and try to keep it excellent looking. So I'm trying to invent a new headlight replacement for it.
Perhaps use the old headlight mount and remove the glass and mount some type of aftermarket thing into it. Perhaps two smaller
lights in each one like some modern BMW's do. Has anyone seen any aftermarket headlights pods that are compatiable?
I'm in the research stage for this right now. I'm eager to hear anyone elses ideas on this topic.
I have two tercels currently that have leaky headlights,
Both are 1987, One is my 4wd one is a 2wd. I often remove the headlight and use a heatlamp to remove moisture.
I have to do that once every three months or so on each one.
Because they are 87 they have the newest style of headlights the tercels came with. They are hard to find and expensive to buy new from toyota.
Insanily expensive as a matter of fact.
My Yellow tercel I take pride in and try to keep it excellent looking. So I'm trying to invent a new headlight replacement for it.
Perhaps use the old headlight mount and remove the glass and mount some type of aftermarket thing into it. Perhaps two smaller
lights in each one like some modern BMW's do. Has anyone seen any aftermarket headlights pods that are compatiable?
I'm in the research stage for this right now. I'm eager to hear anyone elses ideas on this topic.
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Re: New headlight idea
YEAH AND YOU WANNA KNOW WHY????? Because they don't make this model anymore and the rarer a car gets, due to constant people "crushing" theirs and rarifying the population of Tercels, and the fact that the parts are harder-to-comeby would certainly UP the costs!!!Insanily expensive as a matter of fact.
K-Business
Re: New headlight idea
Why can't you find someway to seal the headlights you have?
Give a boy a gun-give a biatch a cell phone-and pretty soon you almost got yourself a police state.
Orwell said: War is peace! Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength...
Orwell said: War is peace! Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength...
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- My tercel:: 1987 Toyota Tercel 4WD
- Location: Hartford, Connecticut
Re: New headlight idea
I used a hot clue gun to seal the crack in the corner light in mine that used to let moisture in, its been working fine since. It can't be that big, though or else its really easy to notice
"If parts ain't flyin, you ain't tryin"
- HomeSkool
- Top Notch Member
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- Joined: Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:00 am
- My tercel:: 87
- Location: Nelson B.C
Re: New headlight idea
One of the lights on my 2wd already has rust in it. So even if I seal it it won't be that nice looking. But yes, on my yellow tercel I really should just take the headlights out and try to seal it. Knowing that it's only a temp fix untill another leak happens I was kind of hopeing to invent a total solution and get somthing more modern into it. There are no cracks or anything so I know the leak has to be comming from the seam somewhere. I plan to keep the tercel going as long as I can and I was thinking it would be cool to replace the unit with somthing more modern like the new HID light systems. I'll try to seal them but I'm still going to keep my eyes open for some little pod unit or somthing that I could fabricate into place.
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Re: New headlight idea
On this site, somewhere there is a post about installing the European lights into a tercel with an 87 grill. I think that is the best looking tercel head light there is. I know nothing about the tercel euro lights. but the euros i put on my Mercedes have glass lenses and they come off the light bucket. they are held in with a seal that is replaceable if it is damaged.
The Mercedes guys are all over the euro spec lights because they are some what easy to obtain and they are 1000x better looking the a sealed beam. (the Mercedes and the tercel have the same headlight from the factory)
The reason for the sealed beam is the DOT. they forced all cars to have sealed beams in 1940 because headlights would leak and blow out the bulbs and cause traffic problems. by forcing the auto makers to use a standardized headlight they had more control over the "safety" of the light.
I say "Safety" in quotes because in Germany and Japan where they were not forced to this standardization they were able to create glass lenses that refract the light is a much better pattern and thus light the road better and don't blind drivers. and in my opinion that is safer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlight#Low_beam
This link shows the European light patterns.
in 1983 the government changed its laws to allow removable bulbs. but the "buckets" the bulbs lock into must be sealed, so you can't have removable lenses. thus making it expencive if the lens cracks because you must replace the whole bucket.
if you can find a set of Euro lights they would be your best bet.
If you can't I got some cheapo H4 conversions for the earlier sealed beam headlights. and i think they look pretty good. but they may look to old compared to your current lights.
The Mercedes guys are all over the euro spec lights because they are some what easy to obtain and they are 1000x better looking the a sealed beam. (the Mercedes and the tercel have the same headlight from the factory)
The reason for the sealed beam is the DOT. they forced all cars to have sealed beams in 1940 because headlights would leak and blow out the bulbs and cause traffic problems. by forcing the auto makers to use a standardized headlight they had more control over the "safety" of the light.
I say "Safety" in quotes because in Germany and Japan where they were not forced to this standardization they were able to create glass lenses that refract the light is a much better pattern and thus light the road better and don't blind drivers. and in my opinion that is safer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlight#Low_beam
This link shows the European light patterns.
in 1983 the government changed its laws to allow removable bulbs. but the "buckets" the bulbs lock into must be sealed, so you can't have removable lenses. thus making it expencive if the lens cracks because you must replace the whole bucket.
if you can find a set of Euro lights they would be your best bet.
If you can't I got some cheapo H4 conversions for the earlier sealed beam headlights. and i think they look pretty good. but they may look to old compared to your current lights.
My first car was a Tercel, and I'm still driving a Tercel, some people say I need an Intervention.
- sdoan
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- Location: Bellingham, WA
Re: New headlight idea
If you do seal or replace your expensive headlights you might consider protecting them with some stuff that motorcyclists use to prevent rock chips. It is a clear adhesive film that you stick over the lens. It is quite thick - about 1/8" I think - soft and flexible so rock blows are cushioned and less likely to crack the lens. I've never used it, but it looks like a good solution. Probably find it at your closest MC shop.
If it were mine I might try drying the lens out completely and then go over the suspect seam with some clear silicon sealer (large tubes of 100% silicone caulking at Home Despot for about $4). If you apply the sealer when the headlight is still warm it might even draw some of the sealer into the seam as it cools. Get all the water out because it expands something like 700x when turned to vapor by the heat of the lamp.
Let us know what works.
If it were mine I might try drying the lens out completely and then go over the suspect seam with some clear silicon sealer (large tubes of 100% silicone caulking at Home Despot for about $4). If you apply the sealer when the headlight is still warm it might even draw some of the sealer into the seam as it cools. Get all the water out because it expands something like 700x when turned to vapor by the heat of the lamp.
Let us know what works.
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Re: New headlight idea
Drill two small holes at the bottom of the housing to let moisture drain out, and take some rubbing compound to the lens and polish it up. I had an old F150 that I did this on and it worked wonders. No more yellowed lenses.
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Re: New headlight idea
install some E36 headlights, can't be that hard, lots of fort escort guys do it.
Tercel 4WD "POWER WAGOON" with 4A-C
aka: "no powa steering tercel, oh oh oh!"
mods: ignition at 10 DBTDC and 90 octane gas.
aka: "no powa steering tercel, oh oh oh!"
mods: ignition at 10 DBTDC and 90 octane gas.
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- My tercel:: Sold my 1987 Tercel Dlx 4x4 Wagon but miss driving it everyday. I don't miss working on it, though.
- Location: Colorado!
Re: New headlight idea
I have an 87 with the new style headlights; when I bought the car one of the lights had the same problems, i.e., water had leaked into one of the globes, damaging it. I searched the web, and checked out all the on-line parts dealers (junk yards). One junkyard had one, but it was very used and I passed. Ended up buying an entirely new globe from a dealer for a big pile of money.
As a suggestion, instead of trying to upgrade to some newer Euro lights that could melt down your wiring harness, why not do a retro thing and rebuild the grill into the 1983-86 configuration with the sealed beams? That would require replacing the lights and the grill, maybe the side lights, not sure. But those parts are easily available--after all, most Tercel wagons had that arrangement, and as far as rewiring, I think all you would need to do is rewire the bulb plugins. I think it would take a couple of hours to replace the headlamp brackets with ones from an 84, rewire the light, etc. I'm betting it's a straight-up easy job.
The sealed beams on my 86 were much brighter and had sharper lighting than the OEM bulbs on my 87. And when they broke it took just a few minutesto replace , with very little $$ spent.
As a suggestion, instead of trying to upgrade to some newer Euro lights that could melt down your wiring harness, why not do a retro thing and rebuild the grill into the 1983-86 configuration with the sealed beams? That would require replacing the lights and the grill, maybe the side lights, not sure. But those parts are easily available--after all, most Tercel wagons had that arrangement, and as far as rewiring, I think all you would need to do is rewire the bulb plugins. I think it would take a couple of hours to replace the headlamp brackets with ones from an 84, rewire the light, etc. I'm betting it's a straight-up easy job.
The sealed beams on my 86 were much brighter and had sharper lighting than the OEM bulbs on my 87. And when they broke it took just a few minutesto replace , with very little $$ spent.
Last edited by hberdan on Fri Feb 06, 2009 9:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"I'm high on the real thing: Powerful gasoline, a clean windshield, and a shoeshine."
- Neu
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Re: New headlight idea
Napa or carquest doesn't offer the 87 headlights? They had mine for the 85 in stock...
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Re: New headlight idea
I got a replacement from an online Toyota dealer, listed in the parts section of this website!
It's not the fact that new 87 headlight assemblies (bracket, globe) cannot be had, but the fact that they are over $200 each ($200 left, $200 right)!! Maybe more than that.
We are not talking about the bulb, which is a common h4 bulb, iirc; we are talking about the streamlined glass and metal reflector and globe assembly that the bulb plugs into. Yikes!
It's not the fact that new 87 headlight assemblies (bracket, globe) cannot be had, but the fact that they are over $200 each ($200 left, $200 right)!! Maybe more than that.
We are not talking about the bulb, which is a common h4 bulb, iirc; we are talking about the streamlined glass and metal reflector and globe assembly that the bulb plugs into. Yikes!
"I'm high on the real thing: Powerful gasoline, a clean windshield, and a shoeshine."
- Neu
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Re: New headlight idea
Yeh..my sealed headlights included the glass casing, which had the bulb sealed inside with the reflector setup and all..for 17 dollars each.
Weird. Lame though.
At 200+ dollars each i'm saying you should just modify them to hold PIAA's, for just about the same price you'll get probably double the lighting quality. I dont know if piaa even makes a replacement for this..but damn you'd have amazing headlights.
Modify these to fit in there, http://www.piaa.com/Lamps/Lamp-pages/p-3000.html , you'd light up the road so well... also they're 411.95 each. lol
Weird. Lame though.
At 200+ dollars each i'm saying you should just modify them to hold PIAA's, for just about the same price you'll get probably double the lighting quality. I dont know if piaa even makes a replacement for this..but damn you'd have amazing headlights.
Modify these to fit in there, http://www.piaa.com/Lamps/Lamp-pages/p-3000.html , you'd light up the road so well... also they're 411.95 each. lol
Re: New headlight idea
The 87 and 88 had a composite headlight assembly. So you'd shove a 9004? bulb in the back, and the housing stays put. The earlier models had 6054 "sealed beam" headlights in which the entire assembly must be changed.
RIP 10-07- 1984 Toyota Tercel SR5 4wd Wagen 6 speed
RIP 04-05- 1986 Toyota Tercel SR5 4wd Wagen 6 speed
1st Terc- 1987 Tercel SR5 4wd Wagon 6-speed, Sadly cubed
1985 Tercel Standard 4wd Wagon w/ 3-speed auto, Living a happy life in Boulder last I knew
RIP 04-05- 1986 Toyota Tercel SR5 4wd Wagen 6 speed
1st Terc- 1987 Tercel SR5 4wd Wagon 6-speed, Sadly cubed
1985 Tercel Standard 4wd Wagon w/ 3-speed auto, Living a happy life in Boulder last I knew
Re: New headlight idea
Hey SirNik83,
Little off topic but is that a raised "Tercel" logo on you fender? Is it from a newer terc?
Little off topic but is that a raised "Tercel" logo on you fender? Is it from a newer terc?
Driver: '86 4wd Tercel Wagon
Fun: '98 BMW M3 sedan
Now I have the best of both worlds!
Fun: '98 BMW M3 sedan
Now I have the best of both worlds!