87-88 Headlights

[swanterky]

I have just put an '87 4WD on the road for the winter, and have been incredibly disappointed with the amount of light that reaches the road through the sloping glass headlights. I replaced the bulbs with Sylvania bulbs that stated that they were 40-50% brighter, and although they are somewhat brighter, they are not nearly as bright as the Halogen sealed beams that I have in my '85 FWD. The lights seemed to be adjusted o.k., but there just isn't enough light. The reflective insides of the lamp glass seems fine, so that is not the reason. I am even thinking of putting in an '85 grill and returning the car to sealed beams!

Has anyone else noticed this, and has anyone come up with a solution?

[Petros]

when I switched to the later composite headlights on my '84 there was a lot more light over the sealed Halogen lights. even the standard bulbs put out so much more lights I do not even notice when one goes bad. I have to be up close to a wall or see the reflection in a window when I am parking it to know one headlight is out.

check all your connections, and perhaps try removing the headlight assessable and clean it out with window cleaner and pure alcohol. I tried the extra bright sylvania bulbs too, and I was not that impressed, and they burn hotter so on our gravel roads they failed after only about 3 months of winter driving. I switch back to the regular halogen bulbs and had no issues.

[swanterky]

Thanks Petros
At least I now know that they should be brighter--I will clean the units on the inside--I don't know how they could get dirty in there--the way the bulb assemblies seal so well.

You may remember me contacting you about the '86 that had good compression but burned oil? I tried Seafoam in the oil, and in the cylinders, and another add-to-oil product from Germany that was supposed to loosen stuck rings, and even water injection through the carb to clean out any carbon, all to no avail. I purchased rings and rod shells for it, but got distracted this summer past changing the engine in the '87 (with the dim lights). I am going to lift the engine out to work on it--it's just too hard to get the pan off from underneath. I am amazed that you were able to do that.

The weird thing about the '86 (4A) is that from time to time, while it is warmed up and idling, it doesn't seem to be burning oil at all. I stuck my nose right in the exhaust stream from the tailpipe and could smell no oil at all (and I have very good sense of smell). Then, after 5 minutes, I revved it up and it smoked, and thereafter smoked while idling. It's looking like a project for next spring, as I have an outside work area. I built a set of elevated ramps that let me sit up while I am under the car, and built a swinging lift (with come-along) that lets me lift the engine and tranny/diff up and forward as a unit. I let the front diff rest on the crossmember, remove the tranny/diff, then swing the engine further forward and let it down on an elevated platform where I can work on it. I built a rectangular 2"x 8" 'box that fits right around the pan, and holds the engine securely in an upright position. Of course, I will have to come up with something different to work on the pan-less engine (and to get the with the pan off).

It's a lot more work--these engine removals, swaps, and such, now that I am in my 60's. I always say: "Now THIS is the last time." But when I am cruising down the road in a well running car that I was able to restore to that state, I get a great glow, and a sense of satisfaction that comes with doing difficult things, and seeing them through to the end!
Hope 2013 is a great year for you and your "Stable". I'm going to send those pics, but am waiting for other than a pure white background to shoot'em.

[TURTCEL]

The experience that I have had with older composite headlight assemblies is that over time the lenses will yellow. You can buy headlight cleaning kits at any auto parts store for around $18 to $25 dollars. They work pretty well and improve the quality of light being projected from the headlights. There are also lots of auto repair shops in my area of Idaho that advertise headlight cleaning for around $25 so for the same price as buying it and doing it yourself a shop could also do it for the same price. Definitely clean the insides of the housings like suggested, dirt/dust is like sand on a beach it gets everywhere and you have no idea how it did, it just does.

I have a 1993 Ford Esort with yellowing lenses right now and they are practically worthless at night. Even the brights are so dimmed that I don't even get flashed by oncoming traffic when I leave them on. My plan is to do a home kit myself on the car soon. I prefer to do my own work even if the price is the same at a shop. Just because a shop is doing it doesn't mean the job will be the best it could be. I have always found that no one does a better job on something you really care about like yourself doing it, you also learn something at the same time. Most Terc owners seem to like to do their own work since we love our rides and want the best for them that only we know how to give it to them. I sound like I am in love with my car (my wife would say I am..haha).

Personally I prefer the older sealed beam style grille and lights anyways so maybe consider swapping over the front lights and grille from a pre "87 model and get yourself a set of aftermarket composite assemblies with rock guards so bulb changing is a lot easier nd your investment is protected. Just be weary if you do consider this swap that wiring upgrades with relays and heavier guaged wires are pretty much required if you want to maximize the intesity of your headlights. Also not all kits will allow the use of high intensity bulbs and usually max out at a 55w bulb. Do your research and check the posts reguarding headlight upgrades. I have a post up on this topic under the 4wd repair section "Headlight Upgrades...TURTCEL" that got a lot of great informational feedback from experienced members that have gotten into this swap themselves.

But if money is an issue definitely consider doing an external lens cleaning to remove the years of dirt that gets pitted into the lens. Good luck on improving your night vision. I have an "85 and an "87 that I considered swapping the composites into my "85 but realized the Terc composites pretty much suck other than convenient bulb replacement.

Peace

[1985-SR5]

I'm happier with the lights on my 1985 T4WD than on my 1987. When i had the older yellowing lights on my 87' they were about as bright on high-beam as my 85' is on low-beam, even after buying new ones they barely made a difference. I too drove with them on high-beam all the time and nobody would ever flash me. On my 85' I'm still considering adding a pair of driving lights to help on those dark winter nights.

[TURTCEL]

The driving lights are a good idea but I would not suggest mounting them low to the ground under the front bumper. You are pretty much just gonna throw money away if mounted low from rocks flying up and hitting them.I have seen this too many times. I just pulled a set of busted ones off my Terc from under the bumper that the previous owner put on (both busted from rocks). I would suggest 2 round 4" to 6" driving lights mounted center grille or if you have a roof rack consider a couple of high mounts.

High mounts and extra bright driving lights can sometimes get negative attention on main roads due to the extreme brightness. Police have pulled friends of mine over before for driving with their off road lights on while on main roads. These lights are usually for off road use only.

You also need to consider that if you do mount them to the center grille area on some type of front brush guard or braket system that anything in front of the radiator can hinder air flow to the cooling system. These little cars tend to be sensitive to overheating issues so I always keep my radiator clear. If my Terc was an A/C car I woud have pulled the A/C system plus the A/C condensor too since it also sits in front of the radiator.

I can't remember the members name but he has 2 really nice round off road driving lights mounted to a front brush guard and they look really nice. I would suggest a set of rock guards for your driving light investment too.

[ARCHINSTL]

I built a set of elevated ramps that let me sit up while I am under the car, and built a swinging lift (with come-along) that lets me lift the engine and tranny/diff up and forward as a unit.

How about a pix; this is intriguing. Post it in the Tools Forum.

It's a lot more work--these engine removals, swaps, and such, now that I am in my 60's. I always say: "Now THIS is the last time."

Which is why, when I do a component, I replace ALL associated parts; I don't want to be lying on the gravel in 10 years, when I am 82...
Tom M.

[swanterky]

To Turtcel;
The '87 headlight lenses are glass in my Tercel 4WD, so are nice and clear looking with no yellowing. I am very aware of the yellowing plastic lenses problem--my neighbor has an F150--over 10 years old and the plastic lenses are really cloudy and yellow. It's odd that both you and 1985-SR5 have had the yellowing problem. I got an extra set of lenses in a parts buy, and they were glass as well. Maybe they only sent glass to Canada? Thanks for the tips, anyway!
Petros says his are brighter than the sealed beams. Weird!
I just went and checked them again--glass!
I am going to clean them thoroughly as suggested by Petros and see if that helps.

[TURTCEL]

Glass can also become pitted and dirt can get into the small pits in the glass too. I would suggest doing the alcohol cleaning on the outside while you are at it. The intensity and light projetion can be affected over the years of the glass lenses getting sprayed by dirt, sand, gravel, and other impurities. This can do the same to glass as it does to the composite lens housing just not as bad usually.

The more vision the better but remember that the brighter and more intense the bulb usually means a shorter life. Check your headlight wiring too if you have brighter bulbs in the housings. A hotter bulb can heat the headlight plug up and cause the wires to melt the insulation back on them. The factory wiring is a small guage but can be replaced with an aftermarket plug with heavier guage wiring to help curb this problem.

These are the kind of projects that can be fun on these cars...improvements with only a little money and time invested. Most other jobs can cost an arm and a leg so enjoy this one.

Peace

[swanterky]

To ARCHINSTL:
My ramps are covered up with all the left-over fodder of my engine swap, but I will post some photos when I get things straightened up in there. I know what you mean about "ALL associated parts". The 4A that I installed in the '86 which I described to Petros in this post had good compression, no ridges on the clean, unscratched cylinder walls, rod shells nice and clean without scratches, and plastigauged within tolerance, and still, after it is all installed and assembled, the suggah smokes like Columbo and his stogies. It would have been so easy to put in a set of rings when the engine was out--now, it's a whole R & R of the engine/transaxle. Petros said he did a re-ring with the engine in the car--I can't imagine how he was able to get the pan off, or removed the caps, with that darn diff. in the way
You are doing well to be messing around with these cars at the age of 72--I find every job harder these days--not so much the bolt turning (my nephew gave me an 18v snap-on impact gun) BUT the darn remembering where the heck I put things! My hands refuse to tell my brain where they leave things--so I have to have a basket for both tools and parts to not spend all day looking for things! I guess that means that I have become a bit of a "basket case"! Did you get my message about the used orig. windshield up in Montezuma IA.? I sent you a private message, I believe.

[ARCHINSTL]

swanterky -
1. I liked the reference to "Colombo and his stogies;" I'll bet many peeps are wondering what the heck you meant...
2. Yeah - for the upcoming Summer's work on Goldie I think I am gonna buy some Post-It notes that I can stick on various parts of the car ("15mm socket next to wheel" - "21mm socket still attached to ratchet" - and similar). At least my daughter does not make me wear an address tag inside my jacket - yet...
3. Nada on the PM in the regular email Inbox nor on the Message Center here. I DID see your note on it in another thread, though.
Tom M.

[swanterky]

An appointment an hour away was cancelled, giving me time for a thorough inspection of the 87 headlights. I have realized that somewhere in the past I have dealt with this type of light before, and when I took a closer look I think I remembered that it was a Tercel.

I removed the R & L lens/reflector assemblies, sans bulbs, and took them into a warm house for observation:

Composition: Glass lenses, clipped and sealed to plastic backs that hold the bulbs, and are lined with a reflective material.

Outside Condition: Lenses dirty, outside of plastic back dirty as well--clean as necessary with soapy water & rinse. One unit repaired with silicon at lens to plastic back seam.

Inside Condition (Looking through bulb hole): Inside of lenses has a layer of dust, more dust on one assembly which has had silicon added around join of lens to rest of assembly --probably to prevent water from entering--there was probably water vapor inside the unit. At this point I swapped, for this repaired unit, a backup assembly that showed no sign of leakage, or repair The reflective backing was degenerated slightly on the surface under the bulb of the repaired one, probably from heat.
The cleaning method was as follows:
I poured in a vinegar/dish soap mixture and did a good swish, and ran my finger around the reflective surface around the bulb location, as far as I could reach, and swished again, to make certain that there was no collection of foreign materials, and to remove any buildup of dust. After a cold water double rinse I gave each unit a spray with windows cleaner with ammonia, and rinsed again, 2x. I set the units, bulb hole down, so that they would drain as much as possible. To remove any water residue, I then took the units outside (away from the wood stove) and rinsed them with methyl hydrate, and drained them carefully, and brought them into the house, to set them near the stove (all stove intake air vents closed) to evaporate the rest of the Methyl Hydrate. There they sit--looking very clean now through the bulb hole, and reflectors nice and shiny, ready to be put back into the car where they hopefully will scare any owls well away from my car or windshield (being put in tomorrow).

Remember, if you see water vapor inside this type of light, it's probably a good idea to do a cleaning, then the methyl hydrate treatment, and then carefully add silicon along the seam between the lens and reflector (Clean well 1st). If water is getting in, then fine dust can enter as well. Of course, check for cracks or rock pits beforehand. Hobby shops with miniature planes have Cyanoacrylate (crazy glue) in "gap filling, medium, and super thin thicknesses. The thick stuff will fill small holes and set clear, which the thin stuff will actually glue glass back together along thin cracks. I have used it for years. There is an accelerator (to set it up quick) as well as tips available to help control the flow. I use mini hypodermics--just the needles (medical supply stores)--of different sizes for different thicknesses of glue. If anyone is interested, I can tell you the needle sizes that work with the different thicknesses of glue.
I glued the front park light lens on my 81 SR5 (it was in pieces after "kissing" a Honda) and it lasted 5 years until the car was hit (and run).

So thanks for all the ideas and suggestions, I hope that mine are useful as well.

BTW--there is still a NEW $25 windshield at La Grande Paint and Glass (eastern & northern Oregon) --it's too far for me to go, although I was tempted (571K). Ask for Jeff at 541-963-8671 (8 to 5)--he's a great guy & very helpful. There are other windshields as well: CL Ad: http://eastoregon.craigslist.org/ptd/3453409094.html

So I hope my lights are as bright as those of Petros--if you see a brighter "Blue Boy" coming some night--don't flick--I might be already on DIM!!

[swanterky]

Best idea I have heard for ages --except--where the h--- did I put that pad!? Re Columbo---I knew any 72 year old worth his salt would get THAT one!

Check out www.veetle.com

Click on "All"; "Explore";"Shows"; and scroll down the list, and you will see the little fellow. You have to download and install the Veetle player to watch it; it's there almost every day. No Ads if you use Firefox with Add-on "Adblock Plus" or "Advanced Ad Blocker" add-on. Columbo is also public domain--so no worry about copyright issues.