D3 headlight lens removal?
Thread Starter
AudiWorld Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 714
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D3 headlight lens removal?
I put this into another thread, but I'll ask again. Is it possible to remove the plastic lenses from the D3 headlights without damage? The burgundy car that was featured in the forums a little while a ago with suicide doors had colour keyed headlight 'bowls' that would usually be mirror finish/chrome. Did the guy break the old lenses off and replace them with new ones after painting, or can they be taken off and refitted? When i had my headlights out, the lenses looked glued on...
Help please...
K9
Help please...
K9
AudiWorld Super User
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 2,883
Likes: 5
From: NC USA
I've seen guys put headlights in the oven on very low temp.
Apparently it loosens up the glue and that's how they get the front off.
Stinks like hell and their wives are never happy about it.
BTW - I'm pretty sure that it is not legal in NY to modify reflector coloration.
A friend of mine who is a retired Trooper mentioned it to me 20 years ago as we walked past a vehicle with "blacked out" headlights.
Apparently it loosens up the glue and that's how they get the front off.
Stinks like hell and their wives are never happy about it.
BTW - I'm pretty sure that it is not legal in NY to modify reflector coloration.
A friend of mine who is a retired Trooper mentioned it to me 20 years ago as we walked past a vehicle with "blacked out" headlights.
AudiWorld Super User
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 4,038
Likes: 23
From: Honeoye New York USA
I've never opened a Audi light but I have opened a dozen or so other makes.
Get a hunk of cardboard large enough to cover the oven shelve. Place the light in the oven before heating to see if and how it fits.
Remove the cardboard and preheat the oven to 200-250*F. Shut the oven off, insert the cardboard and light, shut the door. Let it soak for ten minutes, pull it out and try to pry the lens off the housing.
I use flat blade screwdrivers, putty knives, butter knives, etc. It's handy to have something like chop sticks to stick in the opening as you work along. I have used scissors on stringy Lexus adhesive before. I usually work on a pair of lights so one is in the heat while I work on the other one.
You can use heat to soften the glue when putting them back together. There is no smell unless you do something dumb like leaving the oven on with the plastic light inside.
Get a hunk of cardboard large enough to cover the oven shelve. Place the light in the oven before heating to see if and how it fits.
Remove the cardboard and preheat the oven to 200-250*F. Shut the oven off, insert the cardboard and light, shut the door. Let it soak for ten minutes, pull it out and try to pry the lens off the housing.
I use flat blade screwdrivers, putty knives, butter knives, etc. It's handy to have something like chop sticks to stick in the opening as you work along. I have used scissors on stringy Lexus adhesive before. I usually work on a pair of lights so one is in the heat while I work on the other one.
You can use heat to soften the glue when putting them back together. There is no smell unless you do something dumb like leaving the oven on with the plastic light inside.
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Thread Starter
AudiWorld Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 714
Likes: 0
Sweet...
Thanks for the input man.
K9
K9
I've never opened a Audi light but I have opened a dozen or so other makes.
Get a hunk of cardboard large enough to cover the oven shelve. Place the light in the oven before heating to see if and how it fits.
Remove the cardboard and preheat the oven to 200-250*F. Shut the oven off, insert the cardboard and light, shut the door. Let it soak for ten minutes, pull it out and try to pry the lens off the housing.
I use flat blade screwdrivers, putty knives, butter knives, etc. It's handy to have something like chop sticks to stick in the opening as you work along. I have used scissors on stringy Lexus adhesive before. I usually work on a pair of lights so one is in the heat while I work on the other one.
You can use heat to soften the glue when putting them back together. There is no smell unless you do something dumb like leaving the oven on with the plastic light inside.
Get a hunk of cardboard large enough to cover the oven shelve. Place the light in the oven before heating to see if and how it fits.
Remove the cardboard and preheat the oven to 200-250*F. Shut the oven off, insert the cardboard and light, shut the door. Let it soak for ten minutes, pull it out and try to pry the lens off the housing.
I use flat blade screwdrivers, putty knives, butter knives, etc. It's handy to have something like chop sticks to stick in the opening as you work along. I have used scissors on stringy Lexus adhesive before. I usually work on a pair of lights so one is in the heat while I work on the other one.
You can use heat to soften the glue when putting them back together. There is no smell unless you do something dumb like leaving the oven on with the plastic light inside.
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AudiWorld Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 1,937
Likes: 42
From: Kansas City
would be nice to clean inside of lens...
I JUST took my lights out to do a mod and put them back in last week. I lamented the fact that the lens was not clipped on like the D2 lens because I would have liked to have cleaned the off-gassing film from the inside of the lens. Next time I'll know.
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