2003 Yukon Headlight Assembly Issues

[shreksbrother]

So I have now tried three different types/brands of aftermarket headlight assemblies in my Yukon, and all seem to have the exact same issue... They are not straight. What I mean by that is the entire assembly is crooked (on both sides, but the dirver side seems worse). The pins slide down fine and everything seems correct, but there is a large gap between the bottom of the headlight and the grille. Additionally, when the hood shuts it is pressing down on the headlight assembly itself, so eventually the headlight mounts break due to road vibrations/pressure.

I am not the original owner of this Yukon, but the front end looks straight. The body lines line up fine and nothing looks damaged on the radiator support or headlight mounts.

Has anyone else experienced this issue? I don't think I'm doing anything wrong, but I know that I must be blinding the drivers in front of me because I get flashed often.

Thanks, Adam.

 

[YukonXL04]

Have you tried the adjusters on the back side of the headlight?

 

[shreksbrother]

Have you tried the adjusters on the back side of the headlight?

I have tried the adjuster screws that adjust the headlight beam to try to make it a bit less awful for oncoming drivers, but it does not seem to move the entire headlight assembly. Is there another type of adjustment I should be looking at?

 

[YukonXL04]

There's 2 adjusters. One for side to side movement of the housing, and one for up down. The up down will angle the whole housing down.

The only other thing is to make sure the bottom of the pin is actually going in the hole. Sometimes you have to push the housing down and in to get the bottom to line up. Otherwise it will act like yours are doing now

 

[shreksbrother]

So I just went out there and removed the headlight assembly and took a closer look at it. When I turned the headlight adjuster (since it's projector, there is only one), the entire assembly rotated, so it was actually doing nothing when I was turning it before. I used a pair of pliers and it made a significant change to the way the headlight assembly sits in there.

Embarassing that I've worked on cars as a hobby for 20 years and got outsmarted by a headlight. I'll do fine adjustments after sunset.

Thanks for your responses!

 

[Rocket Man]

If your mounts are breaking and the hood press down on the headlight I suspect you're not getting the bottom holes to line up when you're pushing the pins down. Something with the way they're mounting is wrong, the adjustments aren't for that. I've installed 3 sets and the only time I've had a problem like that is when the bottom mount holes weren't lined up. Try wiggling the headlights up and down to see if they move.

 

[YukonXL04]

Oh yea I thought you were talking about stock Yukon headlights. Projector ones usually only have 1 adjustment.

 

[adventurenali92]

I just went through the exact same scenario with my Spyder brand halo/projector housings on my 2006. Except I had clearance at the hood. Anyways, like rocket man said^, I had to work take them out and reinstall to make sure they were sitting in the brackets correctly and that the pins were actually through the bottom holes. But I also assumed the adjusting screws moved the bulbs inside the housing not the housing itself. When I realized that the whole housing adjusts by those screws, and that the bracket on the housing moves the lens/housing, and stays stationary in the bracket on the truck, I understood how to maneuver them around to get that gap you spoke of between the bottom of the headlight housing and the grille to lessen. However my projector headlights have two adjusting screws, on for side to side, and one for up and down, not just one screw like you guys said above....

 

[Doubeleive]

you may want to take a flashlight and look down inside there with the headlight in and make sure the bottom pin slots are lined up properly they can be a little tricky sometimes you have wiggle them around a bit to get them in all the way and properly otherwise they will sit up at an angle like you are describing and the hood will hit. sometimes the bottom of the headlight will get hung up on the edge of the grill just keep wiggling till they go in.

 

[shreksbrother]

Thanks to all for the replies. I installed the assemblies a little differently this time. I aligned and installed the inboard pin before the outboard one. On both headlight assemblies I could immediately tell they were lined up better with the grille.

I drove to work without blinding anyone today... I'm sure all of the other drivers I encounter on the road are just as appreciative.

Thanks, Adam.