Headlight adjuster broken again

[riptusk331]

I too used this as my fix. Thanks for the suggestion! It worked really well, make sure to measure before cutting, ensure you don’t cut too deep and hit the electrical work inside (look through the headlight lens to verify), and the hardest part was cleaning out the debris after opening up the top of the headlight. I used a small shop vac with an attachment to get plastic out. I used a hole saw so I could JB plastic bond it back together, make sure to let the epoxy harden a little so it doesn’t drip down in the reflection surface. I used a 1” finishing nail and a 5/64 drill bit for the fix.

I did this because I can’t stand the thought of paying $2000 to have the same problem because they install a light with the same engineering problem. Not only that but it’s only a matter of time before the other light does the same. Instead this is a stronger fix for $25 between the JB Plastic bond, the box of nails, and the drill bit. I did use a drill, a 3” hole saw bit, a shop vac, a microfiber cloth (to wipe smudges inside the light), and a measuring caliper (to measure and mark where to drill the finishing nail hole as to not puncture the black ball). These were all items I already had.

Here are photos of what the inside of the adjuster looks like when broken, what the inside of the headlight area where the adjuster connects to it. Also, here’s a picture on how I decided where to cut my hole, where I drilled/pinned the adjuster, and a picture of the hole sealed back up with the JB plastic bond.

Take your time and focus, it’s not too hard. Hopefully this helps! Lord knows it’s worth saving $2k!!!!

Wow, great post New Guy -- super helpful to see what the inside of the assembly looks like from the top down. Glad you were able to resolve it!

After fixing it that way, do you think your method and all the cutting/drilling/mess is worth it, or could I get away with just putting JB Weld on the adjuster head and then reinserting it and letting it dry (like Bdbdzz mentioned)?

 

[New Guy]

Wow, great post New Guy -- super helpful to see what the inside of the assembly looks like from the top down. Glad you were able to resolve it!

After fixing it that way, do you think your method and all the cutting/drilling/mess is worth it, or could I get away with just putting JB Weld on the adjuster head and then reinserting it and letting it dry (like Bdbdzz mentioned)?

It might work if you’re lucky. The main problem is that when the chrome piece doesn’t have the adjuster attached, the chrome piece won’t be aligned to reinsert the adjuster with the job welded white piece.

I liked the route I took because it’s a stronger fix that operates just as good as oem equipment (just more reliable).

The big thing I would call out is not to get jb weld on the connection between the white part of the adjuster or the sphere that is on the adjuster as the light won’t be able to adjust due to the adjuster not being able to spin freely.

Overall, I would say it is a 65% chance it would work, and a 35% chance that it caused irreversible damage that would require buying a $2k replacement light.

 

[West1]

Having the same issue on my four year old 21 RST Tahoe @50k miles.

 

[cstapp99]

I too used this as my fix. Thanks for the suggestion! It worked really well, make sure to measure before cutting, ensure you don’t cut too deep and hit the electrical work inside (look through the headlight lens to verify), and the hardest part was cleaning out the debris after opening up the top of the headlight. I used a small shop vac with an attachment to get plastic out. I used a hole saw so I could JB plastic bond it back together, make sure to let the epoxy harden a little so it doesn’t drip down in the reflection surface. I used a 1” finishing nail and a 5/64 drill bit for the fix.

I did this because I can’t stand the thought of paying $2000 to have the same problem because they install a light with the same engineering problem. Not only that but it’s only a matter of time before the other light does the same. Instead this is a stronger fix for $25 between the JB Plastic bond, the box of nails, and the drill bit. I did use a drill, a 3” hole saw bit, a shop vac, a microfiber cloth (to wipe smudges inside the light), and a measuring caliper (to measure and mark where to drill the finishing nail hole as to not puncture the black ball). These were all items I already had.

Here are photos of what the inside of the adjuster looks like when broken, what the inside of the headlight area where the adjuster connects to it. Also, here’s a picture on how I decided where to cut my hole, where I drilled/pinned the adjuster, and a picture of the hole sealed back up with the JB plastic bond.

Take your time and focus, it’s not too hard. Hopefully this helps! Lord knows it’s worth saving $2k!!!!

Thanks for posting this fix. I plan to do this myself also. Your photos are throwing me off a bit. The one with the drill marks on it and the one with the epoxy applied don't look like they are photos of the same headlight. Is that the case? It just looks like the "made in Mexico" label is reversed on one of them. Thanks!

 

[cstapp99]

Thanks to the description from Lanyx and the added photos from NewGuy, I tackled this fix today. It’s about an hour job and most of that is epoxy drying time. I will note that there is a small area of opportunity for the nail to hit without accidentally interfering with the rotation of the black threaded rod that needs to be free to spin. It will all make sense once you take it apart and look at how it goes together.