Does the Rubber Seal Around the Front Headlights Stretch?

I've pulled and reinstalled the headlights countless times and never come close to scratching the bumper. The thread starter is boring me to death and the body shop owner is a lying a$$.
Can I chg my mind about subscribing to this thread and now un-subscribe?
 
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twogts4us said:
I've pulled and reinstalled the headlights countless times and never come close to scratching the bumper. The body shop owner is a lying a$$.
The body shop owner had a very hard time getting the headlight assembly unit out of the header socket and it scratched the bumper. It's not easy to get the headlight assembly unit out. It's a pain in the a$$ to get out and it can easily scratch the bumper if it slips or if it gets caught on something. Plus, there is no way that anything like a towel or cloth can easily fit underneath the headlight unit so the bumper can be protected from it.
The body shop owner has been doing body work on these particular cars for over 20+ years. I doubt that he's a lying a$$ like you think he is.
 
RED2001GT said:
The body shop owner had a very hard time getting the headlight assembly unit out of the header socket and it scratched the bumper. It's not easy to get the headlight assembly unit out. It's a pain in the a$$ to get out and it can easily scratch the bumper if it slips or if it gets caught on something. Plus, there is no way that anything like a towel or cloth can easily fit underneath the headlight unit so the bumper can be protected from it.
The body shop owner has been doing body work on these particular cars for over 20+ years. I doubt that he's a lying a$$ like you think he is.

Yep, you're right - Mr. Body Shop Owner (is it Earl Scheib's by chance? :rolleyes: ) is all powerful and us dummies out here don't know a thing about pulling headlights...
Why did you bother even asking us if it's 'in Earl' that 'you trust'? You have the utmost faith in his judgement, so why in the world are you asking us?
You've been given some great advice by some knowledgable Stanger's. You refuse to believe, try, trust...what do you want?
 
Kilgore Trout said:
Then what IS the solution? You tell us :shrug:
I wish that I knew. I am just trying to narrow it down to exactly what is causing the gap. If the plastic retainer slots are not damaged and if the metal retainer clips are on correctly in the headlight assembly unit and if the header panel is not damaged and if the front bumper is on correctly then WHAT is causing the gap?
 
twogts4us said:
Yep, you're right - Mr. Body Shop Owner (is it Earl Scheib's by chance? :rolleyes: ) is all powerful and us dummies out here don't know a thing about pulling headlights...
Why did you bother even asking us if it's 'in Earl' that 'you trust'? You have the utmost faith in his judgement, so why in the world are you asking us?
You've been given some great advice by some knowledgable Stanger's. You refuse to believe, try, trust...what do you want?
Please forgive me. I didn't say that you guys don't know anything. It was not my intention to say that you don't know anything. I am only telling you what the body shop owner told me. Please try to understand that I am unable to bring the car somewhere else because I already paid the body shop owner to do all the work. I still need to deal with him and I am trying to be as diplomatic as possible with the body shop owner so he can try to fix the problem. I don't know HOW I am going to convince him to take off the headlight assembly unit again in order to fix the gap when he doesn't want to for fear of scratching the front bumper? He is the ONLY one that I can bring my vehicle to for all the repairs. I am hoping that he can fix the problem without having to worry about scratching the front bumper.

You don't know how much this is bothering me. I am really getting depressed over this whole repair issue.

And the body shop is NOT an Earl Shieb or a Macco. It's a very reputable small father & son body shop in my local area.
 
Look, it's transparently obvious to most of us that 90% of what the body master is reported to have told you is false. In 10 minutes, you can verify or refute most of it for yourself.
Your writing skills indicate you are of above average intelligence. Learn to read, research, and verify. I told you I could shove a yardstick into the space between the headlight housing and bumper cover, no problem. So how hard can it be to go out with a ruler or plastic knife and see if you can shove the end of a towel in there.

The housings may have been hard to remove the first time, bucause the guide pins may be stuck in their rubber sockets. Once out, any body man worthy of the title would spread a dab of silicone grease on the pins so they would slide in and out like butter (lurkers: no sexual cannotations intended here).

I am not a mechanic and had never removed a Mustang headlight housing before 2 days ago. After doing some reasearch (reading the posts of others who have already done it), I did it just out of curiosity and to learn something. The wild claims from the body shop were simply too incredible for me to accept at face value. Egads! . . I even dared to remove it a second time to take the picture. No bumper scratches either time.
If you don't hava a 1/8" or larger gap between housing and bumper cover at the lens, the original cause you seek has been identified for you (the housing is too low or the bumper cover mounted too high).

Sorry for being so long winded.
 
So HOW am I going to convince the body shop owner to take off the headlight assembly unit when he says that he will not take them off again for fear of scratching the bumper? There's got to be a way.
 
twogts4us said:
Do it for him, right in front of him.
That's a no, no. I am NOT mechanically inclined. Plus, if I accidently scratch the front bumper, I will be responsible and will have to pay MORE MONEY to repaint it again. I'm sorry, but I cannot do that.
 
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Kilgore Trout said:
Take it to another body shop and get a second opinion.
I do that, but ONLY for a 2nd opinion. I am sure that the other body shop will want to take things apart and that they will not do anything for free. I already paid the body shop that I am currently dealing with over $700, so I don't think that going to another body shop will be a good idea.
 
So, does anyone in here know what's causing the gap if the plastic retainer slots on the headlight assembly units are not broken or cracked? The front fender is straight and has never been damaged and the header panel is undamaged and in excellent shape and the front bumper is on straight and securely. Nothing looks broken, bent or cracked.
So, what's causing the gap if nothing is cracked, broken or bent out of shape? There's got to be a reason why the gap is there. What could be the cause of the gap?
 
RED2001GT said:
The body shop owner had a very hard time getting the headlight assembly unit out of the header socket and it scratched the bumper.


i can actualyl attest to this..i pulled mine a few days ago for the first time (that I myself have done it TO THAT CAR)

the studs somehow seized and got hung up, causing one to snap off and also in the process scratching the fender behind the light housing

i got pissed but its nothing superglue and touchup paint(that u never see) cant fix

this does happen tho
 
-=NightHawk=- said:
take it off...something isnt lined up
I am definitely not going to touch anything because I am NOT mechanically inclined and I am afraid that I might scratch the bumper. The body shop owner does not want to take the headlight assembly unit off again and accidently scratch the bumper again. He scratched the bumper because the headlight assembly unit got stuck and got caught on something when he was trying to pull it out. From what he told me, he had a very hard time getting it out. I think that the only thing that he will do is check to see if the headlight assembly needs adjustment. But he will not take off the headlight assembly unit again. That's what he told me.
 
dude honestly...if u slide the holders out and try to pull on it. it SHOULD just pull out, maybe even with a wiggle.

why not just try to see if this works instead of just not doing anything at all? if it doesnt come out i guess ur gunna have to live with it

theres hardly anything mechanical to it. u pull some holders and u pull somethng out of a socket thats held in by 2 studs that have two wires attached to it that are the easiest wires to un hook in the world. you are overestimating the complexity of the headlamp
 
Life is too short to be afraid to pull headlight pods. I probably remove mine 6-12 times per year for various reasons.

Just wait until you start messing with interior trim. Talk about stress and risk of breakage! :rlaugh:

Dude, you are overthinking this and stressing out over nothing...