Hi,

On a drive yesterday afternoon a headlight lense on my 99 TH Magna was smashed. I hit a wallaby just after dusk. Fortunately I hit it at low speed, Magna brakes work pretty well.

Anyway I need to get it repaired. Is it possible just to buy a new lense? The globes inside are working fine. Approximately how much does a new lense or light housing cost? How hard is it to fit and if its beyond me what sort of labour charges should I be looking at?

Thanks

i dunno exactly what was smashed when u say lense but im guessing just the plastic?

www.ozeparts.com

look under mitsubishi>magna>TH lenses areo nly $50

u can do it your self, Remove the metal clips from the headlight and lense, then remove the screws.

Just heat up the headlight in the oven at 180 degrees with no fan on, make sure no plastic parts are touching the metal give it 10 minutes and prise the broken lense off (i used a paint scraper, make sure you are wearing gloves or sumthing coz the headlight will be hot!).

While its still hot push the new lense onto the housing there should still be enuff of the glue stuff there the giv it a proper seal. then when she cool down put the screws back in and the metal clips back on, Plug it up and see what it looks like

Hmm. I posted a reply but it seems to have disappeared. Oh well....Attempt 2.

If you need to replace the headlamp assembly, you can save yourself some labour charges....

Step 1:
Tools....a Phillips Head screwdriver, a longish flat-bladed screwdriver, and a 10mm socket
with extension and ratchet/T-bar.

Remove the long black plastic shroud/strip that goes along the top of the car next to the radiator, part of it is underneath the air intake. They are cheap plastic clips that you will probably break at least one of. They (in theory) undo with a Phillips screwdriver. Removing
this plastic strip gives better access to the grille removal points. If, when undoing them,
they just spin without unscrewing, prise the top of the screw upwards with another screwdriver as you undo it with the other.

Remove the grille by poking with the long bladed, flat screwdriver at the tangs behind each mounting clip. Poke at them in a downwards direction, except the centre bottom one if I remember rightly, it has a sideways tang. Tug on the grille as you poke at each one, you will hear a "click" as it releases. There are two mount clips that don't have a tang, they are the top ones at each end of the grille. When all the tangs are "clicked", pull on the grille and the top ones should release too. You might have to tug a bit more than gently at them, but don't be too violent. They don't need too much force to release.....Withdraw the grille and put it somewhere safe where it won't get run over or walked on.

Remove any clips that stayed behind on the car side of the mount points, and re-fit them to their corresponding attachment point on the grille. They will "click" into place. Its much easier to refit the grille with these connectors all attached to the grille.

Step 2.
Remove the blinker lamp assembly. Its held in position by a spring clip. If the headlamp is on the driver's side, it will improve access by removing the washer bottle (2 bolts) and propping it aside.
The spring clip has an obvious "round bit" on the end. Grab that, pull on it about 25mm...and lift it off the spring attachment point. The lamp assembly, with a little encouragement, can be moved forward where it will hang out the front of the car by its wiring. That's okay, leave it there.

Undo the two bolts holding the headlamp to the body on top, and the bolt at the side behind where the grille was. (I think its one bolt, there could be two......they are 10mm anyway. Ignore any bolts other than 10mm, you don't need to touch them).

Where the parking lamp was, there are three gold coloured (on my Magnas anyway) Phillips head screws. Remove them. One is in a high position, you will have to peer in and up to see it. Don't lose the screws.

Remove the connectors at the rear of the high/low, the high beam, and the parking lamp bulbs. Often this is easier said than done for the high/low and high beam ones! Prise at each end to remove them from the bulb pins. The parking lamp bulb connector is a simple pull-off type that I've not had trouble getting off. Don't use too much force on the other connectors! If you just reef at them, you will distort the wire retainers that hold the bulbs in the lamp body. You don't want to do that.....(no prizes for guessing how I know that).

In case your model has a different connector style, check them for any obvious release mechanisms. But my TJ and KS are push-on pull-off style.

Withdraw the headlamp assembly, and take it somewhere comfortable and convenient. Place it on a towel on a workbench, for example. This is now a good time to hose the radiator to get the bugs off!

Installation is a reverse of the above procedure, no surprise. Put the headlamp back in its position, install the three gold screws (you might have to jiggle the headlamp to line up the screw holes). Instal the 10mm bolts. Put the bulb connectors back on. Be careful to make sure they are actually meshing with the lamp pins, and not missing them. Push the park lamp connector back where it came from.

At this point, check that the headlamp works...high beam, low beam, parker lamp. If they don't work, chances are that a connector hasn't meshed properly in position.

Replace the blinker lamp by positioning it a bit forward of the headlamp and pushing it back to its correct spot. It may need several attempts to get the lamp into the right spot. The blinker is held against the headlamp by clips on both lamps that mesh into each other.

Replace the spring clip. If in doubt as to where it goes, check the one on the other side that you haven't removed.

Replace the washer bottle, if you have removed it. It has a round plastic bit on the bottom that sits in a hole in the metal bodywork. Do up its two 10mm bolts.

Replace the grille by positioning it so the clips all line up with their mount points on the body, and push it into place. You should hear several "clicks" as the connections mesh. Check that all connectors are "clicked".

Check the headlight aim at the earliest convenient time. There are adjusters on the headlamp, of course.

Hope this helps save some labour costs! Its one of those jobs that can seem complicated, but having done it once, the second time is a cinch.

Regards,

Old One.

Hi,

On a drive yesterday afternoon a headlight lense on my 99 TH Magna was smashed.


*cough* Parras..:P

wow, old one thats huge, much more effort then i put in!

perfect time for paras...

Thanks Old One.

I have a problem though. I followed your guide to take the headlight assembly out. However there is another bolt retaining it. The bolt is on the grill side. Its head is covered by part of the headlight assembly, some black plastic. It is retained by a white plastic block. It looks like the block can be unclipped but I am unable to do it. I tried for a while and all I succeeded in doing is scoring the block.

Does anyone know how to unfasten this connection?

Edit. I just prised this apart with a screwdriver and I got the headlight free.

Thanks everyone. I fixed it all up this morning. I checked the lights and they all work well.There is one screw left over but I can't for the life of me see where it goes. Hopefully the headlight won't fall out or a wheel falls off!

I'm pleased that you got some value from my suggestions! Your Magna might
have a retaining gizmo that my two don't....the headlamp does have a plastic
peg thing on the bolt side of the headlamp (centre of the car side) but on mine
its seems to be just for positioning purposes and a tug on the headlamp easily
releases it.

When I read your post I immediately thought "Yair, been there, done that."
I hit a bird (a galah of all things) and it cracked the lens.

It took me an hour to get the headlamp off to change it (wreckers...$100
from memory, not cheap). I didn't know enough to tackle the job of
replacing just the lens. Didn't know about this forum then!

When I later upgraded the lamps to plus 50s, it took me five minutes to get
the headlamp off....its easy once you know how to do it! But I pulled too
hard on the high/low beam connector and distorted the wire clamp that
holds the bulb in position. Sigh. A fair bit of experimental twisting with
pliers got back into working order. I find it easier to change bulbs by
taking the headlamp out rather than fiddling about with fingers that
won't fit where you want them to go and you can't see what you are
doing anyway.....

I would have responded earlier but I've been on hols lately and only turned
the computer on a couple of times....still catching up on the forums!

This is a great forum! I am learning heaps!

Regards,

Old One.

Just replaced my lens, on the TE,,, the old bake in the oven worked a treat to remove the old lens...

Thanks ThuG!