'2002/3 Rusted headlight screws

Hi All

So, being a Landie she's got the odd bit of rust at the front which causes havoc with screws - the battery clamp was my last saga!

However this week it's the 'simple' case or headlight bulb replacement - not so simple! The screws are horrendously rusted with one simply turning without unscrewing, one other with most the head chewed off by previous servicing I guess, the others immovable! They've been soaking on/off throughout this week in penetrative lubricant to try and ease them but to no avail.

Next is to try and heat them with a heat gun, but I'm not crossing fingers.

Any tips much welcomed.

Cheers
Lea

Park it in Manchester, they will have the lights out of it in minutes......

Unfortunately you are doing all you can as far as I'm aware. I was lucky as my D2 was OK.

GreenHornet said:

Park it in Manchester, they will have the lights out of it in minutes......

Unfortunately you are doing all you can as far as I'm aware. I was lucky as my D2 was OK.

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Good answer! if he looks back at a couple of days ago he will get it, The thing is if he was in that area bulbs would be least of his worries!:laugh:

Cheers for your suggestions oh well, got some help arriving today with more tools than the average, so hoping to make some progress. When (being positive) these screws come out I shall replace them with something which has at least some chromium in them (stainless) rather than the cheap and nasty ones the manufacturer has clearly chosen..

Got my eyes on these: Trend Pro Grabit Screw and Bolt Remover 2 Pieces | Screwfix.com

But have a feeling looking at the videos they wont bite enough on rusted solid screws, looks good for wood etc.

Reckon these would be better due to the volume of thread that grips into the screw, hopefully allowing more removal torque: http://www.screwfix.com/p/stud-extractor-set-8-pc/20084#

Or maybe the cheaper version to begin? Screw Extractor Set | Screwfix.com

Luckily we have a screwfix just up the road! ;-)

The problem you are going to have, ( and may already ), is that the steel screw is corroded and stuck to the brass insert that is moulded into the light. Being able grip the screw will undoubtedly cause the brass insert to just spin in the lights plastic body.

When this happened to mine I drilled the head off the screw and then, on the bench, carefully drilled the remains of the screw out.

You must proceed with caution as you can knackered your lights.

Cheers.

Yep, discovered the inserts and the corrosion! Once I located a HUGE driver and a set of mole grips, two heads of the philips screws on top of the headlight unit came spinning off! The third (horizontal) screw next to the rad came out thankfully. So at least I could remove the lamp unit out and refit new bulbs.

The top screws screw into a metal insert (as 50 Pence mentions, but now with no heads) so out came the drill and being careful I removed the remaining studs (and the insert came with it).

I ended up using those plastic push grips (as those used to fix the grill) and larger screws to refit the unit.

BUT - just as I was drilling out the other lamp unit's top screws ,it struck me.....OMG, why didn't I simply remove the torxs screws above the philips ones which are used to align the headlights. These were rusty too and had been soaking in penetration oil, but came out no problem. I couldn't believe it! Why didn't I forget reading the manual and use some common.

I marked the position of torxs screws/the lamp units, removed them and the remaining headlamp simply popped out, no need to remove the horrendously corroded Phillips screws!!!!

Would have saved about 2 hours!

Cheers
Lea