Sylvania Composite headlight adjusters frozen

[454cid]

I have the original headlights off my truck, and I'm debating on what to do with them. They're oxidized and need to be sanded/polished for sure, but also the adjusters are frozen. I've got two sets of new lights to use (Arteb/TYC) so I don't NEED the originals, but they seem to be made petty well, and I tend to keep parts on hand that could still be useful.

When I looked at them awhile back, I wasn't sure of a clear way for disassembly. Has anyone gotten the adjusters free? If so how did you do it?

 

[df2x4]

Are they put together the same way as the Artebs? If so you can pop the two screws out of the little plastic covers and gain access to the gears.

 

[454cid]

Are they put together the same way as the Artebs? If so you can pop the two screws out of the little plastic covers and gain access to the gears.

I dont have them in front of me at the moment, but I think the screw heads are not accessible. I would have taken them apart if it was that simple.

 

[HotrodZ06]

I squirted wd40 in the ones I had stuck and slowly worked more and more in until they would turn freely. Its definitely time consuming.

 

[Caman96]

My thought on these was to depress the tabs and they will just pop out. Then you could spray them with PB Blaster and just work them.

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[df2x4]

I squirted wd40 in the ones I had stuck and slowly worked more and more in until they would turn freely. Its definitely time consuming.

A better option than WD-40 would be a dry lube with Teflon, like this one from PB Blaster. It stays in place to provide future lubrication and won't attract dust and dirt like wet lubes, silicone for example.

www.amazon.com/Blaster-General-Purpose-Lubricant-Additives/dp/B00I3VMRFY

Big thanks to @1998_K1500_Sub for recommending this stuff, I used it to free up several frozen adjusters on the three sets of Artebs I purchased from him. I disassembled the adjusters as best I could and sprayed the gears, then re-assembled and worked everything back and forth while spraying short bursts of the dry lube at each end of travel. As mentioned it takes a while, I had blisters on a couple fingers by the time I was done with them all. Definitely worked though.

 

[HotrodZ06]

A better option than WD-40 would be a dry lube with Teflon, like this one from PB Blaster. It stays in place to provide future lubrication and won't attract dust and dirt like wet lubes, silicone for example.

www.amazon.com/Blaster-General-Purpose-Lubricant-Additives/dp/B00I3VMRFY

Big thanks to @1998_K1500_Sub for recommending this stuff, I used it to free up several frozen adjusters on the three sets of Artebs I purchased from him. I disassembled the adjusters as best I could and sprayed the gears, then worked everything back and forth while spraying short bursts of the dry lube at each end of travel. As mentioned it takes a while, I had blisters on a couple fingers by the time I was done with them all. Definitely worked though.

That definitely would be better I need to get some of that.

 

[454cid]

My thought on these was to depress the tabs and they will just pop out. Then you could spray them with PB Blaster and just work them.

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If those are the same type of 4 sided catch that the Artebs use they do not come out easily.

I have the dry lubricant and I was not all that impressed with it, when I tried it on the new parts. I can't imagine it would do much to loosen old parts. I guess since i already have it, it would not hurt to try, though.

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

My thought on these was to depress the tabs and they will just pop out.

As @454cid noted, those plastic retainers are pretty tenacious.

They can be disassembled but it requires the dexterity of a Martian, with four hands and seven fingers on each. I've done it but it's a slow process.

A small flat-blade screwdriver or two, and a long-nose Vise-Grip® are very handy for depressing the tabs and then holding them depressed, thus allowing the mating connector to be removed.

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Also as noted prior, the Teflon lubricants work well, but they don't loosen an initially tight connection (e.g., like WD-40 might). Once they've been applied, and the connection "worked" (as @df2x4 described) to get the libricant spread throughout the connection, they seem to do the job well.

Teflon lubricants can be found at the big box stores, Home Depot et al.

 

[454cid]

Ok, fiddled with them a bit today. I sprayed some of the long discontinued Marvel Mystery Oil Super Lubricant spray onto the screws. I did try turning them, but I was just turning the whole thing, meaning the gear is stuck on the rod internally. It looks like the gears are in a sealed box. The two screws that hold it to the plastic frame are ONLY holding it to the frame, they don't seem to beholding the gear case together. Also, the black plastic pieces with the 4 clips are heavily shrouded by the reflector housing.

I think the Sylvanias are more precisely made than the Artebs, but they seem to be VERY difficult to take a part.

I'm about to get ready for work, so I can't do anything more today.... it'll give the MArvel spray awhile to work. I need to get a flashlight and take a closer look at the chrome inside the reflectors. If they look like the turnsignals inside, I'll just toss them. The turn signals were badly flaking/corroded/dirty/whatever.