crazed headlight covers

[- s a i n t -]

I know this issue has been discussed before. I also suffer from the classic "scratches and crazing" on the top of my headlights. I've used scratch remover and plastic polisher with somewhat limited success. Because this is the only place on my VX that looks "old", I'd love to get the headlight covers replaced. I've read on this forum that others have had their entire headlight assemblies replaced under warranty. Well, unfortunately, my VX is out of warranty so there's no hope of that happening. I've also read that these headlight assemblies cost around $350 apiece!

My question is this: Does one have to buy the entire headlight assembly? Can I just order the plastic headlight lenses without having to get the whole enchilada?

I'm curious if anyone has any kind of information about this.

Thanks in advance,
- s a i n t -

[WyrreJ]

Given the discussion in the thread "opening your headlights" (or closely named), it sounds like the lens is glued on to the rest of the assembly. That suggests that it can't be ordered seperately. Beware buying whole assemblies from 3rd parties, like on ebay. I bought two from a guy who claimed they were in "excellent condition" and one was very scratched on the lens (and the other was missing parts from the back).

[Zu4two]

There are separate part numbers listed for the lens, versus the entire assembly.

Part numbers;89721-24470 & 89721-24480 are for the lenses. Dealer net on them in 1999 was only $16.05 each, as opposed to $277 for an entire headlight. I would assume that the lenses are easy to change, as they only have down 1/10 of an hour for labor to change one. This is after it's extricated from the front of the truck.

My lights are also starting to "get crazy" on the top around the horns. This is my second set of lights, having had them changed out shortly before my warranty ran out a couple of years ago. I can only assume that this is the effect the AZ sun has on clear polycarbonate I would imagine that this problem will continue, until the whole lens becomes cloudy.

[- s a i n t -]

Thanks for the part numbers. I'll give my stealership a call to see if they can order just the plastic lenses. If they can, I'll be a happy camper.

Sounds like I'm heading into uncharted waters, though. I guess I'm a bit surprised that no one else has ordered just the lenses. Makes me think it can't be done...

As soon as I get some information, I'll post it at this thread.

Thanks,
- s a i n t -

[ron]

hey Saint...

On another post, I replied that I have already ordered a spare headlight assembly to see if I can separate the lens from the housing by boiling it in water. Something I read somewhere in one of the Japanese VX web sites. Once I receive the part, I'll post result whether the trick worked or not.

[- s a i n t -]

Thanks, Ron.

I'll be anxious to hear about your "experiment." You better have a big ol' pot to handle the whole headlight assembly!

"What's for dinner, honey?"

"Oh, just something I call VX Headlight soup!"

That might be worth a picture!

- s a i n t -

[ron]

That's funny that you mentioned that Saint. I was boiling a medium sized pot one day and Cindy comes over to see what I was cooking and lo and behold, a floating amber side fender lens assembly in boiling water! YUM!

It worked though, at least for the amber lenses.

[MZ-N10]

Are there glass lens for the headlights or are all teh vxs stuck with plastic....cause in uk the toyota supra gets glass headlights while in teh us we get cheap plastic ones..anyone know?
________
ZOLOFT SETTLEMENTS

[- s a i n t -]

Unfortunately, the part numbers that Zu4Two supplied are only the rubber gasket that goes around the headlight. I just got off the phone with the parts dept. at my Isuzu dealership. The guy was going to special order them because he really couldn't tell by the picture what it was describing. He then called me back five minutes later because he actually had one in stock. Sure enough, it was only the rubber gasket. We both were suspicious when the part numbers came up at $20 apiece. Looks like the only way to get shiny new plastic for our headlights is to buy a whole new headlight assembly.

I don't think my wife will go for spending $600 to replace the headlights just because the tops are crazed. Now, I just have to find my hammer and head out to the garage...

Can you believe this, honey? Two huge rocks hit each of my headlights and now they're ruined! Looks like we have to get new headlights...

Think it'll work?

- s a i n t -

[ron]

You need a buffing wheel to REALLY polish polycarbonate. If it was made out of acrylic, then hand polishing is doable. However, pc requires the aid of a machine with polishing compound to get the scratches and knicks out of the lenses.

Regarding the glass vs. "cheap plastic" issue, I'd go with the plastic. Yes, glass is nice but I think it may be susceptable to cracking from rock impact while offroading. Polycarbonate really isn't "cheap" either. Although it's still plastic, it's the same stuff that bullet-proof windows are made of like the ones in some banks.