separating the rear light

[brundish24]

how do you separate the rear light housing ive taken it of the car taken of the screws from the back of it tryed pulling it off not to hard as i hurd they can brake easy i was going to use a screwdriver but i dont what to bust it please help.

[Lum]

you need to heat the glue up holding the lense to the back, use a heat gun or a hairdryer & slowly prize it apart bit by bit by hand as you heat it.

[chrisJDM]

I\'ve heard of some putting them in the oven to melt the glue, don\'t think I would be brave enough to do that

[brundish24]

ive tryed heating the glue it did work but the other side on the light housing is harder so i gave up i think i concentrate on the rats nest.

[darknight7777777]

I found it was easy if you heat up boiling water pour it in a bucket and then leave the unit in it for 5 mins, then pull them apart so they just start to seperate and then turn the unit around and leave for another 5 mins in the water, then try seperating the side you didnt do then back in to the water until they split. i found after third time they fully seperate. i also kept adding boiling water each time.

[Nik da Greek]

^^ +1 for hot water. Leave it in as hot water as you can bear to put your hands in, then carefully pry it apart with a pair of screwdrivers, using one to pry, then one a bit further along, then move the first one, just like with tyre levers changing a tyre. A heat gun is too localised and aggressive, you stand a good chance of melting or burning the lens. Be most careful prying at the narrow end of the light (the bit toward the centre of the car) as that\'s a complex shape and there\'s loads of the glue mastic stuff there, it\'s easy to crack the lens if you get too exuberant. Take your time and keep immersing it in the water to keep it nice and hot

[RobMatthews]

i found, going easy with a hot air gun fine, i just dont stop in one place just keep moving the gun around following the ridge where its stuck for prob less than two minutes,
I would however advise not using screwdrivers as the plastic is easily broken just use ya fingers,or if you need help prising it open something a bit wider than a screwdriver such as an old inch wide chissel to spred the contact patch where ya prising.

[Jono FD3]

I used boiling water from the kettle me layed the light in the sink & slowley poored the boiling water in to the bulb holes (basicaly filling the light) I did this till the water was flowing out the bulb holes, lay in face down & let the water heat the full glued area, left it for about 4 mins, used 2 tea towels to protect my hands, emptied the water & simply pulled the lens away from the backing!

Jono

[brundish24]

thanks guys i try the water soon sounds easyer than the heat gun

[Oliver]

I have done this twice with a heat gun, no problems but after reading others have tried boiling water... hmm, I will try this next time, cheers!

[Nik da Greek]

i found, going easy with a hot air gun fine, i just dont stop in one place just keep moving the gun around following the ridge where its stuck for prob less than two minutes,
I would however advise not using screwdrivers as the plastic is easily broken just use ya fingers,or if you need help prising it open something a bit wider than a screwdriver such as an old inch wide chissel to spred the contact patch where ya prising.

I used boiling water from the kettle me layed the light in the sink & slowley poored the boiling water in to the bulb holes (basicaly filling the light) I did this till the water was flowing out the bulb holes, lay in face down & let the water heat the full glued area, left it for about 4 mins, used 2 tea towels to protect my hands, emptied the water & simply pulled the lens away from the backing!

Jono

You blokes must have bloody hands like Wookiees on steroids Blimey, they breed \'em tough out West :Giggle

[RobMatthews]

na im a wuss, its the girlfiend who is the tough one wrestling and kickboxing,

i just dont touch the hot parts, i know easier said than done,
im gonna give the bucket of hot water a go next time,

what do you guys do about the glue it leaves behind? do you get it all out?

[Nik da Greek]

Hahaha, sounds like a nice lady :Giggle

I tend to scrape out all the old glue using a heat gun (lol, having said not to use them) a chisel craft knife and a screwdriver. The first time I did it I found it hard to get the glue to re-stick itself properly even after getting really hot, so I just get rid of it and use Sikaflex now. Which means you gotta get it right first time of course, cos they\'ll never come apart again lol

[brundish24]

ive just tryed the hot water it worked a treat now scraping the glue off.

[Jono FD3]

I have seen on other forums somewhere that if you get the old sticky stuff out.... then roll it up like we all used to do with plastercien (spelling??) make a work out of it & put it back in to the recess, it will then restick! but I used some clear mastic on mine!

Jono