ok cheers allan, your probably right I was a bit afraid of somthing snapping if I forced it, it does seem quite firm in that position with hardly any give, so I thought I must've missed something!
Thanks again I'll give it a go at the weekend

 

Gonna de-tango this weekend, looks so much better.

Has anyone fitted led bulbs instead of the filament ones ?

I was thinking of these ones unless someone knows where I can get them cheaper -

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/7440-W21W-9-LE...QQcmdZViewItem

thanks

 

Corradoboy is our resident LED expert, you should be able to find something via search.

Allan

 

did mine today, 03sti. looks loads better
1 or 2 school boy errors that slowed me down on the passenger side (1st) but drivers side was a doddle a couple of hours work all in and cost me nothing.
very good guide (post 1)
hmmm.......what next

 

I know its about a yr later, but did you go with the LED's? I got some LED's for my de tango and needed a resistor to stop them blinking so fast...

 

Im currently work in progress on my 05 STi. The passenger side one was a bitch to get out, so not looking forward to the drivers side.

However.. im thinking right this moment in time i maybe should have gone and bought silicon and bulbs BEFORE i started to rip the car apart..

I did however find a 6" socket extension some doppy garage left behind a light lol

 

Yay im all done! just need the bulbs got cheap 4.99 orange halfrauds one in at the mo lol

 

After hours of searching where to buy these headlights, came across this link.
A few hours later, they are done and look awesome against my black/gold flick sti8.
Bought some bulbs in Trax this year for £10 for the back, so just used them in the front and sprayed them with chrome paint from halfords. I think it was called 'Plastcote' and was only £3.49!
The cheapest mod I have ever done. Felt a little sick when I was placing my headlights one by one into th wifes oven though!

 

Oh i never did say.. i did mine.

And i used the green house far safer lol

 

I done mine last weekend. Read a couple of different forum post on different sites and had it in my head that I had to set the oven to 200oC, just before I put the first headlight in I checked the instructions on the forum and noticed it was in fact 50oC- could have been a bit of a mess!

other than that it was fairly straight forward

Found it quite difficult to start the prising apart, but once started it was easy- had to put back in the oven a couple of times though to get the mastic soft enough.

I made the mistake of not having replacement silver bulbs ready so ordered them that day from Scooby parts, arrived very quickly. I also ordered the 'Ultra' headlight upgrade with free sidelight bulbs- COOL!- except you have to remove the headlight again to replace these bulbs- lucky I have the knack now!

I would recommend being fully prepared with all bulbs to hand before starting.

End result- BRILLIANT! Why do Subaru not do this as standard?

Don't be affraid- the best mod you can do for nowt.

 

Heres the result of my De tango...

 

I've just done mine and there a couple of things I can add. There's a screw to remove to get the lens out holding the orange lens plus its slightly easier to finally slide the headlight out by removing the 2 plastic retainers holding the top of the bumper in place, it gives you more clearance.

 

I'm desperate to get this done but am too scared!! Anyone wanna offer their services?

 

Halfway through mine at the minute... taking a little longer as I'm painting my plastic black but should be worth it.

nathanb---> mate seriously it's not difficult and if you take it slow, very little can go wrong.... job satisfaction afterwards is wicked....

 

If you do what i did and use a green house or something instead of an oven you cant go wrong!

 

Lol………detango the environmentally friendly way, got to be the way forward

 

Mine is (FINALLY) done.... ..... also fitted the HIDs which finish it off nicely.... now who wants to tell me about LEDs....

 

this thread is interesting - what paint have you guys used from B&Q - I have bought some cheap orange bulbs from halfords and want to spray them silver!

and as many threads on here - I want to do it but am scared about the heating part - will a hairdryer do the trick?

 

Just bite the bullet and buy Silvervision, it's not worth messing around with anything else. I doubt that a hair dryer will be hot enough, oven works fine.

 

I am going to do mine on my new car in the next couple of weeks, If everything goes to plan i would be happy to give you a hand. I did the set on my 03 wrx a couple of years ago and all went well

 

I used a convection heater in the end and 'directed' the heat at the seals..... If I were to do it again, I'd probably use a heat gun...

 

Yep I agree, do what AllanP says and buy the Philips Silvervision. Part no is WY21W and are about £13 or £14 a pair. Far brighter than Silvatec.

 

heat gun? - what like a paintstripper?

I have a gas torch .... but envisage melting the whole lot!!

 

as long as the oven doesnt go over 80c the lenses will be fine
ive split hundreds of headlamps in my old job and that oven was set at 85c and we used to leave them in the for hours at times with no warping
i set mine to the lowest setting and it was about 50c(i put a thermometer in to be sure)
due to size i turned mine over to ensure even heating and sealed them with silicone sealant just to be on the safe side

 

Yes you could use a heatgun (paint stripper) but it's harder to get even heat distribution, if you get carried away you could melt something. The oven is more controlled.

 

thanks for all the tips - saturday beckons and I will have a go - oven or fan heater sounds the best option

 

Remember to make sure they are fully sealed when you put them back together. You won't want all your hard work wasted by getting fog inside the lense after you're done. A bit a silicone or fresh mastic should do the trick.

 

Little help...

I removed these two screws

http://hillparktaekwondo.com/passengerside.jpg

however it talks about

On the back of each headlight, nearest the grille side, there are 2 small phillips screws holding the headlight against a bracket, which is bolted onto the slam panel behind the grille.
These screws must be removed, and can be quite fiddly and hard to get to. A magnetic screwdriver is most handy at this point!


I cant seem to find it...can someone please pin point it...as i am little stuck and waiting for a reply...


Thanks
Sam

 

Sam,

If you remove the grille by unclipping al the clips along the top, you can unbolt the bracket from the front panel by accessing a 10mm bolt, rather than removing the 2 screws onto the headlight which are harder to get to.

Once the bracket is unbolted the headlight is merely clipped into the wing with push fittings so gently tug but mind the wong lip or youll take the paint off.

 

Thanks mate...just got it out...used a heater..removed the orange thing..poped back together...

Will be sorting out the stone Chips on the front glass tommrow..

Sam