The gears have gone in one of the headlight motors (drivers side). Anyone had any experiences with GM vs other sources (are there any), for the motor?

 

Check my site if you want to take a look and try to fix it yourself for much, much cheaper than buying a new one.

Steve

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Steve's Trans Am Temple

 

Very good looking T/A ... can't wait to see it finished but when I click and get a menu I get a message at bottom of Internet Explorer saying "Error on page" and I can't go anywhere. Do you know why I'm having that problem?

 

Try this: http://www.transamtemple.com/modific...ght_repair.htm
Your IE probably isn't executing the DHTML properly - what version are you running?


Steve

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Steve's Trans Am Temple

 

Hey Steve, thanks for that awesome article!! I can use that also.

Mike

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Check out My Car Pics http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/Albu...667&a=13599419

Gran Turismo Americano "The Ultimate Firebird"
Smokin 1989 GTA- Bone stock except for exhaust. (no catalytic-stainless pipe into Flowmaster 2 chamber) & AC Delco Rapid Fire Plugs

 

The parts that bolt to the car are the same from 87-92 for sure. the motor, and most of the other pieces are also the same. The only pieces that are definately different are the bucket for the headlight, the headlight, the cover has tabs that are the same, one will have to be removed if you use an earlier model. Basically everything that moves upward taht is attached to the headlight are different.

The motors & stuff again that bolt to the car are the same from 87-92

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87 Formula Yellow/Black

5.1 TPI Automatic
Baer 12" brakes 4 wheels, KYB AGX Adjustable Shocks & struts, Custom Leather interior, WAAAY TOO MANY MODS TO LIST

87 Formula TPI (5 Speed) Yellow/Gray STOCK

1967 Buick Riviera 430hp Turns high 14's (Not bad for 4300 lbs)

83 Camaro (Parts)
83 T/A (parts)

http://www.3rdgenformula.com

 

i beleive they were all the same from 82-92, as i was able to use most of the parts from an 83 light assembly...it fit perfectly on my 86 (all i did was change the top part that is painted so it matched the car). got the whole assembly in a junkyard for $100...it's worth a look.

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1992 25th Anniversary z28 Convertible

 

my 83 parts car is slightly different, than my 87. Granted it would bolt up and all, but the wires seemed to be different. The motor looks different too. I am not sure what they changed. From what I remember the 83 had a relay on the light asm, my 87 does not, the ***** are different too. But i have owned sevearal 87's and a 91 they WERE The same.

Good luck

John

 

You're more than welcome!

S.


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Steve's Trans Am Temple

 

from 82-86 had the 3 wire config which the motors were different and more reliable. from 87-92 had the 2 wire config and those motors were good..but...the sprockets suxxx. Also, some of the hardware like bolt lengths were different also because of the smaller motors..but other than that, ALL 82-92 lights WILL interchange. I have a 90. and stock it came with the 2 wire config with the relay pack on the firewall. After getting sick and tired of the flipup problem, I swapped over to the 3 wire older motors (which bolted right in with long enough bolts) and wired up 3 relays and ran fused power wire to the battery, everything appears stock, and havent had ONE SINGLE problem with em anymore. Those old motors are strong as a ox..sure they are not as quiet as the 87-92 motors, but hell it sure beats getting wet outside in the rain when you have to manually open them (unless you like to rife in style with em up all the time )

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click below to check out the new Formula Source....
www.theformulasource.com

or click below to check out my Formula350.......
www.formula350.com

or click below to email me
webmaster@theformulasource.com

 

or worse..tryin to impress a new lady friend and hitting the light switch when you leave a nice restaurant and the dreaded SINGLE LIGHT POPUP happens.

not that its ever happened to me

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1992 25th Anniversary z28 Convertible

 

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click below to check out the new Formula Source....
www.theformulasource.com

or click below to check out my Formula350.......
www.formula350.com

or click below to email me
webmaster@theformulasource.com

 

Steve ... thanks for new link ... but I forgot to check out level of home iexplorer ... at work on lunch break right now.

I took things apart Sat. and the big gear was OK. Just like you said ... there were no ball bearing ... just their remains behind gear. Unfortunately when loosening motor bolts to get gear out they both sheared off so I spent extra time drilling them out and also removing the easyout I broke off in one hole ... arg@%#.
Flipped headlight switch on and it went right up but my joy was short lived when it only goes down half way ... will recheck my install tonight ... any tips on what might have gone wrong with my attempt. Also there's a lot of good information coming into this topic and I'll certainly keep it all in mind. Thanks everyone.

 

I think there is a name for that.."headlight dysfunction"

lol

John

 

My 83 was suffering from HD not too long ago. I got a motor out of an 83 in the junkyard, cleaned it up and installed it. Both lights now work just fine (no more embarassing HD problems). $35 from a junkyard.

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1983 TransAm
1984 TransAm
1994 TransAm GT
1994 25th TransAm GT
1990 T-Bird SC
1971 Boss 351

Four TransAm's are not enough. Firebirds for all.

 

Voila … headlight goes up and down perfectly. No way I could have done this without Steve’s post ..and Steve's right ... the cost was under $2. When I took it apart tonight to see what I might have done wrong it turns out I missed a step. Seems I lost my printout of article. I took gear out again and to my surprise more garbage from original plastic ball bearings … I was sure I had cleaned it out thoroughly. Turns out my memory failed me and I missed your step for exactly where the ball bearings are supposed to be .. this also means I had installed the steel ball bearings on the wrong side of the shaft plate … it’s a wonder it worked at all ... I feel kinda dumb and fortunate I didn't really screw things up.

Also my MS Internet Explorer is version 5.50.4522.1800, if this helps any with why I can’t navigate your neat homepage on my home PC ... very nice programming by the way.

Thanks again.

 

Wow, I'm surprised it worked at all too! Glad it all worked out though. What size bearings did you end up finding/using? I have a couple of additions to make to my tech page with some sizes other people have used and I'm just curious to see what you used.

Quote:

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Also my MS Internet Explorer is version 5.50.4522.1800, if this helps any with why I can’t navigate your neat homepage on my home PC ... very nice programming by the way.Thanks again.

Hmmmmm.... Now that is weird; I used 5.5 before moving to 6.0. I dunno why it doesn't want to work - is your Java enabled? Might want to check your "Internet Options -> Advanced" menu...

Glad I could help!

Steve


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Steve's Trans Am Temple

 

Jcpstrat, how long did it take you to do the entire process, from removing the motor til the time you got the thing working again? My car is suffering from this same thing. TIA

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Stock 2.8 MPFI auto w/ Flowmaster 80 Series, More to come......
New Pioneer Head Unit
Targa E-910 7-Band Equalizer w/ crossover
2x 10" Pioneer subs powered by 300 Watt Jensen amp
2- 6x9" Pioneer (rear)
More to come..... (hey, i dont got a job yet)

 

My friend was having the same problem. his passenger side light would not come up anymore. We could not find that motor in an junk yard, I swear his are one of a kind. The ***** to manually turn the motor are very small, smaller than mine. Anyways, insted of paying dealer price for a new motor, we decided we had nothing to lose since the thing already didnt work. We pulled the whole thing apart and saw what looked like crunched up plastic. After looking at it we got a general idea of how it worked. So for 97 cents fro mwal mart, we got a small pack of bb's for a bb gun and put about 6 in the little gearbox are where the plastic was. now it works as good as new. the funny thing is my motors are 83 original and work fine...

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1983 Firebird
TH700R4 Auto
Small Block 400
LG4 ECM, Intake, Carb, Distributor, etc.
Soon to be non-computer.
Clarion Head Unit 45X4
2 Pioneer 400W 12" Subs
Third Gen Performance
"A four cylinder is half an engine."
"Ponies can run, but birds can fly..."

 

When I first tried this I used lead shot for black powder rifles. They got smashed into goo in less than two months. That's why I went with the steel bearings...

Steve

 

Steve … Java console, logging and compiler are all enabled on my Iexplorer. I used 5/16” ball bearings from Ace Hardware. They were $0.25 each. I think bigger ones would work but Ace didn’t have the 0.4” and because I got kinda sidetracked myself, I didn’t try the 7/16”.

89V6FBIRD … I started Saturday and was done Sunday, probably spending a total of 6hrs but most of that was self inflicted you'll know what I mean if you read my post completely. If I was to do the other side, I bet I could do it in an hour easy. Good luck and if you run into problems, this forum is great help.

 

So by Steve's site, there can be a problem w/ the gear being stripped or the bearings failing, correct? And replacing the bearings is harder than just turning the gear 180* ? I think I should go out and get some steel bearings before I start just in case I need them. Anything else I should pick up before I start??

------------------
Stock 2.8 MPFI auto w/ Flowmaster 80 Series, More to come......
New Pioneer Head Unit
Targa E-910 7-Band Equalizer w/ crossover
2x 10" Pioneer subs powered by 300 Watt Jensen amp
2- 6x9" Pioneer (rear)
More to come..... (hey, i dont got a job yet)

 

Well, I don't know what's up with that. IE should be working, I don't get it. Maybe you got the special version from MickeySoft? Just kidding!

Quote:

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">So by Steve's site, there can be a problem w/ the gear being stripped or the bearings failing, correct? And replacing the bearings is harder than just turning the gear 180* ? I think I should go out and get some steel bearings before I start just in case I need them. Anything else I should pick up before I start??

That's correct, but replacing the bearings really isn't any harder than turning the gear - you'll see. I'd pick up the bearings just in case, especially if your Bird is your only driver. That should be all you need unless you want to smear some grease (heavy duty, axle, whatever) in there with the bearings. I can r/r my headlights in under an hour now that I've done it a bunch - just take your time 89V6FBIRD and it'll be a piece of cake.

Steve

 

89V6FBIRD ... I would just add be sure to print out a copy of Steve's instructions and have them handy ... still can't find what happened to my printout.

STEVE ... I'm going to look at the setting of IE on a computer that works on your web page and compare to my home PC which doesn't ... maybe I'll find a difference.

 

Freakin local hardware stores, no one has steel bearings!! Home Depot, OSH, NO ONE. Do you guys think TruValue will have it???? or Kragen or Pep Boys???? The 'bird looks soooo weird w/o the left headlight assmbly.

------------------
Stock 2.8 MPFI auto w/ Flowmaster 80 Series, More to come......
New Pioneer Head Unit
Targa E-910 7-Band Equalizer w/ crossover
2x 10" Pioneer subs powered by 300 Watt Jensen amp
2- 6x9" Pioneer (rear)
More to come..... (hey, i dont got a job yet)

 

89V6FBIRD ... As I mentioned, I got mine at ACE Hardware. They were in those specialty boxes that slide out on drawers. You might try the store locator at:
http://www.acehardware.com/ to see if there is a store close to you. I would think TrueValue would also have them.

Steve ... I compared my IE settings to one that worked and couldn't find any real differences so this morning I downloaded IE Version 6 and everything works great with your site. About two months ago I had to reinstall operating system due to unknown problem and maybe something just got hosed with my IE. Anyway thanks ... you've got a great site ... appreciate all the time that you spent documenting things that will help others.

 

I finally did it. I found a TruValue around here too. Thanx Steve for the instructions. I noticed the trick to getting the motor back into the assembly is to hold the contacts with screwdrivers and then let one go at a time, then place the motor in.

------------------
Stock 2.8 MPFI auto w/ Flowmaster 80 Series, More to come......
New Pioneer Head Unit
Targa E-910 7-Band Equalizer w/ crossover
2x 10" Pioneer subs powered by 300 Watt Jensen amp
2- 6x9" Pioneer (rear)
More to come..... (hey, i dont got a job yet)