Hey guys, I searched all over and havent found much on my issue. The headlights on my GTA wont pop up and I cannot crank them up manually. Here is what I have gathered:
The motors are running cause you can hear them and both the ***** spin
If this is the case, all electric possibilities should be ruled out. I even checked the fuses, the module is correct for the year, all the wiring/ connections looks fine
Since I cannot manually crank up or down the headlights with the lights switched on or off, what does this mean? I imagine that the internal plastic gearing and "pucks" are done. Is that accurate?
Almost all the search results on this topic I found had headlights that were able to crank manually, not much info found on guys with lights that won't even crank manually. So this is why I am posting this. My big question is, can I still take apart everything in order to use the rebuild kit I just bought? I would imagine you would need to crank them up beforehand...so any input would be great! thanks guys
Steve

 

More than likely the plastic bushings in the gear boxes are pulverized. Only powder left. There are rebuild kits available from Hawks and on Ebay I think. 3 screws to remove on each housing, soak them in rust buster or WD40, heat the area gently with a propane torch, work the screws back and forth gently recoating with WD40, otherwise you got some redrilling to do.

 

Just started this project myself. Aside from "attempting" to be ginger with the screws, I managed to snap off all but one of them in the first motor. Be careful of the ball bearing in the end of the worm gear also. I dropped it, the ball took off, and that little sucker was hell to find. Gears usually are fine, the pucks just turn to powder and jamb up the whole works. Best advise is to make sure you have some sharp drillbits ready, you'll need them.

 

OK, something I forgot about these disassemblys. If you drill a relief hole, from the threaded side (right next to the threads) not the hex head side of the screw, 1'16 inch drill bit, to allow the WD40 to seep in helps to not break off the screws.

 

thanks guys, i read a lot on those gears and pucks disintegrating basically...i just wasnt sure about how to do it with the lights stuck, essentially. so 3 screws per motor that are very fragile. good thing i have a decent drill! i will soak the heck outta them with wd40 and try to drill that relief hole. my hawks rebuild kit is here. thanks a lot guys!

 

As it says in the instructions you got in my hedadlight repair kit, soak the screws with a good penetrating oil such as Aero Kroil or PB Blaster. WD 60 is good for many uses, but it is not as effective as a penetrating oil as those I recommended. Also tap the tops of the screws with a punch and hammer to help shock the threads free of the corrosion. The two screws that attach the motor to the housing are the most likely to snap off due to their orientation (pointing up) which is more prone to moisture getting in. Good luck, but if they do snap off you have two new ones (if you got the TDS 209280 kit).

Lon