It seems that automotive engineers had a collective brain fart and decided to complicate things ridiculously by not makining headlight lens/reflector assemblies easy to remove (what the he*ll was wrong with Sealed Beams?!?!)
HOW DO I (A) REMOVE THE FRONT BUMPER, THEN (B) REMOVE AND REPLACE THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES ON A LATE 1990S Jeep Grand Cherokee. Please DONT tell me the obvious stuff like remove the mounting bolts (no joke Sherlock....) unless you tell me WHERE they ARE and how to reach them and what size socket etc to use.
I dont need to know the obvious -- tell me the "tricks" that make this task un-obvious and harder than it should be.
I had wrongly heard that the bumper and grill had to be removed to access the headlight assemblies (i.e the lens and relfectors).
ALL that is needed is some patience and a small pry bar or very large screwdriver.
The light assembly is Pulled out of three Ball Sockets that mate with 6-8 in long adjusting screws.
To remove the light assembly, it Helps if the grill is removed (2 phillips screws on top of grill and 2 inside the upper left and right hand sides).
Then, with your fingers, pull sharply on the side of the lens assembly, often just popping 2 of the 3 ball sockets. Now, use a large flat blade screwdriver to wedge into the side or back of the assembly and use it as a lever to pry the assembly forward, popping the remaining socket.
Using a counterclockwise (normal reverse) rotation, remove the retaining ring for the bulb and carefully remove the bulb - laying it down onto a CLEAN paper towel, rag, or insert it into the cuff of a dry clean rubber/vinyl glove. To replace the bulb at this time (a good idea!), use a medium size flatblade screwdriver to remove the blue retainer prongs from the bulb socket and pry off off the male plug. Cover the new bulb in a paper towel or glove and place the retaining Collar onto the back of the bulb, with the Beveled side facing back (the engine compartment). Plug the male connector onto the back of the bulb. Lay the bulb down on a clean paper or glove.
To replace the housing/assembly, press the bulb into the back of the assembly and rotate the collar clockwise one-quarter turn. Make sure it is Tight!
Now, peering through the cracks on the sides, align the sockets with the screws you can see and press the housing forward, hopefully snapping one or more sockets. Usually some of the sockets will Not reconnect immediately. Using your fist or a small Rubber/plastic mallet, smack the front of the lens until you can hear or feel the sockets snap into place.
Dont be too hard or you may crack the lens!
Aim/Adjust the lense using small Torx driver. There are two - the one inside, near the grill adjusts the Toe-In/Out (left to right movement) and the outer adjusts the Vertical (up/down).
I also have a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee Larado. As strange as it may seem the headlight buckets are snap-in. They are held in with four small ball-and socket snaps on the rear. Two of the snaps are stable and the other two are attached to the adjusting screws for up and down and right and left adjustments.
You can use a sturdy wide flat bar and pry slowly on each corner until they pop out, just don't over stress them as they will break off. The whole thing is made of that hard plastic. A flat bar nail puller is what I used. You may need to pry and pull at the same time. They are 60-70 bucks each so take it slow.
Replace the bulbs and snap them back in. Make sure all four balls are lined up before you push them in to snap. GOOD LUCK!!!
936 views
Usually answered in minutes!
Does anyone know where I can purchase all of the headlight adjustment screws for my 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee? Are they hard to put on an after market header panel?
Thanks
×