Help needed please.  Car 6N2 1.4 8 valve petrol.  As much as I've saved a lot of money and learnt things by doing jobs on this car myself I also tend to break the odd thing through lack of insider knowledge.  So I'm really miffed about this one!

 

While changing one of the headlight bulbs on the passenger side I couldn't quite work out what I was doing and put too much force in the wrong place.  I broke the interior of the headlight off the headlight leveling motor.  I can see it's properly broken.  So I need to replace a headlight.  I have a Haynes manual to hand.  It says to remove the bumper first.

 

Some questions:

 

Haynes says I need to jack the car up.  Do I really?  Can I use ramps if I need to raise it at all?

 

Haynes also says to 'prise out the four (very stiff) plastic clips which secure the lower edge of the bumper'.  Anybody know the best way to do this or how the clips work?  It sounds like something else I could break or just not have the strength to do.  Is there a specific tool?

 

Haynes then says I'm gonna need to get the beams adjusted professionally.  Anybody know how much this will cost and who can do the job or is this something I can copy across to the new headlight by looking how it is set up?

 

Many thanks in advance as usual.

 

 

Further questions.  Trying to buy a second hand replacement on ebay.  I've got 'HELLA' branded lights in mine.  Does anybody know what other brands came as OEM?  What other brands are comparable quality?

Hello again all.  Managed to get some research done this morning.  Seems somebody is making the part that fails and are refering to it as the: 'Headlight Level Motor Clip', or something similar.

 

Don't know what the rules are about pointing to another forum but here is the link with further information anyway: http://www.uk-polos.net/viewtopic.php?t=57620

 

Gonna get myself two of these off ebay and do both lights.  Seems the bumper still has to come off though and headlights out.

Here's some info you might find useful

6N2 Removing and installing headlight.doc

6N2 Headlight Range Motor.doc

 

Other make of lights were Valeo? nothing to choose between them as far as quality

 

When you've repaired the headlight, just take it too your MOT place to get the beam adjusted, you can do it by parking the car on level ground facing a wall from a certain distance then from the centreline of the car you adjust the beam to the correct cut off position and the height, but it's far easier to go and see your MOT place it will take them 5 mins on their beam setter and you'll know it's set correctly :) 

Cheers nige that's excellent and really helpful!

 

In the second document you listed above it's the ' ball head guide' that's the broken bit.  I can see that there is a screw holding it in and maybe if I remove the motor I will be able to replace it with the headlight still in the car - but I think it's unlikely.  Think headlights will have to come out and it seems the hardest parts will be pulling the bottom four plastic pin rivets out from under the front of the bumper (which will have to come off) without breaking them.  Think I need an upholstery/trim clip removal tool but it's knowing which one will fit.  Might try and make something up out of some scrap metal in the garage.

 

Thanks for the advice regarding the MOT place too.  I took it to a council place last time and they were really good. 

Managed to break one of the clips on the underside of the bumper already!  Will have to drill it out I guess. You can be VW don't do replacements either. :(

 

Edit/Update: Found another guide on another forum and it seems I should be able to lower the bumper or move it forward enough without removing the bottom four clips.  I will let you all know how I got on when the parts come in the post from ebay.

Edited 1 October, 20169 yr by cosaw

 

#18 ?  N90536901  Should be able to get them from TPS/VW

 

From memory, when the motor is removed you can then get at the bit the ball head fits into, it might be possible to do it with the headlight still fitted, but it will be much easier with it on a bench/table and your less likely to damage anything else in the headlight :)

Yes it probably is number 18 although mine is not the 16v GTI but it's probably the same.  Cheers for the part number.  There are four of them.  Googling the part number you gave I'm 90% positive that's the right part.

 

I intend to take the headlights out to save any further problems now that I know you can just drop the bumper forward without removing the last four plastic rivets.

 

I know you joke but I certainly don't go out of my way to break stuff.  I'm by no means heavy handed - it's just if you don't know how something goes together and it's not obvious straight away then you're more likely to break it.  Plus not having the absolute correct tool that VW will have.  The clips in the headlight I think were probably fragile from heat cycling over the years.  Those are my excuses .

OK.  Information for everyone with a 6N2 I suppose.

 

I got the headlights out.  The vertical adjusters were tight from corrosion and even with penetrating fluid would not move with the plastic gears intended to be turned with a philips or with a hex.  Turning the adjuster just made the plastic gears come off.  Once the gears came off I was able to turn the stub of the adjuster screw with vice grips in order to bring the reflector unit into a position where I could slide the ball end of the motor into the clip.  I was able to then use the vice grips on the adjuster again and move the reflector back to where it was.  I was able to measure where it needed to go back to by gauging the depth of the end of the screw into what it screws into.

 

So the reflector should be back at the height it was when I took the headlight out.  As such I shouldn't need to take the car to have the headlights adjusted - but we will find out about that at MOT I suppose.  I put the plastic gears back in place but they are not functional and you couldn't adjust them without the vice grip on the end of the screw stub instead.  The new clip works - by the way for the leveling motor.

 

As to the side adjustment mechanisms I can't see how these operate or do anything at all.  The piece of plastic that the adjuster moves isn't attached to the reflector in any way - it looks sheared off.  I didn't try to adjust them but I feel that they are broken internally and will do nothing.  I was anxious to put everything back together and I forgot to take a photo unfortunately.  I don't know why these bits appear broken as I can't think who would have tried to adjust the lights in the 13 years (ish) I've had the car.

 

So I'm thinking all you 6N2 owners will probably have the same problems.  Vertical adjusters ceased with rust (probably only ever needed adjustment at factory of course) and as to the horizontal adjusters who knows - and to that end why do I keep passing MOTs if it looks like mine have been played around with and broken in the process?

 

Just thought I'd report back on my findings.

 

 

Edited 24 October, 20169 yr by cosaw

Good to know cosaw. Mine are seized too! I must tackle them some day..... in the summer!