Clear Corners Help

[NashA4]

I am a fairly new owner of a 2006 (B7) A4 S-Line. I wanted to see if anyone is in the Nashville, TN area (or knows someone in the Nashville area) that would be willing to help me do clear corners on the headlights.

I have read all of the DIY posts and threads and it looks like it is a somewhat simple procedure, albeit time consuming.

Am I crazy?

[AudiWxGuy]

No..I drove 400 miles round trip one day to get my CC mod done. Worth it!

[SLYCAT]

Definitely worth it, it will clean up the front and make your car look so much better, maybe even as good as AudiWxGuy.

[atop]

same for me im new i read all the stuff it looks like, i can do everything simply except siliconing it back w/o F'ing up and making it get foggy.

[Phrost]

The first time I did mine (Mk4 VW) I was 16-17 years old and had no prior experience. It's very straight forward and mine turned out fine. If you are at least a little bit handy and can figure out how to change wheels and basic stuff like that, you can do the CC mod.

[atop]

The first time I did mine (Mk4 VW) I was 16-17 years old and had no prior experience. It's very straight forward and mine turned out fine. If you are at least a little bit handy and can figure out how to change wheels and basic stuff like that, you can do the CC mod.

well my friend did his own clear corners on a b5 but without splitting it open, dont as how. and hes pretty handy like u said, so im thinking if me and him do it i think it will be fine. the only thing like i said im worried about is patching back together.

[slimmj0k3r]

CC mod is super easy, i was just scared when i had to put my headlights in the oven

[atop]

CC mod is super easy, i was just scared when i had to put my headlights in the oven

lol its 175 degrees for 5 minutes right?

[Phrost]

I love oven/heatgun debates!

If you're skeptical about putting your $1,000+ headlights into the oven, a hairdryer on hot will work just fine. I don't like the oven, I think my heatgun gets too hot, so I use a hairdryer every time I need to open my headlights.

Once the silicone is hot enough, push a standard screwdriver into it and twist to free the lens from the housing and keep going. But be very careful, the silicone gets really sticky and stringy when hot, so don't let it drip onto the inside of the housing/lens. You'll have to scrape it off and will most likely leave permanent marks. You can do it

[atop]

I love oven/heatgun debates!

If you're skeptical about putting your $1,000+ headlights into the oven, a hairdryer on hot will work just fine. I don't like the oven, I think my heatgun gets too hot, so I use a hairdryer every time I need to open my headlights.

Once the silicone is hot enough, push a standard screwdriver into it and twist to free the lens from the housing and keep going. But be very careful, the silicone gets really sticky and stringy when hot, so don't let it drip onto the inside of the housing/lens. You'll have to scrape it off and will most likely leave permanent marks. You can do it

that makes sense but is the siliconing back together part easy?

[supamannn99]

yes. you just put it back in the oven after you put the two housing pieces back together

[Phrost]

^ Yeah, re-sealing the lens to the housing is the easiest part. All I do is heat up just the housing (with a hairdryer the way I do it) since most of the silicone stays there. Once it's sticky, I press the lens back on, snap on all the metal clamps, then continue to heat the silicone to be sure it makes a perfect seal. A little overkill but I know it works perfect.

[atop]

you guys are gettin me anxious lol.
i cant wait till the weekend so I can do it.
the only thing im still confused about is some ppl say i have to take out the front to wheels for the bumper to come out and you have to take off the bumper to take off headlights. its pretty gay dont you think if true?

[NashA4]

Thanks for all the feedback. Based on the DIY posts I have looked at I think I should be able to handle it. I will let everyone know how it goes and try and post some pics once I get finished.

One other question, I figure that if I have to take the bumper off I might as well change out the fog light bulbs. does anyone know the model number for the halogen bulbs like AudiWxGuy has in his pics above. Call me crazy, but yellowish fog lamps just don't look good, IMO.

[A4RingPimp]

you guys are gettin me anxious lol.
i cant wait till the weekend so I can do it.
the only thing im still confused about is some ppl say i have to take out the front to wheels for the bumper to come out and you have to take off the bumper to take off headlights. its pretty gay dont you think if true?

GAY? Not sure about that. I take mine off all the time and I am in no way shape or form GAY!!! There are plenty of others on here who take off their bumpers too that aren't GAY.

By the way it makes the job sooooooooooo much easier if it is off. You have to loosen it up a lot if you dont want to take it off. But if you are already in there loosening the everything, you might as well go all the way. You are just plain LAZY if you don't.

I found it harder to remove my lights the first time not taking it all the way off. It's not hard to remove. Just a LITTLE bit more time consuming. But not much to it at all.

There are PLENTY of threads about this. Do a little more research and you will see.

Be careful how you remove the amber though. To me that was the trickiest part not to F'ck anything up. I practiced on my halogens first. Glad I did!

[B7A4Sport]

I haven't done it yet because getting the front bumper off is gonna be MORE work than the actual headlight mod..........but I wanna throw an idea out there.

I was thinking, would it be a good idea, in order to avoid the stringy silicone contacting the light housings, to orient the housings so the bulbs are facing down towards the floor/ground as you separate the lens from the housing? That way, any silicone that's too liquidated will hang down as opposed to drip along the housings? It seems like a decent table clamp might work for that.........

Between taking the bumper off and the risk w/ the silicone, I've just been reserved doing this myself, but this idea is one I've come up with to minimize the risk of messing up the silver coated parts.

[Phrost]

You don't want to get any silicone on the inside of the lens either. There's a weird oily film on the inside IIRC, and you don't want to touch it or make marks.

Just pry the lens off very slowly, and use ar pencil or whatever and keep twisting it to catch any stringy silicone. It isn't too gooey, but if you don't pay think to watch out then you will drip some on the shiny housing.

[supamannn99]

Thanks for all the feedback. Based on the DIY posts I have looked at I think I should be able to handle it. I will let everyone know how it goes and try and post some pics once I get finished.

One other question, I figure that if I have to take the bumper off I might as well change out the fog light bulbs. does anyone know the model number for the halogen bulbs like AudiWxGuy has in his pics above. Call me crazy, but yellowish fog lamps just don't look good, IMO.

The fog bulbs would be H11's. ECStuning.com sells them.

[Phrost]

I bought the Piza yellow fog bulbs from ECS and they kick ass. Much better visibility. Pic:

[supamannn99]

damn nice bike

[cstarky15]

Phrost, I love the yellow lights. I just might have to do it and they are only $25.

[XCELR8]

its easy man, did mine myself in an hour or so.

[JGreen76]

Is that suspension in the H&R box?

[Phrost]

That is the box for my springs, and they are sitting behind the car waiting for me to find time to install them.

What, are we playing ISpy in Phrost's garage?

[NashA4]

well, I had some time on my hands today so I thought I would treat the car to a bit of pampering. Washed and clayed the paint and then put on a coat of glaze and wax. Looks great.

Now, since I had the car clean, I decided I would go ahead and clear the corners. I ended up spending most of the day working on my headlights. Needless to say, it turned out to be a bit of a frustrating adventure. Not difficult, just frustrating. Let me just say, the 3rd screw to release the headlight (and I am sure everyone who has removed a headlight knows exactly which screw i am talking about) is a ROYAL PAIN IN THE A**!!

Anyway, the first headlight went smooth as butter. The amber popped right off. The second headlight, however, seriously tested my patience. One big whack to pop the amber and all i heard was breaking plastic!!!! So, I spent the better part of 2 hours super gluing the broken plastic pieces. It looks good as new, and works, but definitely made me let fly a few choice words. Now I just have to get everything put back together.

Out of curiosity, are there any issues with re-installing the headlights that I need to know about? or, is it simply stick them back in the car and tighten the screws?

I will posts some pics when I get everything put back together.

[CONTROL TWO]

a hairdryer on high actually worked? i wouldnt think it would get anywhere near hot enough

[toothysaw2]

saw your pics. it looks great. how difficult would you say it was on a 1-5 scale? what was the hardest part (besides removing the bumper).

[Asimko]

I just did two cars yesterday and it was a good learning experiance. I will pass on a few tips for everyone. First the whole wacking of the amber lens to do the clear corner mod isnt needed and can do too much damage. What I did that worked like a charm was drilled a hole in the center of the lens from the rear. By drilling from the rear all the shavings fall out of the housing. Most likely the lens will just crack in 2 and fall out. I compared the two methods and less damage was done by the drilling method. My second tip is if you get finger prints on the inside just use water. I tried Windex and it actualy started to take the chrome off. I caught it early so it is hardly noticable. The windex also hazed over the projector lens on one side which I will have to take apart again to clean. Hope this helps everyone.

[Phrost]

Out of curiosity, are there any issues with re-installing the headlights that I need to know about? or, is it simply stick them back in the car and tighten the screws?

It's as simple as the reverse of what you did before. But, don't forget to plug in your fogs like I did Also, Don't aim your headlights too high. Put them in there and screw them down where they sit. I pushed mine up a tad to get a bit more light, and I've been blinding everyone at night and I really need to fix it.

a hairdryer on high actually worked? i wouldnt think it would get anywhere near hot enough

It takes a little bit longer, but works perfect. I've only used this method.

how difficult would you say it was on a 1-5 scale? what was the hardest part (besides removing the bumper).

IMO I rate it a 2. Very easy, but very involved. The hardest part was getting the amber lens off without snapping the plastic housing for me.

[NashA4]

I would say the difficulty level is about a 2-3. The bumper was pretty easy. All of the DIY threads helped a lot. My big issue was getting the amber out. I definitely agree with Asimko that drilling a hole in the amber and being a bit more strategic is the best course. I had to break out the superglue due to a somewhat overzealous whack.

Here is a pick of the finished mod.

[B7A4Sport]

Also, Don't aim your headlights too high. Put them in there and screw them down where they sit. I pushed mine up a tad to get a bit more light, and I've been blinding everyone at night and I really need to fix it.

LOL Phrost....funny you should say that, I have a similar story...

On my old car ('94 Maxima), I bought new head light bulbs off E-bay, which the seller said were compatible with my car..........let's just say they weren't correct, because within a few months the wire harnesses had melted and decayed from the incompatible bulbs.

Being the DIY'er I was back w/ this car, instead of going to Nissan and getting new wire harnesses, I bought an aftermarket set of HID bulbs/ballasts off a friend of mine and installed them myself. I ended up using ONLY silicone compound to secure the bulbs inside the existing holes int he headlight housings; aka, GHETTO.

The bulbs were pointed so far up that on-coming traffic would pretty much CONSTANTLY flash their lights at me as if I left my brights on....I drove for years in fear a cop was gonna pull me over for drunk driving or somethin, lol.