Removing tails?

So I did that write up for you for nothing DAM IT MAN!!! LOL yea in my write up I tell you about the Gasket acting like a Big Sticker,,
 
shawn110975 said:
So I did that write up for you for nothing DAM IT MAN!!! LOL yea in my write up I tell you about the Gasket acting like a Big Sticker,,
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You did it for everyone else who will ever have an issue. That write-up should probably make it into the wiki for reference.
 
I will try and upload it I tried this morning but it wont rec .docx files I tried saving it as a 2003 format but no luck
 
removing the lenses are a pain in the neck....

I came up with the crazu idea of sitting in the hot tub while separating the red lens from the black housing... the hot water softened up the pain in the butt glue, facilitating separation. Dont be in a hurry, dont put too much leverage while prying the pieces apart.
 
chippy said:
Apikarian does have a nice writeup about seperating the lens to do he's DIY LED kit. I followed that, its quite easy but takes quite abit of time to complete. Good luck, i guess you are installing LED's ?:biggrin:
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Yup - that's what I'm working on. I really wanted to just pay someone to do this shit for me, I hate tedious projects like this. :(
 
chippy said:
Understand your frustration, i had them installed a couple of months ago, its hard work. But trust me, the end result is quite amazing:biggrin::biggrin:
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I know this is going to sound retarded, but did you have any issues with the boiling part? I'm concerned with the hot water going inside the lens and making a mess and possibly burning me in between prying and dipping.

My wife also isn't to pleased that I'm going to have CAR PARTS in the kitchen using her large boiler pot. Her exact words "The garage is big enough, why does that shit have to be in our house". :biggrin:
 
Some stuff you need to make sure things go ok

1. Dont let the tailight touch the bottom of the boiling pan, it might actually get so hot the taillight can melt.

2. I waited to the water was boiling, put half the light into it, wait 30 sec, take it out over the sink (some water will pour into the light, and its hoooot). Then try with a thin knife to prye it open abit in edges, DONT use force, the glue should "melt" quite fast. You will have to put it in and out tons of times, cause the glue stiff up quite fast.

3. i did use about 30-45min on the first tailight (yes i did crack two of the pins also). Second was alot faster:smile:

Just hang in there, you'll get it open eventually
 
chippy said:
Some stuff you need to make sure things go ok

1. Dont let the tailight touch the bottom of the boiling pan, it might actually get so hot the taillight can melt.

2. I waited to the water was boiling, put half the light into it, wait 30 sec, take it out over the sink (some water will pour into the light, and its hoooot). Then try with a thin knife to prye it open abit in edges, DONT use force, the glue should "melt" quite fast. You will have to put it in and out tons of times, cause the glue stiff up quite fast.

3. i did use about 30-45min on the first tailight (yes i did crack two of the pins also). Second was alot faster:smile:

Just hang in there, you'll get it open eventually
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What stinks is the way my kitchen is laid out. Cooktop is on one side and the sink is in the middle in the island, in between - hardwood floors.
 
HIJACKER said:
What stinks is the way my kitchen is laid out. Cooktop is on one side and the sink is in the middle in the island, in between - hardwood floors.
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I'm telling you... just spend the few bucks at Lowes and buy a heat gun. It's 1/10th as messy and 10 times more accurate. Same caveats, don't use too much heat or you will melt the plastic. But once you find that sweet spot, just heat, knife, slide down to next spot and repeat.

It's a pretty pricey investment for just tail lights. However, if I had known how many other applications I would have eventually used that heat gun for (removing old caulking, stickers, shrink wrapping etc.) I would have saved my self a ton of money and frustration over the last several years.
 
Vega$ NSX said:
I'm telling you... just spend the few bucks at Lowes and buy a heat gun. It's 1/10th as messy and 10 times more accurate. Same caveats, don't use too much heat or you will melt the plastic. But once you find that sweet spot, just heat, knife, slide down to next spot and repeat.

It's a pretty pricey investment for just tail lights. However, if I had known how many other applications I would have eventually used that heat gun for (removing old caulking, stickers, shrink wrapping etc.) I would have saved my self a ton of money and frustration over the last several years.
Click to expand...

I have a heat gun, I've tried that a bit and I didn't see it working very well.
 
Sandman1962 said:
removing the lenses are a pain in the neck....

I came up with the crazu idea of sitting in the hot tub while separating the red lens from the black housing... the hot water softened up the pain in the butt glue, facilitating separation. Dont be in a hurry, dont put too much leverage while prying the pieces apart.
Click to expand...

Did the hot tub trick work well? How long did you leave it in there and about what temp? Did the glue get all over the place in the hot tub? Don't want it to clog up anything.

Thx

Jeff
 
Vega$ NSX said:
Really? What temperature rating is it good for? It worked awesome for me. Maybe you just need to work on your technique a bit more. :tongue::biggrin:
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I can't recall without looking at the box. It was about $50. It gets hot as shit, so I'm sure it's my technique.
 
Vega$ NSX said:
Really? What temperature rating is it good for? It worked awesome for me. Maybe you just need to work on your technique a bit more. :tongue::biggrin:
Click to expand...

I got them apart with no damage!! :)

I found it easier to start on the bottom edge where there is a bigger gap of unseen plastic to wedge on working my way to the outer corner (larger part of taillight). When I got enough space, I went all the way up under the black piece on the inside edge of the light and pryed a bit with a screwdriver and wedged something in to keep the glue apart and continue on. Once I got real close to having it apart, I just maneuver the light around in the heat and slowly pulled it apart.

I mounted the heat gun to a cabinet door in my garage with a clamp.
 
Racerxjling said:
Do you guys think new gaskets are necessary for 02 tails that are 8 years old?

Thx

Jeff
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It's needed, but expensive. I may have been able to salvage my old gaskets, but since I already bought a new pair, it butchered the old set during the install. I'm sure you can buy some adhesive foam or somethiing similar for a fraction of the honda price.
 
synth19 said:
It's needed, but expensive. I may have been able to salvage my old gaskets, but since I already bought a new pair, it butchered the old set during the install. I'm sure you can buy some adhesive foam or somethiing similar for a fraction of the honda price.
Click to expand...

That's my plan on the reinstall. I'm going to get a roll of the same thickness, width, and density from Home Depot.
 

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