Z4 E85 Headlights

[benben]

Hi, My headlights have gone all foggy and the left hand side one is starting to have some water vapour condensing on the inside.
Chasing new headlights for both sides, doesn't have to be brand new but must be good working order and clear (not foggy).

[Bad_Pritt]

could be cheaper to restore them...
get a lens restore kit with UV protection and get some new rubbers used to seal the lights (where you can open the lights to change the bulbs)

Your lights will be as good as new and no longer damp inside.

[chriswoodward]

+1 to that advice, I wet sanded my headlights that has gone all yellow and re clear coated them, they look good as new now.

To be honest even if you took it to a garage and asked them to do it I think it would be cheaper than buying new lights.

If you still want to find new ones though you may want to state if they are halogen or xenon lights.

[Bad_Pritt]

If need be, you could consider the spyder aftermarket lights, much cheaper than the OEM lights

[bladeowner]

I re-polished mine on Sunday. They were only very slightly foggy but I though I'd give it a go. They came up clear again. I used this kit off ebay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151384195917? ... EBIDX%3AIT

Time will tell how good the UV protector is but I'm happy at the moment.

[bladeowner]

Before



After



Not easy to see the improvement because of the light but they are a lot better.

Sent via Tapatalk

[ZermattV]

I have a set of 3.0 2005 non xenon lights in the garage - been of the car since 2010 and are not foggy and have been stored in the garage . PM if you are interested.

[benben]

Thanks for the replies guys, Well basically I took it to the mechanic and he sealed around it with silicon (where you open to change bulbs near tyres) but same thing happened again the next day so im not sure where else its getting through!

Ill give the kit a try thanks.

[srhutch]

Which bit did he seal ,the flap in the arch?

If so that will do nothing. If it was on the actual housing good luck removing it when you have a bulb failure. BMW sell replacement seals/caps for little money, that is you best bet.

[Bad_Pritt]

Thanks for the replies guys, Well basically I took it to the mechanic and he sealed around it with silicon (where you open to change bulbs near tyres) but same thing happened again the next day so im not sure where else its getting through!

Ill give the kit a try thanks.

seriously, don't go back there...

[junglist]

No need for new headlights, simply remove the headlight access cover from the wheelarch, take off the back of the headlight housing and leave the car parked in the sun for a day or so. When refitting the housing, make sure it's seated flush and you'll be alright.

[benben]

Well I didn't actually look at it, but from the sound of things he sealed around the back of headlight housing not the wheelarch near the tyres.
So you guys reckon best thing to do is to replace the black housing thingo?

P.S. Bladeowner the one you linked on ebay only has a polish not sand paper, do you think that will be enough to sort it out?

[benben]

Ok so I called the mechanic and turns out he didn't seal the wheelarch access thing, nor did he seal the black headlight cover (plastic thingo), what he sealed was at the back of the bulb cover itself.
So from what I gathered here is it safe to assume I need to make sure the headlight cover (plastic thingo) is sitting flush or just buy new cover and replace it?

[Bad_Pritt]

Ok so I called the mechanic and turns out he didn't seal the wheelarch access thing, nor did he seal the black headlight cover (plastic thingo), what he sealed was at the back of the bulb cover itself.
So from what I gathered here is it safe to assume I need to make sure the headlight cover (plastic thingo) is sitting flush or just buy new cover and replace it?

Try to get it flush and if the issue remains, replace it.

[benben]

Thanks guys,

On a different note, Which restoration kit would you recommend? I am hearing a lot about the 3M kit but it only comes with a seal doesn't say anything about UV protection!