Cleaning INSIDE of tail-light assembly? (1 Viewer)

[Humpzilla]

Hey All,

One of my (outer) tail-lights (2000 LX470) has a small crack in it, and with a TON of rain lately, it now has a good bit of water inside of the assembly. It's also a bit dirty and gross on the inside.

Eventually, I'm sure I'll break down and buy a new assembly, but in the meantime, I'm hoping to remove it, drain the water, and give the inside a little bit of a cleanup.

Removing the assembly seems easy enough, but I'm curious how easy it is to get access to the inner plastic to clean it up? Has anyone done this? Is it a pretty simple process once the assembly is removed and bulbs are disconnected?

Thanks in advance!

 

[OEMGUY0720]

Bake it using an oven, pre-heat the oven to 270°F, then bake the TL for 5 mins to soften the butyl sealant. Take out the TL from the oven and you can pry the lens from the housing using a plastic trim remover tool or a flat screw driver.

To assemble back, do the same procedure and install back the lens once butyl sealant is soft enough. Similar process like what you see in YouTube videos on how to retrofit headlights.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Bake it using an oven, pre-heat the oven to 270°F, then bake the TL for 5 mins to soften the butyl sealant. Take out the TL from the oven and you can pry the lens from the housing using a plastic trim remover tool or a flat screw driver.

To assemble back, do the same procedure and install back the lens once butyl sealant is soft enough. Similar process like what you see in YouTube videos on how to retrofit headlights.

 

[MJK]

Used replacement would be my vote. Baking works fine, but I don't see the point if it is just going to leak again anyways.

 

[Humpzilla]

Used replacement would be my vote. Baking works fine, but I don't see the point if it is just going to leak again anyways.

Yeah, you're probably right. May need to try and find one in a junk yard. On Ebay they're selling for like $150....which seems a bit steep.

 

[Mark WV]

As a temporary cleaning option, remove the light assembly and fill one third full with water and dish soap or simple green, then shake it for a few minutes. Rinse and repeat as needed. Then after it is dry run a bead of super glue along the crack on the exterior.
Should be good for a year or two...

 

[MJK]

www.car-part.com - looks like they start at $60 or so

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Used replacement would be my vote. Baking works fine, but I don't see the point if it is just going to leak again anyways.

I agree. I replaced mine with good used ones for like $50-60 per light.

 

[ramangain]

You too can have water gushing through your hand

 

[Humpzilla]

You too can have water gushing through you hand

Hahaha, well played sir

 

[RAMf1]

You can permanently glue the crack back together using Acrylic Cement: Plastic Adhesives - https://www.tapplastics.com/plastic_adhesives
Superglues are not waterproof and are only good for sticking fingers together. Mine had a hole in it and I was able to cut a piece of transparent red acrylic to fit and glued it in place. I figure it’s going to eventually be covered up by the spare tire anyway when I get my rear bumper...