Wife's 2018 Escape she rolls in with no low beams. No prob Lordco's only 4 blocks away. I'd sum the rest up about this way

Pros-
Didn't need any tools
No alignment issues no mo so I got that going for me

Cons-
My chubby meat hooks just barely fit into the corner to pop the cover and release the bulb assembly. I gave blood today
No hope of seeing in there so aligning the push and turn assembly takes 13 tries. See above-chubby meat hooks
I forgot how anal you have to be to not touch the halogen bulb. Blew one up for finger grease... back to Lordco
The coolant reservoir need to come out to get at passenger side, no tools, but thought for sure I was going to break plastic its cold out there.

I sure miss my 66 Chev

Hire a mechanic.

I'm with Salty, if you can DIY, then DIY.

Anything else is above my "level of incompetence", but it sure is worth testing the envelope.....

Yes, If.

You may be surprised to learn that instead of oil lanterns for headlights, today's cars have electrified "light bulbs".

Got a real good ma and pa mechanic shop in town that does most work on our vehicles but I usually do the "easy" stuff myself. I do marvel at a lot of the systems and how controllers and the computron make everything work at the exact millisecond but all that schit's over my head. But I do fix what i can. I do not like working on anything made in the last 20 years or so though especially small cars.

Had to do that on a 2016 RAV4 a few months back.

Blood thinners are no help.

I had no such issues with sealed beams, just a screwdriver to remove the chrome ring, remove assembly, install sealed beam, adjust headlight against the garage door. Fini!

2017 Ram v-6 going in Wednesday for the infamous oil cooler replacement. Half of the OEM part is plastic. It sits directly on top of the hot engine. It's under the plastic intake manifold, which requires a $50.00 gasket kit. Have to remove the manifold to replace 3 spark plugs any way so going to change them out too.

At least new Dorman part is all aluminum. I thought about doing it, but there is oil, antifreeze, and open manifold ports. About 3 to 4 hours labor minimum.

Do you seek torment?

I notice on YT videos most of the guys wear gloves of some sort all the time. I thought they were pussies but I'm starting to get it... ha!
I'm with you bud I liked the change from the front with a screw driver mode way better

Drop a nut or bolt during the process and you're screwed.

Ok…

What’s a Lordco?

That like a Menards??

Its a regional auto parts outfit out here similar to Nappa.

Did front brakes on my wifes car Saturday.
Thank God those things haven't changed in years.

There aren't many that are trustworthy and know what they're doing these days. Most are just parts changers with a piece of worthless paper declaring them "technicians".

Salty...damn man, ya scairt me, thought you was kilt.

Wife has a 2012 chrysler 200 and you have to remove the tire. Then 8 or so plastic gromets and a couple screws to remove the inside fender well cover to be able to access the housing. You then pretty much have too blindly twist a cap off of the housing to access the bulbs. Damn dog ran over and grabbed a mouth full of the plastic gromets and took off out through the yard. So I had to run the the auto parts store to get some more gromets. Can't wait to do the other side.

Still kickin flint

JMUPT thanks for that I don't feel quite so hard done by now. lol

Hilarious.

I miss the old days too.

Engines lasted 100k and then shortly after you did a rebuild the transmission went out or the rest of the car was junk, rusted and falling down around itself.

Yeah you could get 200k out of some but that made headlines in the news.

What’s a “‘meenards”

Warsh the French try grease off’n your hands!

True that reliability and durability of the main components has increased a lot compared to the 70s even 80s. Which is a good thing cause working on the new ones sux ass. lol

Salty;
Good afternoon to you my cyber friend, good to see you posting again.

There are a few rigs which really defy logic when it comes to regular maintenance.

A former boss's wife drove a Mercedes SUV diesel which blew a tail light on the right side. After a quick look I found that there was some sort of onboard computer there in front of the taillight assembly which would have to be unplugged and removed to access the tail light attachment screws.

Not being born yesterday, even then Salty, I buttoned it back up, called a local shop in Penticton that works on Mercedes and asked if they would do it or did it have to go to the dealer in Kelowna to get the computer re-flashed?

They could, they did and the bill was just shy of $1300 for one tail light bulb...

My '03 Dodge headlights are a bit of a Red Cross process too, with and without gloves. Oh and don't do it when it's cold as the plastic just breaks so they say and I can totally see that.

Anyways sir, it's good to see you here at our cyber 'Fire once more.

All the best to you all as we head into the Christmas Season.

Dwayne

Internet is your friend.

The American farmer….self reliant, ingenious, risk taker, fearless, not easily defeated by calamity….

but hires a mechanic to change a car headlight

Big old breakfast at a greasy spoon diner this morning with sausage and buttered up toast ya think that might have had something to do with it? haha
I've been told just the oil on your skin is enough to leave a smear on the bulb and blow it up once it heats up, I've been careful in the past. Not today i guess first time I've seen that the bulb blew up real good bit of a smoke show even. lol Of course I had it all back together at that point

673;
Good afternoon to you my friend, I trust that other than our political contortions you're all well.

We're just back from a Costco run to Kelowna and so help me the entire town was there.

On the innerwebs thing, that surely helped me do the headlights on the Dodge, but on that wonderful Mercedes one needed the factory codes and whatever setup they had to reset the computer.

As well, I recall chatting with a body shop owner a few years back who said that every Range Rover he got in needed to be sent to the dealer in Vancouver on a flat deck because they refused to give out codes to reset the computers to anyone who wasn't a registered dealer. There was another company that did that too, forget now who.

But yah, ICBC eats the flat bed fee both ways because of that. If the airbag deployed or one of the sensors triggers the computers, it's on the back of the truck with it!!

All the best to you all.

Dwayne

14 Buick Encore, you disassembly the ENTIRE front end . I mean all of it to change the radiator.... 😡😡🤬🤬

If disconnecting and reconnecting the battery doesn't do it, it's time for a new one.

cheers Dwayne! Boy howdy you're braver than I am I would have taken one look at that emblem of German over engineering on that thing and wouldn't even try a quick look! Beautiful cars those Mercedes but the horror stories abound.

I did have one win today however. The heater was slow to come on in my Nissan Frontier I noticed in this cold snap. Had a look today and I was down a smidge on coolant. I had that little resevoir cap (steel I might add) off and it topped up. Then closed the lid. What a concept!

Yeah, but they charged $1300 just because they could.

Quite a few years back I was feeling lazy and told the wife to take the Honda to the dealership to troubleshoot some underhood noise. They said it was the AC and it would be at least $1200 to replace the compressor. Told her to bring it back home and diagnosed it myself. Ended up replacing the AC pulley bearing for about $35. Sure, there's labor involved, but a shop probably shouldn't charge more than $150 to $200 for it.

Yup. I'd probably give brain surgery a go if it was on YouTube. lol

Dogs are awesome like that. About 10 years ago, my dad was hunting in another county, and i killed a nice buck and brought it to his shop to hang it and cut it up. On one trip out there, as i opened the door, his dog rushed in past me, grabbed the biggest hunk of fat id carved off, and took off horking it down on the run.
After i finished getting the deer cut up, i left the kawknballs hanging from his cross beam, so when he got home hed see i got a buck. Guess they fell off. When he opened the door to his shop, the dog pulled the same rroutine, rushed in, grabbed the package and took off eating it on therun as my dad chased him trying to take it away.

Salty ?

how the hell ya been ?

wanna see a pic of my new Landcruiser ?

Nowadays more and more new model vehicles do not come with a spare tire of any kind but instead come with a small 12 volt dc air compressor and a canister of one-time use 'tire sealant'. A temporary 'doughnut' spare tire/wheel/jack assembly is a optional add-on at extra cost now. So, if you happen to have a sidewall split or blowout, you're basically S-O-L and calling a tow truck...

Yep. Last Rental car I got after flying to Colorado had that Bullschitt.
Rental Agent said they don’t buy new cars with spares in them anymore.

A new one? Sure long as I don't have to change the light bulbs. haha

slang for your nuts? lol

Adding hitch and lift kit to Cherokee Trailhawk after winter. Bout the only work I can do on it.

Have driven and worked on beaters for decades.
Am done w that crap.

Might get one for a toy, but not for daily driving. Nope.
Fairly new w warranty.

Kids GM, had to remove fascia to change headlight bulb. WTF.
Wiper switch dead on 2004 GC. Hidden on frame rail, had to remove bumper fascia for that. I said fuggit and popped ligjt out and made access hole.from.top.

Way easier.

Hey. Some of them dang things you have to remove half of the front clip


201? Impala or Malibu comes to mind.

Yup, Mailbu, what my oldest had.

Got a 2011 motorhome sitting out here the innanet says I should replace the spark plugs on that v 10 or one day she might decide to change them herself.
E 450. There isn't room for two mice to pass there in spots. That performance is going to get hired out

no not a new one.........

hell 1-2 YO and they're still $98K

It's called, picking your battles.

I have a 99 Suburban, brake lights don't work. Diagnosis points to the Multi Function Switch <lots of systems use this device, brake lights, turns, hazards, wipers, cruise control, etc> that is in the steer column. Real mf'er to remove/replace. Maybe next spring I'll tackle this. Or not.

Rattlesnake came in the other day and said the low beams were out on the headlights. Ok, I'll check it out. Looked at fuses and there are 4.... 1 for each high beam and 1 for each low beam, but they all tested good. Ok, pulled a bulb and checked power at the socket and sure enough, no power to one side of he bulb. Pulled one of the low beam fuses and there was no power to it. Must be the switch.... $189 later and changing the switch didn't fix the problem. Ok, time for utube..... found out there is a low beam relay (that's not labeled in the fuse/relay box or the book) and since I dont have fog lights, I swtched the two relays. Now I got power to the fuses and power to the bulb sockets. Put my bulbs back in and found I had one low beam bulb that was bad. Took the switch back and bought 2 bulbs. Took 1/2 the day, but it's fixed.


Forgot to mention that while trying to pull out a fuse I ruined it. Since I dont have DTR lights, I used that one to replace it.

I’ve done the Super Duty v10 plugs twice, back two are a doodle, used a shop vac with an improvised “heater hose extension” to sucked any acorns, debris deep inside the plug well before unscrewing the sparkplug. Buy a caulk tube of dielectric grease when reassembling.

Took me allll day to do it but the dealership wanted $600+ And that was before JoeFlation

I pick em every day

I rarely hire anything out, I have lots of smart friends if I get into a pinch and they have me to reciprocate. My buds don’t forget favors.
Nice to have a bud put a new 3-1/2 ton heat pump in for me while I was in the hospital for a week.
For only unit cost, and ran thru my account on my EPA card.

Easiest I ever changed out a headlamp in - was "The Warden"s 07 GMC 2500HD.
2 pins, and the assembly came out into your hands. Twist lamp connector out, replace bulb, and reverse process.
Ten minutes max - the second and subsequent times. Took a while to figure it out, initially.

Some are simple, like my 2014 Hyundai and 1999 Mustang that I used to have. Some are a pain. I had to change the bulbs in a Chevy Malibu that our daughter had and that was hard going, especially on the drivers side.

Like a Homey Dippot. Sells the same over-priced cheap chit -and they don't have enough of it. Just shopped 4 stores in Wisconsin 2 months ago to find enough materials for one lousy not large dog fence for my son's yard. But all the Christmas crap was out on the floor.

After the job was done, I found the same stuff - more than I initially needed- at a farm and feed store in Chippawa Falls, only less expensive.

That was one of GMs better ideas. All the bulbs on the trucks of that era are simple to change.

Brilliant tool to own for new car repairs...

TRUST ME!

https://www.harborfreight.com/zr-pr...scanner-factory-reconditioned-57917.html

I have a friend that had a truck with the v10 and he said the same thing about changing the plugs.

Worse I ever helped with was a 327 in a late 60's model vette. Nightmare changing the plugs.

Helluva farmer.

LOL

That was an example of my dry witted sarcasm.

If changing a bulb isn't a hill your willing to die on, the bar isn't very high.

Same/same on our 04 T'hoe

But changing plugs on my 99 Frontier is a different beast altogether.
We had the damdest set of extensions put together to get the back two out.
Was almost to the point of pulling the dash and getting the drill out.

A crack mechanic had a hard time changing spark plugs on our 2016 F150.

$500 was cheap!

A crack mechanic?

You smoke it with him?

Ford spark plugs was NOT a better idea. Anything in the steering column runs air bag risk. The computer run stuff is ridiculous. Like t h e automatic headlights

There will never be you tubes of a 20** car being started after sitting 30 years.

Yep, all newer chevys & gmc trucks !

1 hour labour, to change an $18 halogen capsule !!!

No salt on the roads here... and what do I drive because the way cars are nowadays?

04 Camry
05 Scion ( Son) 11 Tacoma

08 Camry, 06 Pilot, 07 Acura RS, 88 4 Runner ( 4 cylinder)

I buy cars based on simplicity to repair and work on...

then back up, have the local CC Automotive Program as back up..
eg, headlight went out on Camry.. dealer wanted $1500 Labor and $500 for the part.
Bought a pair of bulbs off Amazon for $65.00, took it over to college
Student who works at Acura Dealer installed.. $25.00, and off line, case of his favorite beer.

Current technology is going to make even a bulb change a specialized task, with intelligent LED and Laser lighting systems that require programming after replacement, not to mention the cost of the replacement parts. Then, throw in the lane departure systems and forward vision cameras for pedestrian avoidance and night vision that require calibration anytime a body part or a front bumper is removed or adjusted, or when a windshield is replaced.

Wife's car is a 2018 BMW 540i equipped with Adaptive LED headlights. They self level depending on the load in the car, and the beams shine into the corners using the steering angle sensor for input. Replacement cost for each light, without the control unit and light module is about $3600.00. The laser light option is about $6k per light.

Easy to see why a light front end hit, enough to deploy an airbag and toast the headlights will now total the average car..............

When I was 19 years old I had a $425 ten year old 1960 MGA that was most of my net worth. Paid for by washing dishes for the airlines.
I had to repair it once a month for 4 years.


Now I am 71 years old and have a ~~$2000 18 year old 2004 BMW mini that was given to me.
I have the gas station change the oil. Looking under the hood, it would be like watch repair.

And, when you get older, in my case 78, there are some things you don't do like you used to.

This was my job for 40 years. Got worse as each year progressed starting in 1981.

-Ken

My GMC Sierra 2500 HD Duramax is a masterpiece of inaccessibility.

I feel for you pal. Yes, the ongoing compulsion/obsession to fix vehicles yourself can be a nasty trap at times - but some press on in the face of gloom so now often wear those gloves at this stage. I mostly run a bunch of old Chevs - much easier on the old shade tree mechanic.

ASE certified master tech going on over 40 years as a tech.
All of the years working on Euro cars, mainly BMW, Benz and Jags.
Not a fan of the newer computers with steering wheels in them.
Wife and I own 5 vehicles, the newest is her 2006 Mustang.

So much of this high tech crap in cars these days costs an arm and a leg to repair and everything has to be programmed as new modules are blank from the factory.
Hell, you can't even replace brakes on the newer stuff without a scan tool to deactivate the brake system.
Dealerships here charging in excess of $180 an hour for labor and the top techs are making $35.00 of that.

Hard, often times dirty back breaking work, but I've never been unemployed for more than 15 minutes in all those years.
And there is a real shortage of techs in the industry right now.

I'm a master with swivel extensions.

Guaranteed he took your $500 and never touched them.

LOL

You fugking idiot.

Bought this thing this spring and got my guy to look it over its got 65,000 miles on it scan says zero history of misfiring. Mechanic says take it out and giver its fine for a while. Shouldn't be any harder than a pick up i guess. We'll see if I can muster up enough self hate at the time I may try the job myself.

Pull the boots individually and look for rusty brownish soot on the rubber.
If so, a loose plug. These Tritons like to strip and spit plugs out of that alum head.
Sometimes the CEL won’t indicate or register the miss even though you can feel it.

I'm understanding now why I've been repeatedly seeing a few new / newer models of Ford and GM trucks owned by locals with with only one headlight working....

This is very good info/advice.

Misfiring Fords, hardly ever set codes !

if you want to drive an older vehicle go ahead, but realize you're sacrificing one thing - safety.

Starting around 2008-2010 auto manufacturers moved from cold rolled mild steel to build vehicles to high strength and today ultra high strength steel for at least part of the "safety cage" that surrounds occupants.

Years ago there was a test on the tv show Motorweek of some French subcompact that was crashed into an older Volvo 240, a vehicle that was designed with safety in mind. That little French car made with a safety cage of high strength steel cut that Volvo into pieces.

The choice is yours.