2 questions regarding our headlights. Please look.

uh0h50 · Nov 5, 2010

Hello fellow mustangers. I have 2 quick questions regarding the headlights of our sn95s.

1) are the headlight housings/buckets identical between the GT and the cobras? I know the lenses are different, but how about inside the housings?

2. What steps/procedures have you taken to separate the lenses from the housings? I think the adhesive used from both aftermarket and OEM are the same. (window weld I believe) and is a pain in the $&@ to deal with. Any help here would be extremely helpful.

Thanks folks. -mike

coupe5ohh · Nov 5, 2010

if u want to seperate the lenses grab a brick set ur oven 2 300dg and put the light on the brick in the oven for about 3 mins and after the 3 mins pull it out and start pullin away..to put em back together just reverse the procedure

duh09 · Nov 5, 2010

I would GUESS the housing would be the same on the inside, I don't see why it would be different but I honestly have no idea.

I'm guessing you're thinking about pulling the GT lens off and slapping a Cobra lens on? For all the work involved with heating them up, pulling them apart, and trying to put them back together, wouldn't it be just as easy to buy a new set of headlights?

94MuStAnGGT5o · Nov 5, 2010

i dont think you can get the lens of without breaking it, what i know though is that the headlights are identical and u can just put ur bulb in the new headlight no modifications needed. I wouldn't try to remove the lens as it might break

duh09 · Nov 5, 2010

94MuStAnGGT5o said:
i dont think you can get the lens of without breaking it, what i know though is that the headlights are identical and u can just put ur bulb in the new headlight no modifications needed. I wouldn't try to remove the lens as it might break

Lens can be removed fairly easily from what I hear if you follow the right steps. There is one particular project a guy did swapping some smoked lens onto a projector headlight that wasn't offered with the smoked lens option and it worked pretty well.

However, I still stand by the fact that if you're trying to modify your GT lenses, you should just buy new headlights and save yourself the trouble.

uh0h50 · Nov 5, 2010

Guess I should elaborate a little more. I'm in the middle of doing an HID retrofit on my cobra headlights. I'm taking plenty of pics and will make a nice thread on my techniques for my fellow SN95 owners. I decided not to use the oven technique since I had a bad experience in the past. (no jokes please lol)

Long story short. Purchased a set of aftermarket cobra headlights for the swap. Used a heat gun to separate. Did not go as planned. The adhesive is some of the worst kind to work with. Ended up cracking both headlight housings but no damage done to the lenses. So I CAN purchase a set of base/GT headlights for $20 and was just going to swap lenses. But wanted to make the the housings were identical on the inside...

On the other hand, I am running into an issue with the HID projector shroud interfering with the stock bulb cut-off shield "holder" so I may opt for a different set of aftermarket headlights.

I guess now my main concern is how I should tackle the headlight separation again. Will most likely go with the oven method but with caution this time. I'll keep you guys updated on the progress in another thread. But any other guidance on how to separate the housings, please help. Thanks.

duh09 · Nov 5, 2010

The main way I've seen our lights taken apart is with the oven. However, most of the time, the ones being pulled apart are Aftermarket lights and we all know aftermarket lights are rarely the same quality as OEM lights which means they should, in theory, be easier to yank apart. Just an idea. It's nice to see some people doing actual HID retrofits in our cars instead of just slapping kit in there.

Steve-Oh · Nov 5, 2010

Well, if the adhesive is the same between OEM and "the aftermarket" then it's a complete bitch to separate lenses from the housings. I repeatedly broke the housing seam trying to separate the headlights and almost melted the corner lens in the oven (wouldn't recommend 300* for separating corner lenses.)

Javi · Nov 5, 2010

try using the oven to preheat the headlights, and usea heat gun to heat up directly to the spots you cant get apart.

have fun lol

96cobra_12 · Nov 5, 2010

uh0h50 said:
On the other hand, I am running into an issue with the HID projector shroud interfering with the stock bulb cut-off shield "holder" so I may opt for a different set of aftermarket headlights.

I guess now my main concern is how I should tackle the headlight separation again. Will most likely go with the oven method but with caution this time. I'll keep you guys updated on the progress in another thread. But any other guidance on how to separate the housings, please help. Thanks.

No matter what, you're going to have a harder time pulling the lenses from OEM headlights. 2 reasons:

1) OEM sealant is more of a glue/adhesive rather then a silicone/rubber (Aftermarket)

2) The sealant in the OEM headlights is probably rock hard and is not going to soften up under low heat (300*)

when i did my retro, i put the housing (Aftermarket: Eagle Eyes) on a piece of wet cardboard and heated them at 250* for 10 min. The trick is to take your time! And work only a few inches at a time. you WILL have to reheat them a few times.

What projectors and shrouds are you using?

Javi · Nov 5, 2010

you might have to drill the back of the housing on the few tests ive done to retrofit FX-R projectors the projector didnt go far enough due to the solenoid so i just drilled a bigger hole on the back of the headlight. then i used some sealeant

.... I HATE HOW THESE HEADLIGHTS DONT HAVE INDIVIDUAL REFLECTORS LIKE the 99+.. GRRR!

SRT Handz · Nov 5, 2010

1. The housing AND lenses are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from Cobra to GT. They are not even made by the same company. OEM Cobra headlights are made by Silvania.

2. You can bake the lights in an oven to seperate.

MustangChris · Nov 5, 2010

my GT houstings says syvainia as well. i can snap pics if needed.

uh0h50 · Nov 5, 2010

95teal, looks like I'm going to try either the oven method or the boiling water method. Projectors are the morimoto mini h1's in a 5000k and the shrouds are the mini Gatling guns. Reasons being: cheap, great light output, smaller sized projector so no fitment issues, and ease of use.

Handz, I appreciate the info on the headlights. Thanks!

ttocs · Nov 5, 2010

I thoght you were supposed to put the lights on top of a damp towel to keep them from melting?

Mntlkase · Nov 5, 2010

SRT Handz said:
1. The housing AND lenses are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from Cobra to GT. They are not even made by the same company. OEM Cobra headlights are made by Silvania.

2. You can bake the lights in an oven to seperate.

VERY TRUE
put a cobra headlight next to a gt headlight. they are totally different. its one of the few details people miss when building a fobra. i've made many people feel like asses when they've tried to lie to me saying they have a cobra because of the small details they don't know any better about. headlights is one of them. :icon_rr:

Javi · Nov 5, 2010

SRT Handz said:
1. They are not even made by the same company. OEM Cobra headlights are made by Silvania.

2. You can bake the lights in an oven to seperate.

Lies

96cobra_12 · Nov 5, 2010

uh0h50 said:
95teal, looks like I'm going to try either the oven method or the boiling water method. Projectors are the morimoto mini h1's in a 5000k and the shrouds are the mini Gatling guns. Reasons being: cheap, great light output, smaller sized projector so no fitment issues, and ease of use.

Handz, I appreciate the info on the headlights. Thanks!

Good choice. Have you looked at HIDPlanet yet? There are some fine tuning tips that really help the output of the projector.

Im thinking about doing another retro for my car and using the minis.

Also make sure the bulbs seat fully. I had to trim the bulbs on my GF car to get them to sit right.

uh0h50 · Nov 5, 2010

95teal_12 said:
uh0h50 said:

95teal, looks like I'm going to try either the oven method or the boiling water method. Projectors are the morimoto mini h1's in a 5000k and the shrouds are the mini Gatling guns. Reasons being: cheap, great light output, smaller sized projector so no fitment issues, and ease of use.

Handz, I appreciate the info on the headlights. Thanks!

Click to expand...

Good choice. Have you looked at HIDPlanet yet? There are some fine tuning tips that really help the output of the projector.

Im thinking about doing another retro for my car and using the minis.

Also make sure the bulbs seat fully. I had to trim the bulbs on my GF car to get them to sit right.

yes sir. Hidplanet has been my bible for the past couple of weeks. I have done the fine tuning to the projectors to make for a great final product. I'll be sure to include all details in my retofit thread when I get closer to completion.