Rear Light Removal

[ChrisUK]

Hi All,

Just got my rear lights to swap over form the OEM one's.

I've found the 3 bolts holding them on, but the 3rd one is tricky to get to, will I have to remove the plastic trim on the boot ?

I've undone the 2 screw I can find (in the grab handles), but it wont budge ?

Any Idea's ?

Ta

 

[RobM]

As far as I know, it's also held in with strong clips so might need a bit of careful but consistent force to remove it.

 

[ChrisUK]

Is there an easier way that removing the trim ?

I've just snapped a few of the clips away from the actual trim, and one of them pulled a hole in the inside part

 

[ChrisUK]

I'm going to nip the shop to invest in a good socket set before I really f**k something up...........

 

[ChrisUK]

What a complete and utter b@stard !!!!!!

I've snapped the 2 metal clips by the grab handles - anyone know where I can get some more of these from & what they are called ?

 

[dan__smith]

Dealers? Take a broken one down...They might be able to sort you out. No idea what they are called though/

 

[lc_allan]

My trim is already off, was a pain but no broken clips

Chris does the trim indeed need to come off in order to get access to the rear lights?. I don't have it here so can't see where it covers the bulb access point etc..

I am thinking of spraying mine or getting some cheap ones to test on. I don't want to put the boot trim on, only to try and remove it a few weeks later. Once was enough for me

 

[ChrisUK]

Right !!

Took me about 3 hours, lots of broken clips, lost nuts, frustration, anger & 3 pints of Fosters !!!!!!!!

Right, the trim DOES not have to come off..........so leave it alone lol

If you look at the car from the rear, there are 4 lights - I'll refer to them as numbers 1-4 (from left to right)

Light 1

You need to remove the plastic surround by taking out the 1 screw, and pulling the surround to one side.

You can access the 3 screws quite easily. Might be best to loosen the nuts and use your fingers to take off. If you drop one, don't worry, it will fall into the well at the bottom


Light 2

This is a pain in the ass ! There is 1 easy accessible screw, the one at the bottom requires a tool from a socket set, and the other one can be loosened & removed with your fingers.

If you drop any of these, you can access them with the light off (if lucky). I had to "bounce" the screw into the plastic trim a few times do I could bend back the trim & retrieve (this light took the longest).

Putting on is another story. One of the nuts has to go on an angled thread, so the socket set is out of the window, it's another finger job. Same with the bottom one, but a bit more easier.

I had this one on & off about 6 times as I kept dropping the screw from the right (if looking into the hole) - so put this one on 1st, as it'd the hardest.


Light 3

The lights on the right need no trim or surround removing at all. For Light 3, it's identical to light 2 instructions.


Light 4

Easiest of the 4 - looks hard at 1st, but it's simple enough.

This one is easiest to remove if you just loosen the nuts & remove with your fingers. For the far nut, I had to use the end of the tool of the socket set, and use my fingers to twist the tool & loosen the nut.

Putting back on is a finger job again & then tighten as above in reverse.



Overall - I wouldnt have bothered lol - but it does look good now

Still got the clips to get back on (once I source them), but if you need anymore info, give me a shout......