Here is a question for those of you who may do car inspections.

Took my 97 F150 in to get it inspected today....besides being failed for ball joints, I was also failed for cloudy/foggy headlights. The shop was quick to say how much they want to fix it, but when I said I would do it myself, they were suddenly vauge on the issue.

Anyone had this issue before....they basically said the headlights were cloudy/foggy from moisture and needed to be replaced. Is it a simple install? Any advice would help......I already know I am going to have to spend alot for the new ball joints, but $400 for fixing foggy headlights just seems wrong.

 

water in the headlights can't be fixed, aged or yellowed on the outside can be pollished with rubbing compound or toothpaste. To just replace them is easy, ussually just 3 or 4 wingnuts hold them and a 1/4 turn socket for the lamps. might be a crome ring on the outside that needs to be removed first. check ebay for replacements

 

First off, inspections, if for safety reasons, are mandated by your state. The requirements for a pass or fail are spelled out in considerable detail by your state's governing body.

Go to the correct web site within your state's government, pull the inspection criteria, and read it. That way you will know what is or is not a requirement. Since there are 50 states, many of which have state inspection programs, any answer you might receive from an inspector in any other state will be irrelevent.

Do your homework and you'll have the information you need.

Steve

 

Way back in the early eighties, I lived in Pennsylvania. At that time, they had twice a year mechanical inspections for vehicles. As a convienience (right!) these inspections were performed by the garages that were also able to perform the repairs. Interestingly, my cars ALWAYS had to have the headlights re-aimed each and EVERY inspection (for $15.00). This would happen no matter where I went for the inspection.

Are you in one of these "conflict of interest" states by any chance?

BTW, I'd think if you can get the headlight assembly apart, (see another thread in these forums about painting the insides black) then you could wipe out any water vapor and reassemble.

- Jack

 

The first thing you need to do is determine what is causing your cloudy headlights. Generally speaking, it's either going to be oxidation of the outside surface or moisture on the inside surface. If the outer surface feels rough to the touch and has a yellow haze to it, you probably have the external oxidation. Go to the General Care & Detailing forum and do a search, You'll find lots of helpful advice there.

If it looks like you have moisture on the inside, you have a different issue. The cause can be either a seal that has gone bad between the outer (clear) lens and the inner housing or a bad seal at the bulb. Either way, you have to get that sealed back up, then you have to remove the moisture already in there. I had that exact problem on a fog light - caused by the bulb seal. I removed the entire fog light housing, then removed the bulb. I placed the housing in my gas oven with only the pilot light on and left it there for 2 days with the bulb opening facing upward. The low heat / dry atmosphere was enough to evaporate the moisture.

 

You need to try Meguiars #10. It's a clear plastic polish that will take the yellow haze away for inspection. The haze will return but it will get you through. It's about $18 bucks for a bottle. $400 bucks is BS. Goodluck

 

I would use PlastX before #10. PlastX with a terry applicator will get rid of a decent amount of oxidation if you work it in really good a couple of times. A bottle of PlastX is ~$6.