Headlight seal

[pmax]

Sigh, nothing is an easy 5 min job on these cars, is it ?

Can't get the sugar scoop to latch with the seal and brute forcing doesn't sound like a good idea.
Looks like I'll have to spend some time trimming it.

[joefrantz]

I wouldn't trim it.
Hook the trim ring over the lower lip, lift up and squeeze gently from the sides to slightly elongate it without bending. Most of the force should be lifting. A helper might have to give it a little pop with the heal of their hand to get it over the upper tab.

[pmax]

JoeFrantz, thanks. Almost home free.

The seal has to be oriented correctly towards with the ledge and some persuasion of the ring as you suggested. Still not done yet, the final few turns of the screw seem to be taking more force than I'm willing to try now which means the ring is under a fair bit of tension. I'll leave that battle for another day. The PO has already stripped the head somewhat.

Fitment look OK ?





P.S. Good to know I'm not the first to enjoy the wonders of minimalist German engineering.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/66075-stumped-simple-rubber-thingy-headlight-gaskets.html
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/315770-striped-my-headlight-thread-bottom-need-help.html

[Stimorolgum]

I'm having a hard time to fit one of the two headlight bezels. (already stripped the threads for the screw)
I will probably mount both without the rubber seal instead.
The fit is still very tight and it looks better without the seal.
Don't think it will be needed.

What's your opinions?



Cheers

/M

[pkabush]

I’d get a new screw and start over with the seal. You don’t want moisture in and around the electrical connections or worse yet, standing water in the HL buckets.

[darrin]

apparently, a) the new Porsche-sourced seal is a lot thicker than the original one and b) a generic one for a vw beetle (available on ebay/etc.) is a lot thinner and easier to get to fit. I'd be wary of running without a seal due to both the metal to metal contact that would result and the lack of any real seal into the bucket area.

[Stimorolgum]

The headlights are not original and the bezel just won't fit.
I bought a new bezel and it fits, but only without the rubber seal.
Maybe some aftermarket seals are harder than other. Unfortunately I threw the old one away, stupid mistake.

I will try to figure this out. Fortunately I live in a dry climate and my car never touches rain or wet roads.

I wonder if others skip the rubber seal, can't see it on some pictures on the internet.

[Mike Andrew]

Just dealt with this issue. Yes, the new seals are thicker and require more push to get the trim rings installed. Mine are from our host and I think are Porsche. Not sure that I like the look of the thicker seals as I am used to the earlier version and the smaller space between the rim and fender.

I think that I will look for a set of thinner Beetle seals and see how they work and look.

[pmax]

If I remember correctly, the seal's cross section isn't regular so it has to be oriented correctly in the channel.

[Bsess]

Here's the trick to get your H4's to seat correctly without too much fuss:

Use the headlamp to body seals for the 356 as they are slightly thinner (sold by our host under part # PCG-631-115-00-OEM). A trick passed along to me by an old-timer, it works like a charm.

[PeteKz]

I gave up on the seals and installed the headlight frames directly to the fender “temporarily.” That was about 4 years ago…

[Stimorolgum]

Originally Posted by PeteKz

I gave up on the seals and installed the headlight frames directly to the fender “temporarily.” That was about 4 years ago…

[gamin]

Got new LED headlights with rings. When mounting had all the above problems with the seals. I mounted the lights without the seals. Very tight and look better as mentioned.

[proporsche]

there is a little hack i do..right where the rim meets the lip on top i`d cut off about 1mm along(3cm) so the rim has a nice snug fit and it is still sealing agains water.This way the rim will not pup out ...

Ivan

[darrin]

Originally Posted by gamin

Got new LED headlights with rings. When mounting had all the above problems with the seals. I mounted the lights without the seals. Very tight and look better as mentioned.

have you pulled the headlights to check for water intrusion in the headlight bucket? Without a seal, seems pretty easy for water to leak into and collect in the headlight bucket area.

[Stimorolgum]

Originally Posted by darrin

have you pulled the headlights to check for water intrusion in the headlight bucket? Without a seal, seems pretty easy for water to leak into and collect in the headlight bucket area.

I made a small experiment when mounting the bezel.
I pored a small amount of water on the fender and gap to the bezel. And in this experiment the water followed the channel around the bezel (were the rubber seal was supposed to be) and then out in front of the light.
So nothing entered the headlight bucket.

[darrin]

Originally Posted by Stimorolgum

I made a small experiment when mounting the bezel.
I pored a small amount of water on the fender and gap to the bezel. And in this experiment the water followed the channel around the bezel (were the rubber seal was supposed to be) and then out in front of the light.
So nothing entered the headlight bucket.

Thx for the follow-up -- seems the "acid test" here would be to spray water directly at the headlight/bezel gap with a pressure washer/etc. (to mimic what would happen while driving in the rain at speed on the highway) and then look for water where it's not supposed to be.

[pmax]

Probably a condensation barrier as well.

[cpasurfer]

Originally Posted by Bsess

Here's the trick to get your H4's to seat correctly without too much fuss:

Use the headlamp to body seals for the 356 as they are slightly thinner (sold by our host under part # PCG-631-115-00-OEM). A trick passed along to me by an old-timer, it works like a charm.

Great Idea...I ordered them for my 1973.5 911 and worked perfect!!

[kevbo]

Restarting this thread since I'm working in the same area and have a question. I'm changing the H4 glass from clear to amber and there is a rubber gasket around the glass itself. The original rubber gasket needs to be replaced and I need new ones for the new glass. Here's a pic:



I thought it was this part (911-631-115-02) but it's the gasket shown in the above thread but it's not the right part.



Any advice would be much appreciated,