2003 Ford Focus Headlight Assembly Replacement
After clearing the haze from Maire's headlights a couple times and it always coming back, we decided to just get her a whole new assembly. I ordered a pair from 1 A Auto and put together a rough little how to video. Here's what I learned in replacing them.....
First thing was part quality. The lenses from 1A were not as well finished as the factory headlights. Where the factory lights were riveted the 1A lights were glued, trim pieces didn't seem to fit as well and the general quality was worse, thinner. They were however CLEAR!! There was some good, the fitment was perfect which I was pleased with, and they came with bulbs which I wasn't expecting but was very excited about.
Tools needed. You could get away with doing the entire job with a 3/8in drive with a 10mm socket and a phillips head screwdriver, however a ratcheting box wrench makes one of the bolts a lot easier. A flashlight is good to have on hand as well.
You'll see in the video that one of the lenses had a broken tab and missing screw clip. I reinstalled without it since I didn't have it and the 3 bolts secure the lense just fine. It felt as in place as the other side that had the extra clip.
Be extremely careful when removing the parking / turn signal lights from the grill before removing it. Mine were very brittle due to being weathered (I assume). I just removed the bulb and left the wire harness connected. In reinstallation I tried to disconnect the harness thinking I'd put the bulbs in, set the grill and then plug it back in and ended up cracking it a little. I ended up reinstalling the same way they came out.
Lastly, don't be shy when tightening the inside fender bolt. Because the bolts are threaded into plastic I was afraid of overtightening so I got it loose snug since the top ones were tighter. When I looked at the car the area where the fender, bumper and headlight meet had sloopy, off lines. I slowly tightened the bolt more while watching and it began pulling the fender in and tightening up the look. I ended up tightening them down much more to reach the proper look.
First thing was part quality. The lenses from 1A were not as well finished as the factory headlights. Where the factory lights were riveted the 1A lights were glued, trim pieces didn't seem to fit as well and the general quality was worse, thinner. They were however CLEAR!! There was some good, the fitment was perfect which I was pleased with, and they came with bulbs which I wasn't expecting but was very excited about.
Tools needed. You could get away with doing the entire job with a 3/8in drive with a 10mm socket and a phillips head screwdriver, however a ratcheting box wrench makes one of the bolts a lot easier. A flashlight is good to have on hand as well.
You'll see in the video that one of the lenses had a broken tab and missing screw clip. I reinstalled without it since I didn't have it and the 3 bolts secure the lense just fine. It felt as in place as the other side that had the extra clip.
Be extremely careful when removing the parking / turn signal lights from the grill before removing it. Mine were very brittle due to being weathered (I assume). I just removed the bulb and left the wire harness connected. In reinstallation I tried to disconnect the harness thinking I'd put the bulbs in, set the grill and then plug it back in and ended up cracking it a little. I ended up reinstalling the same way they came out.
Lastly, don't be shy when tightening the inside fender bolt. Because the bolts are threaded into plastic I was afraid of overtightening so I got it loose snug since the top ones were tighter. When I looked at the car the area where the fender, bumper and headlight meet had sloopy, off lines. I slowly tightened the bolt more while watching and it began pulling the fender in and tightening up the look. I ended up tightening them down much more to reach the proper look.
