Hey everyone - My 92 240 has been sitting for little bit during my travel for work. When I finally got the ol' thing back, I see about a 1/2 inch of water inside the lens thanks to a crack and a good amount of rain...

Here is my question - I have an old headlight assembly and a yellow lens which has already been removed from the assembly. Do you guys recommend restoring the yellow lens and re-caulking or just paying the $49 from FCP Groton for a brand news lens? Also, do you recommend an RV/Marine sealant?

Thanks for any/all suggestions!
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Spencer 1992 244 200K : Bosch LH 2.4 Jetronic FI

If you feel the need to replace,I have had great luck with
lampsandlenses.com
They have fast delivery and the 240 headlamp lens is only $24.99

something to keep in mind when fixing plastic headlight lenses is that they were manufactured with a clear UV protective coating. you can polish and sand all you like and get them to look great but the results may not last. Here's what I did to mine 3 years ago.... sand the lens down with 600# you can go to 100-1500# for even better results, but 600 is fine enough. then hit em with some urethane clearcoat. not rattle can stuff, the real thing, take them to your local bodyshop and have them clear them next time it's "in the gun" if you don't have the means at home. Mine look like the day I did them and I haven't touched them in 3 years, never stored indoors. this even works on yellowed lenses if you start coarser and sand through the yellowed plastic.

I had to do both on my 86.

If you have the money new is better in the long run, and it sort of depends on how much your time and effort you want to spend polishing old lens vs the cost of replacing with new. A good polish is one of those things where if the lenses are in good shape you can get a decent result. You have to remove the lens either way to fix the moisture leak issue. There are four plastic bumps on the lens surface that will get in the way when you are polishing.

Inga arrived at my house with a major moisture issue in both lens. Did the polish thing on left side and replaced the other side with new since that one was in sad shape. The lens on left side had been replaced when Inga earned her deer tag in about 1994. When she arrived at my house a few years later, found that both lens were leaking about the same. After replacing the lens on the older right side bucket, found it looked almost new. Replaced the lens on the left side a couple of months later so they sort of matched. Still have both up of them in the parts stash just in case an ECode ever gets cracked. They were both still clear and dry when they went in the parts tub this past spring.

Couple of tips, do not wipe the sliver on the backs, the silver will come off and reduce how much light goes down range. If you find moisture still in the buckets, a hair dryer will make short work of it. Clean dry surfaces along with a good even bead are the key to a good seal IMOH. I did also put the lens down on a cloth and wrapped a couple of big rubber bands around the lens until the RTV dried. Be gentle, the plastic on the back gets pretty brittle and it is easy to break or crack. I used Dave Shannon's write up as my spiritual guide by the way.

For the sealant, I used electrical grade RTV and never had a problem with the seal. Electrical Grade does not have a lot of the solvents that other types of RTV have. You get less out gassing and it will not damage the lens or the bucket. Some of that cheap can make a mess and even melt plastic.

I used the stuff from GE but several companies make an equivalent. This is not a product endorsement so maybe I can get a pass from one of our two SAM’s and not get a thumb down.

Good Luck and Regards,

Paul

Hmmm. RTV... Funny. I haven't learned all the distinctions yet; I just grab whatever I bought last time to lay under a lav faucet. It will probably breathe on my oxygen sensor and plug the catalyst :-)

The "thumbs down" phenomenon is cute too. On my browser, it displays as a thumbs-up when someone has given one. Sometimes, a post really deserves to go away, and the TD just attracts our attention. I don't use them, and in fact sometimes use the TU just to cancel a TD.

The yellowing is something I've seen before on others' cars, but those of mine have only been dingy or leaky. I fixed up some leaky ones with very pleasing results, plugging the 1/8" drain holes that had been drilled and allowing the labyrinth vent in the housing to take over, but still had to return and re-do the RTV job on one of them, six months later. It looked like I had just not filled the groove 100%.

A piece of cardboard will help a new SS bolt stay put. Or better, one can swap left and right sides which moves several of the bolts to fresh holes. I know firsthand the disappointment of rubbing off the delicate reflective layer, so protected them with a bit of plastic wrap.









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Art Benstein near Baltimore

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Art Benstein near Baltimore

Sea captains don't like crew cuts.