Niall_G
Established member
On doing the weekly checks on Mrs_G's Cargo I noted the drivers side tail light had failed.
'No problem' I thought, 'I've bought a set of bulbs for the van, I'll have this done in a jiffy.'.
No chance.
The whole light cluster has to be removed from the van to replace the bulb. A bit of a pain as it invoves using the wheel brace to loosen the interior nut, a plastic tool to remove the nut without dropping it down inside the rear quarter panel and a socket set to remove the exterior screws as the supplied screwdriver just started to round out the screws.:bang:
Having got the cluster free of the van I noted 2 of the 4 screw which secure the bulb holder to the main housing were rusty. A shot of WD40 and a 5 minute soak freed one of the rusty screws the other was too far gone for any screwdriver to get a bite on. The screw in question, the bottom one, is surrounded by a plastic lip which I nibbled away with some side cutters. This allowed me to grip the screw with some pliers. The screw head came of as soon as I started to turn the screw - effing great!. The remainder of the screw still remains in the metal insert moulded into the main cluster body. If only the factory had put a bit of grease on these screw threads the screw would probably of come out fine.
I replaced the bulb and gave all the screws a good dose of WD40 to guard against future problems.
This little episode has demonstrated to me that a roadside bulb change would not have been a success. I'll be removing the other side and lubricating/rust proofing the screws so that if I or Mrs_G have to change a rear bulb while away from home we'll have a fighting chance.
I'd recommend checking your rear light clusters when you get a chance.
'No problem' I thought, 'I've bought a set of bulbs for the van, I'll have this done in a jiffy.'.
No chance.
The whole light cluster has to be removed from the van to replace the bulb. A bit of a pain as it invoves using the wheel brace to loosen the interior nut, a plastic tool to remove the nut without dropping it down inside the rear quarter panel and a socket set to remove the exterior screws as the supplied screwdriver just started to round out the screws.:bang:
Having got the cluster free of the van I noted 2 of the 4 screw which secure the bulb holder to the main housing were rusty. A shot of WD40 and a 5 minute soak freed one of the rusty screws the other was too far gone for any screwdriver to get a bite on. The screw in question, the bottom one, is surrounded by a plastic lip which I nibbled away with some side cutters. This allowed me to grip the screw with some pliers. The screw head came of as soon as I started to turn the screw - effing great!. The remainder of the screw still remains in the metal insert moulded into the main cluster body. If only the factory had put a bit of grease on these screw threads the screw would probably of come out fine.
I replaced the bulb and gave all the screws a good dose of WD40 to guard against future problems.
This little episode has demonstrated to me that a roadside bulb change would not have been a success. I'll be removing the other side and lubricating/rust proofing the screws so that if I or Mrs_G have to change a rear bulb while away from home we'll have a fighting chance.
I'd recommend checking your rear light clusters when you get a chance.
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