JWise

My GT has developed an annoying rattle up front that I've isolated to the headlight mechanism. A brief search of the archives didn't reveal anything. If anyone's BTDT, I'd appreciate some ideas of where to begin. Here's a video of what I'm experiencing:

Bill Ball

Hi Jarrod:

Did you remove the plastic headlight buckets and look at the various springs and brackets holding headlamp housing as well as the bulb retaining springs?

Also, there is a metal reflector mounted inside each lamp in front of the bulb that could have popped loose. I'd put the lamps up, remove the buckets, remove the bulbs and look things over inside and out.

Is the rattle coming from boths sides? I saw that it rattled when you hit either side, but did the rattle itself seem to come from both?

daveo90s4

+1 what Bill said - headlights up and buckets off. There is a short rod that connects at the bottom of the assembly - I think this is the electric height adjustment. If these rods are not connected then the assembly can wobble up and down, making a rattle. Does your electric height adjustment work? If not then this might give a clue?

Nicole

US models don't have headlight adjustment - neither the early pneumatic nor the later electric type.

The fact that both sides rattle make me wonder, if any of the following might be lose:

1. On the headlight rod, the C clip or one of the bolts
2. One of the plastic bushings that the rod turns in at the fender wall
3. One of the bolts on the motor

I somehow doubt it's one of the rubber stoppers inside the fender. They don't adjust by themselves, and I don't think you can wear them out, either.

What happens when you bump the rod from inside the engine compartment? Do you feel any play?

daveo90s4

Well that's that possibility addressed :-) :-)

Dave

Nicole

^^^ You guys probably don't see too many US models down under...

Ad0911

Be happy if you don't have the hydraulic adjusters because long term fixing them is almost impossible. They leak and leak...
I would like to either make a permanent fix without the adjusters or fit the electric adjusters (is that possible?). Dutch yearly safety test requires that it works when it's there. I got away with it stating that the headlamp is spring preloaded.

About the rattle: could it be that the pladtic bearings are torn resulting in play in the total system?

JWise

Thanks for the responses thus far. To answer/comment on some of your feedback:

• When tapping either side, BOTH sides rattle.
• The noise seems to be coming from underneath the headlight assembly, but I can't say for certain.
• Everything appears tight underhood - crossbar, motor, c-clips, bolts. The crossbar is firm, but hitting it will produce rattle, but to a much lesser degree than tapping on the lamps themselves.
• Bill - I removed the buckets and I thought everything underneath was tight. However, I did NOT remove the bulbs and look inside the lamps at the reflectors, I'll do that next. That may be part of the problem as when driving at night the bumps make the beam shake what seems to be an excessive amount.
• I think the bump stops are fine. I know the driver's side is, as I was in there recently replacing the splash shield and saw it. I'll look down from above on the passenger side to confirm, but I think it will be fine as well. Both lamps appear to sit equal at normal height/spacing when retracted.

You've given me a few ideas which I'll address this afternoon and report back. Thanks again!

Mrmerlin

there are height adjusters on each light and on the end of each adjustment stud is a rubber cap its not uncommon for the caps to fall off due to age if you remove the headlights from the arms it may be easier than going in from the under the fenders.
First i would remove the headlight covers and look for anything loose then look for the lower stops and see if the rubber caps are on them

Herman K

Fixed it for you:

When Sean installed that X-pipe last week he forgot the extra headlight tie-down springs needed to overcome its growling.

Or Chuck found out that he was missing his fender bolts of his headlight bearings he borrowed yours and forgot to tell you.

JWise

Herman - I wish I could blame it on Sean or Chuck.

OK, a status update: Headlamps removed, everything there is good and tight including the reflectors inside the lamps. The rattle is coming from the carriage, even when it snaps into place over the roller bearing there is metal to metal contact that is not being dampened. Without it being fully disassembled, it's difficult to see if anything illustrated in PET is missing. I will attempt to fashion some sort of dampener from weatherstripping to tighten things up and/or eliminate the metal to metal contact. BTW, both rubber bump stops are present and accounted for in good condition.

Ad0911

Actually it should be rattle free without extra weathertripping! Have you checked the connection between the central bar and actuator that makes the lamps go up?

JWise

Are you referring to the bar in the front of the engine bay and associated linkages and c-clips? If so, yes, those are all tight. The noise is definitely coming from beneath the headlamp assemblies.

Here's a shot of the two areas of metal to metal contact causing most of the rattle:

Mrmerlin

you can also lubricate the break away clips on the headlights use the spray grease to do this the black tab in the center right of the last photo is the tab

JWise

The remaining rattle source seems to be coming from the base of the supporting arm (#6), which and be moved slightly by hand against whatever it attaches to underneath. Without being able to view/access from below, it's difficult to ascertain what the problem is.