Hey guys,

My 09' Cobalt has passed the mileage for the bumper-to-bumper warranty and I have persistent condensation (2 months) in one of my headlamps. As such I will need to take care of this myself.

I have searched and seen some things but nothing specifically addressing how to properly clean and/or reseal Cobalt headlamps assemblies with this issue. I know the dealer usually just replaces them (I had this once before while still under warranty, other side I think though) but I'd like to avoid that expense if I can.

Any tips/ideas/guides on how to address the issue?

I can create a How-To Writeup of this too if I didn't just miss it.

Thanks in advance!

 

Best thing to do is to get new, grey sealant,. Put the old light in the oven at about 235 for 5-7 min and begin prying the lens off. Make sure to get all the clips undone without breaking them. Reheat as necessary. Once you get the lens off, make sure you get any water out and dried up that may have collected in the headlight. Put the headlight back in the oven for a few min to soften the adhesive back up. Get as much of it out of the adhesive channels as you can, a thin flat blade screwdriver will work for this. Then once you get most of the old adhesive out, put the new stuff back in, then press the lens back on. Put the headlight back into the oven for a few min to soften the adhesive up. Press the headlight together to get a good seal. Then use something to keep it clamped together and let it cool.

If you need advice on where to get the adhesive send Maven a PM, he may be able to help you find it.

 

stick them in the oven, bake them apart, then look for any parts of the silicon bead that have holes or that are missing and put some rtv silicone in there then bake them back together. Worked perfect for mine.

alot of people say to scrape all the factory silicone out but in fact its much stronger than any rtv or whatever people use, i always put the back on the headlight in the oven to heat it up then just press the two together.

 

ive heard drilling a small hole in the bottom of the lense helps too

 

I tried it before and it didn't work for me at all.

 

How much do one of these assemblies run, in case I jack mines up beyond repair? lol

Also, I once read there is a way to simply remove the headlamp from the car, dry it out with a hair dryer, then reinstall.... one guy said he done it once and had no problem for years. Any merit on this method?

Thanks again.

 

They cost around $350 US from GM parts direct

 

Y'know that **** is really unhealthy

 

OCI Butyl Rubber Glue - Accessories from The Retrofit Source Inc

worked wonders for me. very easy to work with and sealed them very good

 

i had done the hair dryer trick, worked beautifully i took about 10 minutes to ensure it was thoroughly clear of any moisture. put it back on, havent had an issue since july so far