Hi again....
Well today hasn't gone well so far...

I attempted to replace the worn headlight motor gear on my 1992 Coupe and one thing after another went wrong. It looks like someone may have already been in to it at some point.

First the gasket for the gear case that they said "Do Not Rip" because it needs to be reused wasn't even there... Next, according to the instructions, I have a type one style which indicated the motor had to be disassembled also. During removal of the two bolts for the motor case one snapped and trying to drill it out so far is failing. A small ball bearing fell out and I'm not sure where that goes. Also when I look at the electrical brushes both were hanging out of their spot but I only found one spring that sat behind the brush. Should there be two springs or did that bearing have something to do with it?

In short I'm now lost... Any directions or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Jim

Thanks

I keep getting this when I click on anything

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Wow, I can't believe that page is gone! You know how many thousands and thousands of views it must have had?

Here is one archived link:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source ... acxh1TpenV6nuqPIdMZh4ZoWA

http://www.vetteweb.com/tech/vemp_090 ... dlamp_motors/viewall.html

http://www.corvettefever.com/howto/33098/viewall.html

Do you know where the small ball bearing goes? Also are both of the motor electrical brushes suppose to have springs behind them/ Only one if mine does and I am not sure if it was never there or got lost when i opened the motor case itself

Hi...
So it's now 4:21am here and I have made some progress over the last few hours... I put the passnger side headlight gear upgrade on hold and moved over to the driver side which thanks to suggestion here and a youtube video I saw went MUCH smoother and is back together.

When I did the passenegr side I followed the instructions that were with the upgraded gear and it led me to taking the electric motor itself apart.... Trying to put it back together I had a few issues.

First one of the bolts snapped. Although not pretty I was able to drill it and get a nut and bolt on the broken side so that should be solved.

Second was a small ball bearing that came out and I had know idea where it went. I beleive this bearing goes at the end of the worm gear between it an what looks like the end of a bolt. So I think that issue is solved.

Now here is the last issue/question before I reassemble everything. The two electrical wires go inside the electric motor casing and have the brushes attached to them. One of the brushes has a small spring behind it that keeps tension on the brush to continuesly make contact with the starter shaft. The other brush has no spring behind it so it floats in there and I am not sure if it is suppose to.

Has anyone disassembled one of these or rebuild the electric motor itself to know if this is correct?

I am almst there! Any help, advice, schmatic (I have the service manual and it shows nothing) would be a great help to get this finished up tomorrow.

I just need to know if there is a spring missing or not.

Thank you all again!

Jim, it has to have a spring.

Without one it will only run until the brush gets knocked back off the commutator (where the brushes ride). Then you would loose electrical contact and the motor won't run.

Every motor has a spring on each brush (I've rebuilt quite a few, not C4 but just did my 67 headlights).

It's also not a bad idea to clean the dark brown ring on the copper up a bit with 600 sandpaper (lightiy) or even a pencil eraser works, Blow off the dust.

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Thank you.... Thats what I thought... Time to search the garage floor... If I can't find it any idea where to get one? I have sprongs for watercraft carburetors but they are mor the style of a pen spring

Quote:

Not really, you'll have to match one or buy a used motor.

The match only has to be close in the spring rate, you'll have to compare it to the existing one. Not a big deal, it just has to push the brush out.

I FOUND IT!!! It is actually quite amazing that I found it because I always try to work very neat and organized constantly cleaning up so I thought it really was gone. I found it about 30 feet from where it was taken apart.

Got the motor itself back together in minuets. I will let you know if it actually all works once its in.

BTW I saw some posts somewhere where people were asking how to hold the brushes in place under the load of the spring while sliding the motor case and shaft in place. I took two pieces of dental floss wrapped each around the wire at the brush. Pulled them back. Slid the housing in place and the simply pulled the floss out. Just thought I'd pass that along if anyone falls into the same issue

Let me just say you people are awesome... Everything is together and works perfect. My biggest mistake was following the instructions that came with it... With the advise from you guys and a decent video I found on YouTube it was really a very easy job.

The driver side headlight cover lined up perfectly without even trying. The passeneger side is close but i would like to fine adjust it. Any tips?

Thanks again

It's been a while since I adjusted mine. If I recall I used a small torx bit on a long 1/4" drive extension to loosen them. Tighten them up snug but not tightened fully, this will allow you to move the cover in place without it slipping. I believe you need to rotate the headlights part way open with the hand knob.

Good luck,

Matthew

All adjusted and better than it ever was. Everything contours with the hood perfectly

Glad you got it worked out! Any tips for the guys out there doing this in the future?

Yes.... DO NOT follow the instructions with the bronze gear & bushing. Get some background before you start. There is a wealth of knowledge here and a YouTube video that walks you through it all. Had I done that first I would not have run into such a frustrating time. I truly expected to have to buy a rebuilt plus pay the core charge because of disassembling that motor itself. I stayed with it and you all helped me a ton.

This job is extremely easy and almost anyone could successfully do it in about 45-60 min per side. Following the guidance located here and that YouTube video.

BTW - I called Ecklers today about that leaf spring kit which had 14 pieces and no instructions or even a graphic showing what order pieces go in. They had no idea how to do it and I'm suppose to hear from a tech "soon"

Thanks again.

I rebuilt this car with my now 8 year old daughter and we've won several first and second place trophies with it but the time together has been priceless. While I had the car on the jack stands for the past few weeks I taked her through her first oil change. I've had a C5, sold it for a C6 that was too expensive when the economy slowed down. I sold it to take care of my family and as soon as I could I bought something that I'd own and not have to worry about the payment. Truth be told at this point I could have bought another C5 or C6 with what we've spenton this but every dime was worth the togetherness this C4 brought to my family.

Thank to you all the help