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92' Headlight/Grille Removal?


Bobsteriffic
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Hey all, hopefully I don't look too dumb asking this question, I'm just reluctant to yank/force anything on this rig since all the plastic is so brittle and old.

 

Over the winter I lost my passenger side headlight seal, and now that it's warming up outside it's really starting to build up some serious condensation. They're the factory OEM glass housings and they're basically flawless otherwise, so I would like to try and remove it and reseal it with some sort of silicone. Problem is getting to the bolts that hold in the headlight, and it looks like they're behind the grille.

 

I can see the top 5 mounting points with small square plastic screws, and 2 small philips screws under each headlight. It also looks like there's another 3 mounting points across the bottom of the grille, but I can't see how to access it without removing the plastic cover that's on the top of the bumper as well. Can anyone confirm if this is correct? If so can someone shed some light on how to pull that plastic cover off the bumper?

 

Thank you much

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  • Bobsteriffic changed the title to 92' Headlight/Grille Removal?

With my 93, it is a bit battered so I may be incorrect with your 92. I know the bumper is different, but shouldn't be enough. I had my grille out a week ago and not only are the 5 clips on top, you have the 2 screws under the headlights. You will also need to take the corner marker lights off. Then you should be able to tilt the grille out and lift it out. I think the lower mounts are just pins going into brackets with plastic bushings to hold tight. For the top clips, it is gently rotate the front with a flat screwdriver until the head popps through the hole in the grille. When reinstalling, you squeeze the 2 clips together and pull it out of the body. Then gently line the square head up with the hole in the grille and press it through with light twist until it snapps into place. Then you simply press the grille back into place. 

 

Don't know if they still have them, but here in Utah, the Lowe's stores actually stocked the Nissan grill clips in the specialty hardware drawers. It is an option to try when some of them break.

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I had a headlight lose a seal too. I filled it with water to find where it was leaking (think I had to blow into it to really track anything down), then dried it out and JB welded the seam all the way around. Still holding strong against moisture, but I think I waited a little too long, because some of the reflective coating inside the housing peeled off.

 

My grille comes off without pulling the bumper, though I've got the later bumper too. Might be a little tight to get the screwdriver in there, but it should be doable. You may also have a hard time if your bumper's a little cockeyed; the bottom screw for one of my corner lights has been more difficult to work with since the bumper had an argument with a hoof rat a while ago.

I replaced the clips with zip ties on mine.

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18 hours ago, Mr_Reverse said:

With my 93, it is a bit battered so I may be incorrect with your 92. I know the bumper is different, but shouldn't be enough. I had my grille out a week ago and not only are the 5 clips on top, you have the 2 screws under the headlights. You will also need to take the corner marker lights off. Then you should be able to tilt the grille out and lift it out. I think the lower mounts are just pins going into brackets with plastic bushings to hold tight. For the top clips, it is gently rotate the front with a flat screwdriver until the head popps through the hole in the grille. When reinstalling, you squeeze the 2 clips together and pull it out of the body. Then gently line the square head up with the hole in the grille and press it through with light twist until it snapps into place. Then you simply press the grille back into place. 

 

Don't know if they still have them, but here in Utah, the Lowe's stores actually stocked the Nissan grill clips in the specialty hardware drawers. It is an option to try when some of them break.

 

Thank you very much. I appreciate the level of detail you went into, this is the most info I've been able to find anywhere on the subject matter.

 

Also thank you for the input on Lowe's potentially having replacement grill clips, I will definitely take a look there if I manage to snap any. 

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14 hours ago, Slartibartfast said:

I had a headlight lose a seal too. I filled it with water to find where it was leaking (think I had to blow into it to really track anything down), then dried it out and JB welded the seam all the way around. Still holding strong against moisture, but I think I waited a little too long, because some of the reflective coating inside the housing peeled off.

 

My grille comes off without pulling the bumper, though I've got the later bumper too. Might be a little tight to get the screwdriver in there, but it should be doable. You may also have a hard time if your bumper's a little cockeyed; the bottom screw for one of my corner lights has been more difficult to work with since the bumper had an argument with a hoof rat a while ago.

I replaced the clips with zip ties on mine.

 

Good call on filling it with water to find the leak Slart. I was planning on just sealing the entire housing and hoping it would be solve the problem, but tracking it down first is probably a good idea.

 

And yes my grille is a little cockeyed, I'm hoping I should be able to get it out with how it is currently. If I snap any clips/fasteners I've got a good supply of zip-ties standing by lol.

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