818S headlight alignment

[tmoretta]

Page 482 of the Assembly Manual has a nice explanation of how to set up a headlight focus system using various measurements. Not one word about how you make the adjustments on the supplied (Camry) headlights. Are there ports of some sort on the lights that allow internal movement somehow? I hope they don't have to be shimmed in the mounting buckets as mine were a real bear to fit into the front bumper and fenders.

[michael everson]

As far as I can tell there is no adjustment.
mike

[matteo92065]

There is one metal screw on the back of the head light. This adjusts the up/down angle of BOTH bulbs. You must be careful not to turn it too far. If you screw it in too far it will pop the little plastic bits out of the socket and then your adjuster is broken. I ruined one head light, and was unable to fix it.
Use a 5/16 box wrench from underneath the car to adjust it. If your fenders are still off, use a Philips screw driver (from above) and come in at 90 degrees to the screw. Its MUCH easier to adjust while the front fenders are off.
See this video for the concept; https://youtu.be/kAE2ZUMHhOQ

[tmoretta]

Fascinating! Dan at FFR said you have to shim the bucket in the front bumper.

[AZPete]

Matteo, the link shows adjusting headlights on an Accord/Acura which are different from our Camry headlights. Wrong link?

I got into the headlight alignment issue months ago. I mounted the Camry lights, then replaced them with Spyder lights, and then gave up. The lights in a Camry are not mounted level so we'd have to shim the lights about 8 degrees rotated inward. Is that possible? Has anybody done it? Here's the previous thread that explains the problem:
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?16429-Headlight-Thread

I'm waiting to hear if the new front fenders & headlights are able to be aligned.

[07FIREBLADE]

But with the front fenders being off you don't get a true adjustment because the front end isn't torqued down so to say. I found that my adjustment would change as soon as my fenders and hood would go on. This became a pain but I was able to get everything working properly. Still waiting on news of the new front end. I like the look way more and the lights seem to be buckets that are glassed or silicon in place like the GTM. They should be adjustable but time will tell.

[matteo92065]

double post? deleted.

[matteo92065]

Yes, the lights are different than the video, but the adjuster looks the same. I don't have the headlights with me to take a picture. Here is a similar headlight44736 Turn that screw in and out and you will see both bulbs rock up and down. Don't turn more than 10(?) turns either way, as it will break! If you need more adjustment, you can trim/shim or use a heat gun to deform the plastic mounting points to the needed position.
Yes, I've read the headlight threads too. The headlights may not be at the perfect angle, but they seem to work pretty good. They do not have a sharp cut off line, so they don't have to be perfect. I've done a lot of night driving with no problems.
You are right Fireblade, the fenders might move the headlights around a little, but I was able to get them in the ballpark much easier with them off, then fine tune from the bottom with fenders back on.

[07FIREBLADE]

I decided to retrofit which was a double edged sword for me. I get great visibility but I needed to accurately adjust my headlights. I have an extremely nice cut off but a problem I noticed with this car and like my bikes is the suspension is hard making for a bouncing light on the road. I'm use to it though so it doesn't bother me all to much. Just an afterthought for those that might consider doing a retrofit.

[matteo92065]

I decided to retrofit which was a double edged sword for me. I get great visibility but I needed to accurately adjust my headlights. I have an extremely nice cut off but a problem I noticed with this car and like my bikes is the suspension is hard making for a bouncing light on the road. I'm use to it though so it doesn't bother me all to much. Just an afterthought for those that might consider doing a retrofit.

I looked at your build thread... put some pictures up of your headlights. I've been thinking about changing mine just to get a better/different look.

[07FIREBLADE]

As soon as I get the body back on I will. It's off so I can do my ac lines :(. What really sucks is I just got my plates and title so the car is fully registered now and I just ripped it back apart.

[DSR-3]

Bad time to find and revive this thread... 'anybody figure out a way to "recover" if the adjuster goes past it's limit as described? Cut the housing open with a hotknife (and see)?

[K3LAG]

Put the headlight in a warm, not hot, oven to soften the adhesive and remove the entire lens. It will peel right off when warm. Lots of tutorials on you tube. It’s a common technique when installing HID retrofits. I retrofitted both of mine and they came apart pretty easily.