Richard's '02 V6 Coupe EX-L

[Jordan_H]

Re: Sil2DrV6's 2002 Accord Coupe EX-L V6

I guess I'm lucky because I didn't run into any of those problems. I know that another issue other members have run into is the paint on their housing bubbling up because of all the heat. I'm not sure if they used high temp paint but I did and so far I haven't had an issue so I would recommend that.

 

[Brad2274]

Re: Sil2DrV6's 2002 Accord Coupe EX-L V6

I used basic krylon gloss black and havent had any issues, but my projectors sit pretty far back and i didnt have to modify the blackhousing trim either, unlike most retros. nd some people have the beam aimed where it hits the trim a little, causing the bubbling

 

[Sil2DrV6]

Re: Sil2DrV6's 2002 Accord Coupe EX-L V6

I guess I'm lucky because I didn't run into any of those problems. I know that another issue other members have run into is the paint on their housing bubbling up because of all the heat. I'm not sure if they used high temp paint but I did and so far I haven't had an issue so I would recommend that.

I actually did buy the high temperature paint, so I'm good. (I thought it wouldn't hurt by going with high temp, even if I used the heat gun instead of the oven.) And, I did end up using the oven, so high temp was a good decision.



____________________

Been having a spare set of used OEM headlights for 5 months, and it's finally time to black-house them.

My original intension was to use a heat gun to melt the sealing, but I just put them in the oven instead, because it was taking too long w/ the gun.
--Preheated the oven to 210°F
--Baked them (one by one) for 10 min
--Pried them apart with a plat-head screw driver

(Wifey doesn't know that I used the oven. Shhh..)

--Removed two phillips screws behind the amber strip housings
--Washed all of the disassembled pieces w/ mild soap
--Wiped them off w/ kitchen papers (Let's be careful not to peal off the "breather hole mesh stickers" inside the housings that prevents condensation.)
--Ended up using the heat gun as the blow drier lmao
--Dusted off fibers from the kitchen towels w/ the air duster spray

Ready for some masking work on the housings.

To be continued..

Got the new masking tape. Was able to get the same tape that I had.

I was trying to remove my finger prints with the tape, and some small chrome section was pealed off a bit. Luckily those areas are going to be black, but now I feel sure on my own that the OEM chrome housings are very x2 fragile. Gotta peal off the tape slooowly.

Finished masking the corner housings. (I did make the tape less sticky by putting on my clothes & hands before the application, just to be sure.)

Painted the chrome pieces & amber strips with Dupli-Color Semi Gloss Black Engine Enamel Spray.

This was the most intense moment, being extra careful not to peel off the chrome surface. It's better to peel the tape off piece by piece like this.

Came out fresh!

They're not glued down together yet, since I need to dust off the inside completely, but just to see how they look w/ the lenses on.

Had a huge debate between amber reflectors being black, or no strips until the last minute. But I'm glad I chose this way, since my car is silver (light-colored) and the black housings w/ the black strips give a nice contrast when looking at the car as a whole. And, I was never a big fan of those OEM center parking lights in there anyway.

 

[JV6]

Re: Sil2DrV6's 2002 Accord Coupe EX-L V6

Since headlights are opened up, should throw some morimotos in it while your at it

 

[Sil2DrV6]

Re: Sil2DrV6's 2002 Accord Coupe EX-L V6

Since headlights are opened up, should throw some morimotos in it while your at it

I agree. It is indeed a very good opportunity right now. But I need to invest on my suspension first. (Fixing a couple of problems ) I will explain what the problems are, after this post.

More or less, these headlights are more like a "practice" for me to DIY disassembling them, since the lights are used 'n they're in 7/10 condition. (No hurt feelings, Jordan_H ! These were exactly what I was looking for. )

But.. I just don't get how ppl can manage to DIY their retros tho... I'm not quite so sure if I can really do it myself... If I was, I would have tried and be done w/ it, a long time ago...

 

[Sil2DrV6]

Re: Sil2DrV6's 2002 Accord Coupe EX-L V6

Went to the shop to have my Powertrix rear LCAs installed and my front coilover kits lowered to the max, since the car needed the alignment service.

Well, the shop discovered 3 problems on my suspension:

1) The alignment on my right rear upper control arm (Wicked Tuning) is way off and the bushing is pooched out and damaged.

2) The right front upper ball joint (Ingalls) has a large amount of excessive freeplay.

3) The front strut (Tein SA) to be sticking quite high out of the knuckle. They called Tein and sent them photos. Tein said “It looks like the installation was not done correctly, the lower fork bracket would have to sit more up on the damper, it would have a second groove that the lower bracket bolt can be tighten to."

At this point, the shop could only install Powertrix rear lower control 'rear' arms, but the OEM piece was rusted pretty bad into the arms so much that they had to cut all of the bolts (additional work). They did lowered the height on my front suspension "properly" but it required some disassembly work (additional work).

Now, what I need to do is:

* Get a replacement of my right front upper ball joint. Screw Ingalls... I'm getting SPC, since their products are well trusted, which I later discovered after I got Ingalls.
* Get a replacement of my right rear upper control arm. I thought Wicked Tuning was good, but maybe I wasn't lucky... I'm getting SPC's for the same reason.


Paying for the additional parts and labor. SMH... But, on the other hand, getting my rear LCA kit 50% off is helping me out now. More importantly, it is good to discover these problems before something else going wrong in a worse situation.


Last but not least, I had my coilover kits installed at one of the "Tein authorized dealers" in WA called "****** Motorsports" Japanese named shop, but they're owned by ppl somewhere not Japanese. It's not like I had a further service from them, ever since I had my Tein installed, but I will NEVER go there again. When I had their service, believed it or not, they dropped one of my coilover pieces on the ground 'n broke the entire damper. They ordered a new piece from Tein, but it delayed 1 week of the installation. Plus, their lame installation we've recently discovered LMFAO. If you are in NW region, please stay away from them. Obviously, they're certainly NOT an authorized dealer; Not on my watch for sure.

 

[puzzlemaster94]

Re: Sil2DrV6's 2002 Accord Coupe EX-L V6

^ Yea my Teins sit a lot farther down in the fork than in that picture

 

[Sil2DrV6]

Re: Sil2DrV6's 2002 Accord Coupe EX-L V6

^ Yea my Teins sit a lot farther down in the fork than in that picture

No wonder why your front looks lowered than mine, the whole time haha. That pic of my strut with the improper gap looks just like the gap of those famous boat-look remedy section lol. I actually do like the current height w/ this proper drop, so I guess I won't need to hunt for the shorter front springs anymore.


________________


Since my front Teins were disassembled 'n lowered, my front right upper BJ has a big freeplay, and my rear right UCA bushing is pooched out, the car is misaligned big time right now like never before. It is very difficult to drive straight on freeways, and it feels like I'm hydroplaning, every time I go over the dotted line to change lanes or hit road dips. The handling-response is like riding an '80s minivan, even w/ the stiffest settings. lol. Gotta drive extra careful for a wk or two.

 

[Sil2DrV6]

Re: Sil2DrV6's 2002 Accord Coupe EX-L V6

Been having a spare set of used OEM headlights for 5 months, and it's finally time to black-house them.

My original intension was to use a heat gun to melt the sealing, but I just put them in the oven instead, because it was taking too long w/ the gun.
--Preheated the oven to 210°F
--Baked them (one by one) for 10 min
--Pried them apart with a plat-head screw driver

(Wifey doesn't know that I used the oven. Shhh..)

--Removed two phillips screws behind the amber strip housings
--Washed all of the disassembled pieces w/ mild soap
--Wiped them off w/ kitchen papers (Let's be careful not to peal off the "breather hole mesh stickers" inside the housings that prevents condensation.)
--Ended up using the heat gun as the blow drier lmao
--Dusted off fibers from the kitchen towels w/ the air duster spray

Ready for some masking work on the housings.

To be continued..

Got the new masking tape. Was able to get the same tape that I had.

I was trying to remove my finger prints with the tape, and some small chrome section was pealed off a bit. Luckily those areas are going to be black, but now I feel sure on my own that the OEM chrome housings are very x2 fragile. Gotta peal off the tape slooowly.

Finished masking the corner housings. (I did make the tape less sticky by putting on my clothes & hands before the application, just to be sure.)

Painted the chrome pieces & amber strips with Dupli-Color Semi Gloss Black Engine Enamel Spray.

This was the most intense moment, being extra careful not to peel off the chrome surface. It's better to peel the tape off piece by piece like this.

Came out fresh!

They're not glued down together yet, since I need to dust off the inside completely, but just to see how they look w/ the lenses on.

Had a huge debate between amber reflectors being black, or no strips until the last minute. But I'm glad I chose this way, since my car is silver (light-colored) and the black housings w/ the black strips give a nice contrast when looking at the car as a whole. And, I was never a big fan of those OEM center parking lights in there anyway.

Finished black housing my headlights!


Re-baked the headlights in the oven to reseal them. Pressed 'n tightened them as hard as I could w/ my hands, but there were some gaps on some sections, since I pried them apart w/ the flat-head screw driver, and the gray plastic sections were slightly deformed 'n lifted.

Re-heated them w/ the heat gun, and pressed down those imperfections w/ a glass bottle. (It worked very well, since I could hear some air popping out of the glue.)

Bought this from Autozone. (At first, I thought I was gonna goto Homedepot to get a silicone glue for kitchen / bath room, but I figured there was gotta be something specifically for it.)

Applied it on the entire edge of the headlights, just to be sure that there won't be any condensations inside the housings.

Let cured over night, and...
Voila~~~♪

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Will check to see if there will be any condensations inside.


Thanks for looking!

 

[RedRyder]

Re: Sil2DrV6's 2002 Accord Coupe EX-L V6

Headlights look good!