[s-cars] Can Headlight Tab be Fixed?

[Igor Kessel]

Douglas Fifield wrote:
> All,
> 
> In my ongoing saga, I have a question about headlight tabs.
> 
> When I disassembled my front end and side, I found that one of the
> tabs on the top of the headlight was broken off.  Has anyone
> successfully repaired one of these?
> 
> The patient is a 95.5 S6 Avant minus its passenger side fender and
> bumper after kissing a signpost.
> 

Douglas,
see the attached file.

BTW, did you receive what I sent you earlier this week? Were you 
successeful?

-- 
Igor Kessel
two turbo quattros
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Broken tab repair.

I had accidentally broken off the top outer tab on my RH side Euro headlight. Here is what I've done to repair it.

1. Degrease everything, including the area surrounding the broken tab, the tab itself ad the broken off piece. Some rubbing alcohol will do fine.

2. A long time ago I purchased a roll of the gooey rubbery compound that secures the 200 taillight to the rear of the car. I used a small bit rolled into a ball in my fingers to secure the broken off piece to the remainder of the tab so that they lined up perfectly.

3. I used some wide folded into a "V" painter's paper masking tape to create a casting on both sides of the tab. The tab itself was molded with a cavity on the top, thus creating a natural concave bed for the epoxy. With two pieces of masking tape on both sides I have effectively created a "bathtub" if you will.

4. Set the headlight on the bench absolutely flat and as close to the horizontal level as possible. Shim it up if you have to.

5. Mix a small amount of fast drying Armstrong epoxy and pour it into the "bathtub" filling it up. It will spread evenly under the force of gravity. You want it to fill up the concave cavity in the tab, but not to overflow and cover the speed nut for the mounting screw on its end.

6. After the epoxy hardens enough to hold its own you may carefully remove the piece of the black gooey stuff from under the tab.

7. Double, no, triple check that the makeshift masking tape casing is intact and, most importantly, that it seals the volume between the tab and the housing tightly. If it does not, you'll get a messy creek of fast hardening epoxy pouring from under it.

8. Now set the headlight vertically so that the tab points up. Shim it up and secure it from falling on the floor. 

9. Prepare yet another portion of the fast drying epoxy. Make it at least 4x as large in volume.

10. Carefully pour the epoxy into the cavity between the tab, the housing and the masking tape on both sides. Be sure not to reach the metal speed nut for the mounting screw.

11. After the epoxy hardens a bit, remove the masking tape. Let it harden completely.

12. Reinstall the headlight. You'd notice that the newly repaired tab is hard as a rock if you compare it to the intact one on the other side. For some reason Audi had decided to make the top mounting tabs flimsy and to act as a spring. Perhaps there was a reason behind this. However in my book a hard as a stone repaired mounting tab sure beats the broken one.

--
Igor Kessel
Two turbo quattros