MikeG Posted October 20, 2008 Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 As many of you know, the ABM headlights have those pressed-in threaded sleeves that are not attached well enough to the headlight housing. So, when you tighten the headlights in, it's common for the sleeves to get pulled out, which of course does not allow you to secure the housings to the car. It's a lame design, and even though I've tried using epoxy to secure the things in there, they still seem to shake loose or back out over time.So, I had an idea and it seems to work really well. And I took pics. Here's what it looks like before anything's done. Notice that the upper one is pretty flush, but the lower one is starting to pull out.Go ahead and take off the lens, and then gently pry off the black front of the housing.Grab one of the bolts, thread it into the sleeve a bit, and then wiggle it loose and pull it all the way out.Now, press the sleeve through from the inside of the housing. You may need to get creative or use some long needle-nose pliers for a couple of them. If you can hold it in place, thread one of the bolts into it and tighten it down to pull the sleeve into place.If everything's gone right, you'll have ended up with something looking like this:Repeat for all the threaded sleeves, and then snap the outer black part back into place, install the lens, and put it all back in the car.Now you can tighten the headlights down properly, and not worry about them coming loose.Best of luck! Hope this helps someone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilled man Posted October 20, 2008 Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 now the question is where can I get more of those sleeves lol and more of the bolts - (volvo)how about you do that for my headlights when we do your manual swap :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeG Posted October 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 now the question is where can I get more of those sleeves lol and more of the bolts - (volvo)how about you do that for my headlights when we do your manual swap I got more bolts from the hardware store... I just took one of the others in and matched up threads. The sleeves might be tricky to find, but you might be able to use a different type that you can press in from the inside.I need to talk to you about coming up there... did you get a good deal on a transmission? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonutsDemise Posted October 20, 2008 Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 OMG I thought I was the only one, I am too lazy for a long term fix I always hammer them back in never thought of this fix! I will definitely do this next time they come loose! the best part is it's free! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawks25 Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 Excellent fix. If mine come loose again, I'll be doing this. I epoxied my sleeves in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the commissar! Posted October 22, 2008 Report Share Posted October 22, 2008 Excellent fix. If mine come loose again, I'll be doing this. I epoxied my sleeves in.I did epoxied mine as well and they seem to be holding tight. If they break loose, ill try this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GShyneDM Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 WOW! Great idea! Thats the way they probably should have been in the first place! *sigh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loudvolvo Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 i wish i knew about this a long time ago id say pin this topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyCarIsRed Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 Wow those are some crappy sleeves they put in those... ABS is picky, the wrong epoxy wont stick. If the sleve has pulled out completely and the hole is enlarged you could use a weld-nut on the inside to replace the sleeve much as you did with the original. The weld-nut would have a much larger shoulder. Whenever you're working with threaded inserts in plastic you need to remember that the friction created when you screw the bolt/screw in can melt the plastic it's gripping to, so no power tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurgerBob Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 If someone finds sleeves it'd be great to post that info up, as I need two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rsterns Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 Great write up, and a brilliant fix I might add. The set I got had other issues that I’m still trying to resolve. When I received mine, that bed spring, for lack of a better term was floating around on the inside of the housing, and the lens assembly wasn’t fixed to the adjustment points. I’ve made a best guess on how it should go together, but I’m still having adjustment issues. Can you give me any insights as to how these things are supposed to be assembled? Any help will be greatly appreciated for when I go into these things one more time and do your fix ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auburn T5 Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 one of my ABM sleeves pulled out (rather effortlessly i might add) when I was installing mine. Quick dry JB weld FTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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