Not the most concise presentation … but realistic - and definitely entertaining. I think Saab uses an intergalactic sealant on these headset assemblies. I’ve seen so many other car brand units just pop off in 5 minutes with a heat gun. Not these - I can fully sympathise - it’s a downright T-Rex Wrassle event to get these lenses off. For me (two years after this was posted), I found this helpful as there are few instructions/examples on removing Saab specific lenses. Given that all things ‘Saab’ have unique nuances that must be learnt, making any job either effortless or prompting one to pursue slamming their fingers in a door (or third leg, depending on the frustration level …), this video helped to identify if any ‘other,’ and perhaps not obviously apparent, ‘trick’ is required - I constantly worried that hidden clips or screws existed, hindering my confidence on how aggressive to pull things apart. And thanks for the tongue-in-cheek, play-by-play masochistic misery tell. Good fun watching you suffer … like many of us experience. Good sanity check. (I opted for smashing just one pinky finger; I quite like my kickstand …). In response to some of the other comments: 1) New OEM headlights run ~365 USD a piece. That’s not cheap. Hence, it becomes a moral imperative to just fix it yourself as opposed to paying an outrageous price when the solution is clearly simple and evident if you could just get access to the problem area. 2) Salvaged headlight assemblies might be a good option; however, if you are retro-fitting position units or upgrading to more modern lighting features - you are going to need to remove the lens. Punto. 3) Yes, everyone knows that one does not need to remove the lens to clean the OUTSIDE; one does, though, if you need to clean the INSIDE. Plus, if some less fortunate owner decided to fix a previous issue with staples or superglue. … yup, pretty obvious what needs to be done (think soap and water on removable deflectors, isopropyl alcohol for everything else). 4) As the title and subsequent videos illustrate, the objective is to retro-fit a whole new system, including halo and eyebrow. I’m not sure you can find those features off another car. Hence, it’s a given that the lens come off … and that you are going to cut … and drill … and solder… and pray. 5) This is a supercool setup for 300-400 USD; I’ve seen similar kits with equal or perhaps a bit more functionality going for as high as $1500 - as justified by Parts 3-5 of this series - it’s tedious, time consuming work that requires a good understanding of electronics. Last, if there is any need for headlight work (maintenance, fix or mod - the latter being the purpose of these videos), then by all means recondition the lens with the assembly out or even lens off - better job, less risk to body paint and easier to lay down clear coat. Plus, it might be a good idea to wrap the lens once the clear coat is applied in order to prevent fading and a need to recondition annually. I’m currently on my second Saab, the first being a 900 S back in the previous century. I bought a ‘new’ 2007 9-3 Aero for my son … last week. Compared to 5 other ‘re-constructed’ vehicles (primarily e28 M30s and M88s) … Saab headlight assemblies are capable of prompting a plethora of ‘Un-Christian’ thoughts. So, thank you for the insights … and the comedy. Cheers
@@agresorxf you can buy them at halfords or eBay you get the sanding discs progressing down, and paste also a can of clear coat to spray on to protect after doing them
Not the most concise presentation … but realistic - and definitely entertaining. I think Saab uses an intergalactic sealant on these headset assemblies. I’ve seen so many other car brand units just pop off in 5 minutes with a heat gun. Not these - I can fully sympathise - it’s a downright T-Rex Wrassle event to get these lenses off.
For me (two years after this was posted), I found this helpful as there are few instructions/examples on removing Saab specific lenses. Given that all things ‘Saab’ have unique nuances that must be learnt, making any job either effortless or prompting one to pursue slamming their fingers in a door (or third leg, depending on the frustration level …), this video helped to identify if any ‘other,’ and perhaps not obviously apparent, ‘trick’ is required - I constantly worried that hidden clips or screws existed, hindering my confidence on how aggressive to pull things apart.
And thanks for the tongue-in-cheek, play-by-play masochistic misery tell. Good fun watching you suffer … like many of us experience. Good sanity check. (I opted for smashing just one pinky finger; I quite like my kickstand …).
In response to some of the other comments:
1) New OEM headlights run ~365 USD a piece. That’s not cheap. Hence, it becomes a moral imperative to just fix it yourself as opposed to paying an outrageous price when the solution is clearly simple and evident if you could just get access to the problem area.
2) Salvaged headlight assemblies might be a good option; however, if you are retro-fitting position units or upgrading to more modern lighting features - you are going to need to remove the lens. Punto.
3) Yes, everyone knows that one does not need to remove the lens to clean the OUTSIDE; one does, though, if you need to clean the INSIDE. Plus, if some less fortunate owner decided to fix a previous issue with staples or superglue. … yup, pretty obvious what needs to be done (think soap and water on removable deflectors, isopropyl alcohol for everything else).
4) As the title and subsequent videos illustrate, the objective is to retro-fit a whole new system, including halo and eyebrow. I’m not sure you can find those features off another car. Hence, it’s a given that the lens come off … and that you are going to cut … and drill … and solder… and pray.
5) This is a supercool setup for 300-400 USD; I’ve seen similar kits with equal or perhaps a bit more functionality going for as high as $1500 - as justified by Parts 3-5 of this series - it’s tedious, time consuming work that requires a good understanding of electronics.
Last, if there is any need for headlight work (maintenance, fix or mod - the latter being the purpose of these videos), then by all means recondition the lens with the assembly out or even lens off - better job, less risk to body paint and easier to lay down clear coat. Plus, it might be a good idea to wrap the lens once the clear coat is applied in order to prevent fading and a need to recondition annually.
I’m currently on my second Saab, the first being a 900 S back in the previous century. I bought a ‘new’ 2007 9-3 Aero for my son … last week. Compared to 5 other ‘re-constructed’ vehicles (primarily e28 M30s and M88s) … Saab headlight assemblies are capable of prompting a plethora of ‘Un-Christian’ thoughts.
So, thank you for the insights … and the comedy. Cheers
Exact that kind of information I was looking for in those videos. Thank you .-)
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Too much hassle no need to open them a headlight cleaning kit would have worked fine for like £10
No, this is going through upgrading these headlight's projectors. This makes them better than new.
What cleaning kit You mean ?
@@agresorxf you can buy them at halfords or eBay you get the sanding discs progressing down, and paste also a can of clear coat to spray on to protect after doing them
Plus for what you spent could have bought a pair of quality headlights from a salvage yard or ebay
A set of used headlights wouldn't have the upgraded projectors nor the LED upgrades.