1993 star.....headlight lens are getting cloudy...almost to the point of being unsafe after dark..I have tried cleaning,,polishing and still they are cloudy..anyone have any tips on what to use to clean them?...thanks

 

I used Maguiars Cleaning Wax......My '93 is nice and bright now. Those things were extremely yellow and almost dangerous...
Do a search on cloudy lenses maybe. I know for a fact that this has been discussed on this particular board.

Good Luck
-reever

 

if i'm not mistaken, i think switching back to sealed glass lenses has been discussed. i'm pretty sure some one did it on this forum. seems like a good solution if possible rick

 

All,

Yup, this has been a frequent topic on the board. I use "NOVUS" brand plastic polish on all my Ford plastic headlamps when they get cloudy. They make three "levels" of polish, "One" for light polishing on up to "Three" for heavy scratches. "One" and "Two" are mostly what I use to make mine usable again. BTW, I've also seen some VERY STRONG commercial preparations on eBay, I'd always suspected that used car dealers had special chemicals for refurbishing aged headlamps...

DadVan

 

Yep, did it on my 96. Got the old style buckets and springs, and put them in place of the plastic ones. You also need to get the retaining rings with the rubber skirts around them. I put aftermarket halogen headlights in the buckets, and used high output bulbs.

I didn't start out that way, but it happened by accident, no pun intended. Some guy backed into my wife at a stoplight, so I went to the boneyard to get something to use for the driver's side so I could drive it at night while I was waiting for the parts to come in for the body work. I found out the old style buckets will fit just fine. I liked the light output of the sealed beams so much better than the composite ones. I went ahead and converted both of them later after the body shop fixed everything.

I ordered new buckets and the other hardware straight from my local dealer. I've never liked those composite headlights, they can keep them.

 

Kit scratch out brought my 93 3.0 headlights back to almost new condition. But have found out that the previous owner,(just got the A two weeks ago) had changed the bulb and broke the mounting clips on the passenger lamp so guess I now have to visit the Jyard and find a new caseing.

 

Last time we replaced the headlights on our Aerostar, we just went down to Advance Auto and bought the sealed glass unit. By now, they have almost lost their purpose while on low-beam...I cant see 30 feet in front of me.

 

AeroPA, that's the way to do it! I too, never did like those plastic lenses. Why the Feds never bothered to do something about old, cloudy, faded lenses amazes me to this day. I saw an Aerostar once, that had two Hella brand lights replacing the original composites, from a '92 or newer Aerostar. They looked great on the van. I think they use a H-2 or H-4 halogen bulb, but I know you only replace the bulb when it burns out, the lense assembly stays. On this Aerostar, the van was white, and the grille, bumper was all semi-gloss black. With the Hella clear lense lights, and an all-black front end, this was the first Aerostar I can honestly say looked mean and nasty in appearence! I have the GE Halogen extra bright lights on my '87 Aerostar. the same headlights used in recent Super Duty Ford trucks, that does not have the XLT or "Flush headlight" option. These GE halogens give a noticeable bright white light with side illumination, as compared to regular headlights. I had Sylvania X-Tra Vision headlights, prior. The GE halogens are much better.

 

Hi Ed,

What model of GE lights are you using now? Before I got my current set of Sylvania Extra Vision lights, I was using a set of GE halogen sealed beams of some sort. They were very disappointing in that they burned out in less than a year. That was extraordinary for aftermarket halogen lights.

Hella makes the Vision Plus replacements for sealed beams, using H4 bulbs. They do work better than standard sealed beam halogen lights, but nit as well as real E-code H4 lights.

I'm truely amazed at the number of cars on the road today with plastic lenses that are essentially opaque. Ford is not the only brand that has this problem; all the plastic flushmount lenses are either yellowed and hazy or is on their way to being so. At least on the Aerostar, and a few other cars, you have a chance of reverting to a glass sealed beam light.

(pet peeve number 1 mode off...)

 

I wrote an extensive article on how to renew the headlights, and posted it on this board. Pick wet or dry sand paper with a grit anywhere from 1200 to 2000, 1600 from NAPA works the best, also pick-up 3M Plastic Polish # 39010. This is important, soak the sand paper in soapy dish hand detergent for 20 minutes. Tape the trim around the headlight with blue masking tape. Polish the headlight with the sandpaper, rinsing it in the soapy water. Rinse the headlight with clean water, and dry. Polish the headlight with the 3M, using a soft cotton cloth, old underwear wear work the best, don't use terry cloth as the polish gets absorbed into the nap. It'll take about 20 to 25 miutes per head light. The yellow is only in the first few Microns, of the surface of the headlight. PS Do not remove the nubs on the headlight, some alignment tools use them.

 

After finish, do we have anyway to prevent the cloudy happen again?
TIA

 

Not that I know of, I polish them when I wax now, it doesn't take as long as the first time and can usually get away without using the sandpaper. I use RainX on them, but it doesn't block UV rays. A bottle of polish will last the life of the vehicle.

 

XLT4wd90, sorry I did not respond to your question sooner. The GE lights I have on my Aerostar now, is the GE Halogen "High Output Performance Series" Look for the "HO" on the box, and after the headlight number. For example, the Aerostar headlights will be H6054-HO. If you have a Wal-Mart near you, they carry them (at least in my area of Sacramento, CA) along with the regular GE halogens, and GE incandescents, although who would ever use those old style headlights is beyond me. They cost $8.95 each, I bought an extra one a long time ago in case one burns out, I'll have a matching pair/ Like tires, headlights on my vehicles must match. Also Car Quest auto parts carry them, because GE makes the Car Quest in house brand headlights. Hope this helps...ED last resort: Ford dealer Parts Dept. but they run close to $17 each there, as they are used on the XL and Custom Super Duty Ford trucks. I'll take a glass headlight anytime over the plastic lenses.
PS Off Topic: The other day, in traffic, I saw an older Aerostar with a LED third brake light mounted at the top center of the hatchback. Two red LED lines, about 8" long. Looked great, and was crystal clear red and bright. A great safety add-on, but again, I was in traffic and turned right, shortly later. I would like a LED 3rd light on my van, after seeing this one...

 

Thanks for the reply Ed. When my current lights burn out, I will look at replacing them with the GE HO lights. Maybe I'll get a set for spares.

 

AeroPA:

So, what exactly is involved here. I need to replace the headlights on my '93, and the plastic lens is all worthlessly cloudy. Do I just get the sealed beam (what number?) and put it in place of the lamp/lens assembly? What else do I need except the obvious connector?

Thanks