Disassembly of STUCK Pedestal Headlamps

[col.halftrack]

 I am soaking mine in PBBlaster and have applied heat to the casting but headlamps are stuck. Anybody got these apart and managed to save the sleeves and lights???
 Kevin L

[steve-0]

there was a blank that was inserted when the headlight was not in use. i have managed to remove these by tacking a nut to the top and using some all thread to rig up a puller. this has worked well but is of no use to pull the headlights. if they are not stuck to bad you may be able to pull up on the heavy brass flange of the headlight casting though i doubt it will work on most of mine.
i haven't tried the following but this is what i plan to try. first remove the T handle and brass lock/alignment plug. you should be able to remove the brass plug by taping a few threads into it and pull it with a bolt. if you dont remove the brass plug you can still press the sleeve and headlight through but it will sheer the brass plug and damage the steel sleeve. you can see in the pic that the ones i pulled i didn't remove the brass plug and it damages the alignment hole in the sleeve. with the headlight casting off the vehicle place it upside down in a press and push the steel sleeve protruding out the bottom of the casting. this sleeve bay buckle and you may have to remove all of it with a grinder that is past the bottom of the casting and try pressing it again.
good luck.

[col.halftrack]

 Thanks for the photos! I have removed the blank plugs with just a few hammer strikes and a brass punch. The T-handle's came out no problem with simply a wrench. Wiring harness nuts at bottom were tight but came off. One was a wrench type nut and the other was a knurled brass nut with no flats for a wrench. The brass plug behind the t-handle is not shown in your photos I had one come right out slightly stuck to the pin on the T-handle. I am sandblasting the inside of the T-handle hole and will try to tap the brass plug 1/2 fine thread to pull it. Then we start on removing headlamps which I am still soaking with PB.
 Thanks
 Kevin

[steve-0]

im sure you are done with this but i would like to add more info to this post.

the brass plug behind the T handle has a 1/2" id so you will need to use a 9/16" fine thread as shown in this pic.
http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/3753/medium/IMG_1526.JPG

you will not need to do this if there is nothing installed in the headlight socket. simply use a 3/8" x 3" bolt and nut as shown in this pic.
http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/3753/medium/IMG_15714.JPG

if it helps, you only need to pull the brass plug out far enough to disengage from the sleeve (about 1/4") then after the sleeve is pulled you can push it forward.

most of the time the brass plugs come out by just pulling on the end of the tap with some vice grips. but if its stuck its easy to make a puller by welding the heads of two 9/16" fine thread bolts together and a short piece of pipe.
http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/3753/medium/IMG_15703.JPG

if the steel blank plug is installed in the headlight hole then most of the time it will be stuck to the sleeve so after pulling the brass plug you can punch the blank plug from the bottom (not the bottom of the sleeve but through it to the blank plug) or what i have been doing is weld a nut to the top of the plug and make a puller with all thread and a piece of pipe. i do this if they are really jammed and also because the ones i have done lately have the electrical contacts stuck in the bottom of the sleeve and i want to save them.
http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/500/IMG_0308.JPG

to pull the sleeve i use 1/2" all thread and 2" sch 40 pipe 5" long.
the ones i have done also require heat from a rose bud torch.
http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/3753/medium/IMG_15694.JPG


the last few i have done have needed the thread chased at the T handle hole. its an odd size... 15/16 x 20 threads per inch.
http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/3753/medium/IMG_15505.JPG

[8683jb]

I'm glad I stumbled onto this info! I didn't know there's a brass plug under the tee. The tees came right out and I was about to start tugging on the sleeves. Guess I better pull those plugs first! Thanks Kevin and Steve for the information.

[8683jb]

Regarding chasing the threads for the tee handle in the head light castings, the threads in mine were rusty and clogged, so before buying a tap to chase the threads I tried using a Dremel tool and small wire wheel to clean them. After a good brushing and with plenty of WD-40, I was able to thread the brass fittings into the castings without any problems. The threads on the fittings looked coarser than 20 TPI, so out of curiosity I measured the thread pitch and mine are actually 18 TPI. Maybe they made two different flavors? Or (more likely) mine are prototypes and the only ones one the planet with odd-pitch threads. Anyhow, confirm the thread pitch before running a tap into it.

[brit plumber]

Old thread I know! But how does one remove the filler plug thingy from its stowage? Should it just pop out if I tap it out from the bottom?

[8683jb]

The bracket is wide open, so if you can get on it you can tap it up and out from the bottom. It's a little awkward with the fender right below it, and if it's really stuck, you may have to remove the bracket to drive or press the plug out. Good luck.
Jon

[brit plumber]

Well I got it out after an hour of fighting. Cherry red heating and oil did the trick but it still needed a lot of pounding. I’ll have to make some new plugs as the one I’ve just pulled is very heavily corroded.

Next I need to get the headlamp sleeves out. Tapping the little bush didn’t work even though I cleaned out the bore and used heat and oil. The spring was just rust and only the top coils remained. The bottom half had rotted away.

So will it work if I drill that bush? I’m not sure what size drill to use as I think it must be counterbored to keep the bush in, when there’s no lamp fitted.