[SPARTEN II]

This is my first post after registering.

I've been a proud owner of a 2002 Escape XLT for a few months, but are some things about it that annoy me.

First, my headlight is covered with condensation on the inside. I used a hairdryer to dry it out, but it just came back.

Second, my tail light has a big piece missing from it. It wasn't like that when I bought it, and it took me a while to notice it. So I'm guessing that some jerk hit it in a parking lot.

Third, theres a small dent on the side above the doors. I was outside one day and a huge gust of wind picked up a piece of plywood and it hit my Escape.

So my questions are:
1) Because they are broken anyway, I would like to replace the headlight and tail light housings. What are the best looking custom housings that I can buy?

2) How can I remove that dent?

 

[weebee]

First of all, welcome to the city! :beer: You can go to numerous places for aftermarket headlight and tail light assemblies. Your headlight must have a crack in it somewhere that is allowing condensation to enter. I haven't heard of many reliable aftermarket fixtures (front) that are as good as OEM for this problem. Look into http://www.autoanything.com or e-bay though. You have a lot of choices for the tail light. That dent is going to be a biggie. You can pull back the head liner and attempt to pop the bump back out but the problem is that the bump is on a radius and you have paint missing. Unless you have some experience with auto body repair I would probably leave that to the pros.

After looking at the pictures again. I'm not so sure if you lost paint. But chances are when the bump is knocked out the paint will break up anyways.

 

[Squishy]

I can see some cracked paint along the bottom edge. The metallic blue isn't all that easy to match, but isn't there a rubber strip separating the dented area from the roof? That could cut repair costs considerably.

For the front headlight, I have heard of people baking them in the oven to soften the sealant so they can take it apart. You could try doing that (with more details from someone else, as I don't even know what temperature to set it at), or just getting a junkyard replacement. The taillight will have to be replaced unless you can live with the crack.

 

[Scooter Scott]

A temporary fix for right now that I had to do on my Escort for my headlights is to take a very small drill bit and drill a hole in the bottom corner of your headlights. This will allow it to dry out and stay dry. I drove my Escort like that for about a year without a problem (Then I totalled it)

Tail lights you can either go Euro or LED. I chose the LED path and you can see them by clicking my signature to goto my Car Domain page.

As for the dent...leave that to the pros. I recently had to get some body work done on mine. The body repair guy told me as soon as they popped out my dent, the paint was going to chip off...and my paint wasn't cracked so I am assuming yours isn't going to hold up either. About the whole paint matching...best bet is to ask them. The opinions from one pro to the next will vary but ask around and hopefully someone can give you a good deal.

 

[SPARTEN II]

I was thinking about upgrading with the 05 headlights, but I was wondering about the third light in them. My headlight only has two lights (headlight and turn signal), but the 05 headlight seems to have three. Would I have to do some custom wiring to get the third light working, or would it just be non-functional?

 

[Scooter Scott]

There is a post in here somewhere I think that talks about this upgrade...lemme see if I can find it for you.

edit: Aahaa!!!

Clicky

 

[jpark]

You can wire your '05 headlights that way, but you won't have low-beams on when you flip on the high-beams. '05-'07 models use both low and high-beams when the high-beams are on.

I'm working on a wiring diagram for the '01-'04 models that will turn on the low-beams with the high-beams, and the fog lights and high-beam indicator will work (unlike the circuit I've seen on other sites). You need only a 12V DPST relay (I have a source for it) and some wiring.

Also, if you want to hard-wire (solder) the connection to the '05-'07 headlamp assembly, Ford's WPT-249 connector snaps solidly into the assembly, it gives you wires to solder, the connector won't loosen from vibration, and it keeps out water and dirt.

The connector plugs into the lower outer corner of the '05-'07 headlamp assembly.

 

[SPARTEN II]

You can wire your '05 headlights that way, but you won't have low-beams on when you flip on the high-beams. '05-'07 models use both low and high-beams when the high-beams are on.

I'm working on a wiring diagram for the '01-'04 models that will turn on the low-beams with the high-beams, and the fog lights and high-beam indicator will work (unlike the circuit I've seen on other sites). You need only a 12V DPST relay (I have a source for it) and some wiring.

Also, if you want to hard-wire (solder) the connection to the '05-'07 headlamp assembly, Ford's WPT-249 connector snaps solidly into the assembly, it gives you wires to solder, the connector won't loosen from vibration, and it keeps out water and dirt.

The connector plugs into the lower outer corner of the '05-'07 headlamp assembly.

Thanks.

The cheapest I can find that connector for is about $45. Is there any place I can get it cheaper, or is that the best price I'm going to find?

If I buy that connector, will I still be able to use your wiring diagram when you're finished working on it?

 

[stone]

:lol: :yes: AAAH! Interesting. Your gear change indicator purnoodles are back to front over there.

 

[stone]

A down under purnoodle in the conventional sequence. Hi! Big Chris. In england are the maverick gear indicators in this order?