My best recommendations for those considering retrofitting the OEM US or EU (projector) lights is:
1) Find an oven big enough to fit the entire headlight in. It makes the task of opening both much easier and much cleaner. If your oven is not big enough at home, see if a friend or family member has a bigger one. These are huge headlights.
2) I then bake for 17 minutes at 285 Fahrenheit. The trick is to get up under the front lens in the channel and get the entire thing to lose its seal with the back of the housing. I do this by gently prying at the channel to get the black plastic housing to separate from the permaseal. Once that's done around the entire perimeter, pick a spot on the bottom side of the housing to get a broad flathead screwdriver up under the lens in that channel and get it to pop out. It's a hell of a workout, but including baking time I can get in both in 45 minutes no problem.
2) Use a heat gun specifically to remove the OEM permaseal. My trick in doing so is to heat it to the point that it starts to gloss over and melt, then get under it with a flathead. It seems to then just pull right out in strips for me, at least the OEM Ford / Valeo sealant junk.
3) Remove all OEM sealant and replace with a proper sealant. Morimoto RetroRubber uses OEM Koito butyl rubber which is not only a sealant but an adhesive, making a very strong but flexible seal when the housing is cooled.
1) Find an oven big enough to fit the entire headlight in. It makes the task of opening both much easier and much cleaner. If your oven is not big enough at home, see if a friend or family member has a bigger one. These are huge headlights.
2) I then bake for 17 minutes at 285 Fahrenheit. The trick is to get up under the front lens in the channel and get the entire thing to lose its seal with the back of the housing. I do this by gently prying at the channel to get the black plastic housing to separate from the permaseal. Once that's done around the entire perimeter, pick a spot on the bottom side of the housing to get a broad flathead screwdriver up under the lens in that channel and get it to pop out. It's a hell of a workout, but including baking time I can get in both in 45 minutes no problem.
2) Use a heat gun specifically to remove the OEM permaseal. My trick in doing so is to heat it to the point that it starts to gloss over and melt, then get under it with a flathead. It seems to then just pull right out in strips for me, at least the OEM Ford / Valeo sealant junk.
3) Remove all OEM sealant and replace with a proper sealant. Morimoto RetroRubber uses OEM Koito butyl rubber which is not only a sealant but an adhesive, making a very strong but flexible seal when the housing is cooled.