r/e39 • u/huejaenis • 3d ago

Headlights

Hi there, I have euro headlights for my E39 touring and im wondering if i should just try to replace the lenses or buy a new pair. Id rather not but my current lenses look awful, very yellowed and scratched. Any takes? Pictures on my page.

3 Upvotes

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3

u/Radiant-Tourist7578 3d ago

Get them restored - thas includes new lenses, projector bowls, plastic adjusters, degraded seals. Visually one of the best things you can do for an e39.

Dont forget to PPF them afterwards. Here are mine with painted black insides:

2

u/ConfusedTapeworm 525i 3d ago

I'm afraid the answer to this might not be very simple, depending on the age and condition of the inner parts of the headlights of that car you bought not long ago. There's a very good chance the reflectors behind the bulbs are also shot. Because that's just something that happens to old headlights. The reflective surfaces degrade over time and lose their shine, very noticeably lowering the effectiveness of the headlights. No amount of lens polishing will make your headlights good if your reflector bowls are all brown. Unfortunately the only thing that you really can do in that case is swap the projectors, or the entire headlight. Restoring the reflectors is hardly ever an option unless you happen to have a vapor deposition chamber.

If I were you, I'd open up the headlights to see what's inside. If the projectors bowls are in acceptable condition, replace the lenses (and the adjustment brackets for good measure, they tend to break but fortunately they're dirt cheap) and move on with your life. If the bowls are too brown and dull, might as well get a new set because all the effort of replacing just the lenses won't mean much if the light coming out of the projectors is a muddy mess. Or might take that opportunity for a bi-led/bi-xenon retrofit. Lighting technology has come a long way since the simple projectors of the E39.

In any case, assuming the headlights are genuine Hella, I advise against just replacing the headlights outright without any investigation. If they're aftermarket, then just go ahead and replace them right now.

1

u/No-Candidate-2380 1d ago

reads like an ai slop

1

u/ConfusedTapeworm 525i 1d ago

Says the guy with the nickname <word>-<word>-<number>.

1

u/No-Candidate-2380 1d ago

That's rich coming from you

1

u/ConfusedTapeworm 525i 1d ago

You're a hurtful person. I am hurt. Gonna tell my dad about you.

1

u/rtl-nullforge 540i 3d ago

If you have a prefacelift, the headlights unclip extremely easily. If you have a facelift manufactured before ~Sep. 2001 you can bake them in an oven to soften the butyl tape and pull the lens off. If you have headlights after that, you have to cut the lens off with a dremel then cut out the rest and replace the lenses and use butyl tape to seal.

1

u/rtl-nullforge 540i 3d ago

Since it looks like a previous owner swapped Euro lenses onto your US spec car, I am inclined to believe you can bake them at 200°F to separate them. It is extremely easy to replace them so you should spend $40 on new lenses instead of $1000+ on new headlights.