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TR4/4A 4A Headlamp Trim rings

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T

Tomster

Jedi Knight
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Hi to all,
I have looked but cannot find a thread on this. (If it does exist, Excuse' moi SVP)
The last time I had to replace a headlamp on my 4A was many years ago. Before I render damage, how does one go about easily removing the trim rings to get at the retainer ring and alignment screws and remove the sealed beam ?
Danke in advance!
T
 
ISTR there was actually a tool for this: nothing more than a piece of sheet metal with a bit of an "L" bend that could catch and lever off the ring from the bottom when moved sideways? Barring that, a flat-blade screwdriver, used carefully, should accomplish that same job. (Maybe tape the end to prevent paint chipping?)
 
I will assume that one is to pry ?(towards yourself) away from the underside, catching the edge of the rim close to the plane of the bezel of the lamp?
 
Essentially, yes. The Owners Manual shows use of the tool as I described above. Given how the headlamp unit relates to the grille (which you don't want to damage!), it might not be so easy to do this except with that special tool or your homemade equivalent, but I'll leave it to other TR4A owners to hopefully offer other alternatives.
 
Yup, that's it. Look for the rivet(s), there is a tab inside the trim ring that is caught in a clip.

With the tool (mine is made from an old hacksaw blade, teeth ground off, heated and bent), you just hook the bottom of the ring and yank it towards yourself.

On my TR3A, the tab tends to bend, so I usually have to stick the other end of the tool in between the trim & headlight when re-installing, to help push the tab back into the clip.
 
That sounds about right. I have a tool I use for this but my wife informs me it was a give-away at a Tupperware party (for removing seeds and sectioning grapefruit). Looks like a big 'orange stick' made of plastic. Something stout & plastic is probably safer than a screwdriver.
 
Not to state the obvious, when re installing you'd re align the rivet to the tab, then press the rim on, starting at the top and then work your way down and around both sides until the tab catches. correct?
 
Pretty close. There should be a second tab at the top of the trim ring that gets it aligned, so the procedure is to just set the top of the ring over the edge of the bucket, then push the bottom edge in until the bottom tab slips into the clip. There's no friction along the sides, it's really only held at the top & bottom.

It'll be obvious, once you've got the trim ring off.
 
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