Headlight Gasket Question

[ScoobeyDoobey]

Hey guys,
The director of the garage where the mechanic slit my headlamp gasket in two - the rubber hood that covers the bulb cartridge that fits inside the larger rubber doughnut - has obtained a replacement one for me. However, it too has a rip in it.

He also wants to cut the wires to put the hood on and weld them back together again. He will give me a 3 month warranty on the welding, although he says it will last 'forever'. I've seen 'forever' welding jobs before.

I am currently dealing with the corportate customer service department of the chain and if need be will take them to small claims court.

However, my question is this: How important is this gasket. This garage director, who's intelligence is not impressive, insists that it is unnessesary and redundant, that other cars don't have it. I am very aware that he knows nothing about Subarus since they sliced the gasket open instead of squeezing it to remove. Is there any validity to this though or is that connection no waterproof as I have read and therefore absolutely needs that waterproof hood. I would also think that dirt, debris, oil could sneak in there without the hood and cloud the lamp which is still sparklingly clear.

Thanks for you help in advance.
Cheers.

[vrg3]

I hope he meant soldering, not welding.

Wait -- he wants to replace the torn boot with another torn boot?! That's absurd.

The connection is not at all waterproof, and even having that boot won't necessarily make it waterproof. The boot just protects things a little better.

The headlights are vented anyway, so air (and moisture) does move in and out of the housing already. The base of the bulb does a decent job of sealing dirt out of the housing. I believe the thing the boot is meant to protect is the electrical connection.

It is true that many cars don't have that rubber boot around the headlight connector. And, if you put dielectric grease on the contacts, and clean them regularly, you shouldn't have many problems with moisture and dirt. But you shouldn't have to do that; Subaru designed a protected connector to improve longevity and reduce maintenance needs.

I don't think you should let this guy do what he wants. I don't think you should let them touch your car at all. If I were you I would get a quote from a Subaru dealer to repair the damage and insist that this shop compensate you in that amount.

I do believe it is possible to replace the rubber boot without cutting the wires, actually; you need to peel the boot off of the plastic connector housing, then remove the three metal contacts from the housing (each is held in by a small plastic tab), then put the new boot over the wires, and then replace the contacts and pull the boot onto the connector.

[ScoobeyDoobey]

Vrg3,
Thank-you so much for your very articulate reply. I agree with you wholeheartedly and will not let this guy under the hood at all.

He did say 'weld', but he is French so hopefully he meant solder. I spoke to the service manager at my regular garage and he recommended the exact same thing that you did - just remove the 3 plugs. The turkey from Canadian Tire said that it would be better to cut/weld because removing the 3 OEM pins would be a recipe for disaster and my lights could start blinking on/off in 3 months.

And he wants to cut and give me a 3 month warranty on the soldering.
Well, he's not going anywhere near the car. Hopefully, I can resolve this with their headoffice, otherwise looks like I'll have to go the small claims procedure.

Once again, thanks for your detailed advice.

Cheers

[magicmike]

umm, we can start a collection for the 5 bucks to buy a new boot if you want. This is a little silly if you ask me

Sorry to be a prick

-Mike

[vrg3]

You're welcome.

Heh, the Canadian Tire guy is completely wrong. The terminals are designed to be removed and to lock back into place. AMP knows what they're doing when they build connectors. Of course, I wouldn't recommend removing them every day, but doing it once or twice is perfectly fine.

If you need a non-torn boot I think I have a connector with the boot still intact. I'll send it to you for the cost of shipping ($4 US gets Global Priority Mail) if you like.

[petridish38]

Don't let him cut your wires, especially if he is only going to give you a 3-month warranty on a "welding" job that "will last forever"

Andrew

[evolutionmovement]

Yeah, because most other cars don't have the boot doesn't mean its unnecessary. Subaru overbuilds stuff and adds things like that so their cars last - they're not Escorts.

Steve