i used a heatgun on my 530i e39 2001. you just need to be patient, unscrew the 2 screws next to the signal, then use the heatgun, most on the top, the bottom will follow, and start in the middle and slowly work around left and right. don't use high temp, i used 250 degrees 5-10 cm away of the plastic, and heat it up for 5-6 minutes, then try, then heat up more and try again, maybe heat it up 3,4 times. heat up just the black plastic, not the transparent one. i used a phones opening kit, plastic flat screwdrivers and stuff, not to damage the headlight. on the first one it took me 2 hours, as i didn't knew what i was doing, o the second one it took me 45 minutes to take it all apart 4 pieces, the front the back, the black plastic in front of the mirrors, and the mirrors. take out the rubber seals from the light bulbs slot last, as it will be the last holding point. the motor holds in the bottom middle, unscrew the motor, then hold it, and slide it to the right, while holding the mirrors and slide them to the left. that is a sliding holding point, don't break it and don't pull anything, they are build to be opened fast if you know what you are doing. good luck guys! i might post a vid on how i did it, i have it recorded most of it. enjoy!! P.S. : make sure you have the right parts to replace, non angel eyes have different ones, more straight and more ridges on them mine has factory angel eyes and xenon, choose the right parts
Seperating the parts of the headlight unit does make this job a lot easier. I have a variable intensity heat gun and have used that to soften the mastic holding the parts together. You don't need to "bake" the headlight unit. Even if you don't have a heat gun a decent hairdryer will do the job. I got the adjusters from Aliexpress for half-a-dozen euros, enough to repair 4 headlight units.
@@minn12311 not quite true, they are not permasealed. On the facelift(LCI) models (Model Year 2001, Sept 2000 onwards both Xenon and non-Xenon) you can separate the parts. First remove two screws at the indicator end of the unit and then use a heat gun/hairdryer to soften the mastic. Just make sure you only apply enough heat to soften the mastic and not distort the plastic components. There are numerous RU-vid videos showing how to do this. I have the various components of my left-hand headlight unit sitting on the bench in my garage waiting for the replacement adjuster pegs to arrive. You can't get the replacement pegs from BMW. I bought 4 sets of pegs (enough for 4 headlight units) from AliExpress for 5.55€ including postage. You can also get the parts on Ebay or Amamzon but it will cost you a lot more. Just make sure that you are ordereing the parts for the facelift/LCI version as the parts for the pre-LCI won't fit.
@@grahamepigney8565 The headlights produced after 9/2002 are indeed permanently sealed. It is possible to fix them, but you have to dremel the glass off and buy new lenses.
@@skellysgarage The facelift (09/2000 an onwards, no 09/2002 onwards, are all the same). They don't have glass outers they have plastic outers. Realoem and BMW concessionaires confirm this. In fact both pre and post 09/2000 have plastic outers. It is possible to soften the glue holding the plastic outers on by heating the glue and easing apart. How do I know, I have two post facelift E39s and I had to buy a pair of genuine OEM units recently to replace the headlights on one of them.
Thanks. This process may appear impossible at first, but after doing it it's quite "easy"- especially after this video. It took me less than 2 hours for both headlights (my first try). No way splitting the headlights is easier.
