hi sages- about a week ago bad boys , street punks or other malefactors stole one of my( left front) signal/ tail light lenses. I had replaced both with new ones about a year ago since the old ones were very cloudy and worn. carid and parts geek have them. they are held on with 3 small screws. noticed that the thief must have been been in a rush in the middle of the night and was rough in removing it and broke off the the protrusions to which the screws tightened into leaving just a small hole in the screw holes.these screws hold the lens on. it wont accept a screw and tighten down. may have to replace the plastic assembly with new(carid carries the light assemblies) . how do you remove the assembly . my Bentley says for 92 240s it is held on to the front by 4 screws(two on the headlight box and 2 on the back under the hood or in the fender) . Bentley isn't very clear on how to do this . can you guide me through it kindergarten style. cant find the access nuts behind the assembly. thanks tons oldduke

Hiya Uncle Old Duke,

I'm so very sorry some thief stealing your turn signal lens.

In damaging the turn signal reflector assembly, or housing, the self-tapping lens screws secure to, they probably damage the lens beyond serviceable condition. My guess. Though you installed new lenses. The new acrylic lens may probably with stand the abuse.

I've not gotten to my storage locker to dive into some 20 boxes of Volvo parts to find them unused white grab handles from by 1991 240 sedan yet to send to you. Sorry.

Well less than broke now yet more promises of technical writer jobs that will most certainly not play out to a paycheck. If a paycheck I'll send along grab handle freely to you.

Any other parts you need, and if I have them I'll send also.

Hope that helps you.

Thank you kindly!
--
Jonathan Harshman Winters III: The Mightiest, Greatest, & Most Powerful North American Comedian & Comedic Actor in Perpetuity

hi kit g for your kind words and offer on the handles. keep me posted. hope the job works out . thanks tons regards oldduke

Just to reiterate what Peter brought up: The three nuts that hold the light housing in place are a real PITA! The studs are mounted in the housing plastic and if there is any corrosion of the stud or nut they prefer to simply spin in that plastic- and then you have a real job at hand...

I would do whatever I could to avoid removing the whole housing. I would guess the gentleman that stole your lenses did not leave the screws for you. I'm not sure the replacement lenses will have screws. However if you have replacement screws you might try putting a layer or two of aluminum foil on the screw before replacing them. You might be able to find some stainless screws that are a bit bigger than the original that would take up the extra space in the enlarged housing.

Good luck,
Randy
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Any twenty minute job is just a broken bolt away from a three day ordeal

hi rstarskie and other sages- gave some serious thought to the corrosion I noticed on the headlight box removal nuts(3) . agreed that to attempt to remove same would risk damage to grip of the other end in the fitting, leading to one hellacious job. dealer wanted $600 to replace signal light assembly. indy wanted $350. where do so many shysters come from. anyway experimented repairing it in place with different size and length screws . side screw bit into what was left of screw hole. looked at variety of fasteners at hardware store and my junk pile. found simple solution . drywall fasteners used to anchor screws in drywall and concrete block where only light weight and stress is used seem to work. they are 1-1 1/2 inch tapered plastic inserts of various sizes which you press in to the existing hole . you then fit a longer screw through the new lens holes on the right side and gently tighten it into the holes. tightening the screws causes the split wings of the taper to move out on the other side of the holes securing the screw . used a stainless steel screw. only cost 40 cents. seems to be holding. pretty sure it would disqualify my 240 at the concours de elite in palm beach. will report in a month if it continues to hold. figure I saved $599.60 which I don't know what to do with. maybe you can tell me where to put it. (new math $600 dealer clip minus 40 cents for stainless long screw = $599.60) . are you impressed? thanks ton oldduke

Nicely done! I bet the fix will hold- that is a low stress application.
--
Any twenty minute job is just a broken bolt away from a three day ordeal

hi Starkie- hope it holds too. like your quote. so true. may put it on my garage wall. thanks tons oldduke

Hi oldduke,

You might be able to temporarily get away with drilling small holes into the back of the assembly and using longer screws. It may or may not hold up until you lay the car up in the spring.

Otherwise, in 1/2 an hour or less, unless ...

Open the hood.

Remove the battery.

In the corner of the engine compartment, find the 2 wire connector for the signal and have a curse ready while you try and disconnect it. A pocket knife to pry with might help.

Follow the black ground wire that comes from the same location as the previous 2 wires. It's screwed into the inner fender. Remove the screw and free the wire.

Disconnect the headlight from the headlight housing and find the 3 10mm nuts at the back of the housing that retain it to the body. Be careful not to over torque these nuts. Use a 1/4" drive socket wrench with extension if you have it. The bolts they work with are housed in plastic. If they're seized, you might want to stop here and get back to the BB. If the bolt heads spin in the plastic, there'll be complications.

Pull out the headlight and side lights as a unit. Pull only to the point where you can fish the sidelight connector through the body opening. There's enough room to do the last step below without fishing the connector, but I prefer to take it to the bench.

You can now access the 2 screws that hold the 2 units together. I'm not sure what Bentley is saying either, but that's how I've been doing it.

regards, Peter