.:: DIY : MK5 Joey Mod ::.

[dlo5]

What’s up guys?
Well my friend wanted to Joey Mod his headlights and while doing it we figured why not make a diy for all you guys out there since there isn’t one yet for the MK5. This was the first time doing a MK5 joey mod for me and to say it wasn’t easy and took a long time about 7hrs for start to finish. In my opinion it’s much harder than the MK4 to work with and the silicone used on the headlights feels like super glue when trying to get off. Thanks goes out to the original MK4 Joey Mod where all information was taken since the process is mostly the same. Enjoy!
I assume no responsibility with this DIY. This write-up is designed to be just a mere guide. Use it at your own risk and feel free to make any diversions from the DIY you like!

TOOLS AND MATERIALS NEEDED:
1. A can of black spray paint. I recommend one that has enamel (glossy) and not flat black, but this is entirely your preference. I have seen people color matching their headlamps to the rest of the car as well.
2. Glad's Press-And-Seal Wrap
3. Painters Tape
4. Exacto knife
5. All weather outdoor clear silicone sealant!
6. Empty oven/Heat Gun

STEP 1 Removal:
*Take off the front grill.
*Take off the front bumper.
*Take off the headlamps.

STEP 2 Heating the headlamps:
*Take out the bulbs.
*Take out all bulb covers.
*Take off the two (per headlight) drain inserts.
*Take off the 4 (per headlight) staples that hold the lens to the headlamp assembly.
*Preheat your oven to 250-300 degrees Fahrenheit.
*When the light in your oven turns off, open the oven and put your headlamps on the grill.
*Make sure your lenses are NOT touching any part of the oven. It is easier to do one headlamp at a time!
*Keep the headlamps inside for 90-120 seconds MAXIMUM! The goal here is NOT to bake them but to simply warm them enough so that the black seal between the lens and the assembly softens.
*Take your headlamp out of the oven and carefully start prying off the lens from the assembly with a flat screwdriver or such. TAKE YOUR TIME! Do not rush things.
*Once you take off the first lens, put your other headlamp in the oven and repeat the procedure. Remember, preheated oven, not more than 90 seconds! (you can also use a heat gun to keep the silicone soft as you go)

STEP 4 Painting:
*Shake your spray paint can for about a minute.
*Test the can somewhere safe..
*Make one pass trying to cover all the little nooks and crevices.
*Let dry for about 15 minutes.
*Apply another coat.
Now you can make as many coats as you feel like. I was happy with two. That way I made sure I covered all the hard to get to parts and at the same time there were no paint runs.
*Finally, let your headlamp dry for about 20 minutes.
*Remove the Glad's Press-And-Seal wrap and painters tape.

STEP 5 Reassembling:
*After you made sure the paint is well cured, assemble your headlamps.
*Apply silicone on all the edges between the lens and the housing.
*Let the silicone cure for 30 minutes.
*Press on the lenses and tape them up using painters tape to let them cure for a little while.
*Reassemble everything and all the bulbs
*Don't forget the clear drain inserts.

STEP 6 Enjoy your work:
After reinstalling your headlamps, bumper and grill, grab some beer and enjoy your work!

Silicone I used (Can be obtained from any auto parts store).

Here’s the headlights removed and placed on towel to prevent any scratches.

These are the staples, 4 in each headlight that have to be removed.

Heating the silicone after putting it in the oven and not being soft enough.

How the headlights look once separated from housings.

4 plastic plugs that hold the housing the lens together that need to be carefully trimmed but not totally removed for future reinstallation.

You can see the housing itself.

Need to tape the bottom half up for the blinker part and be careful how and what you tape, you can see in the picture the chrome from the headlights comes off easily using press/seal or painters tape.

Painting the housings, give it a good 2/3 coat waiting about 15 in between coats.

Re-heat the old silicone and apply some more to the housing as well.

Once the headlight is back together, it’s a good idea to tape the headlight up nice and tight so the silicone has time to set.

Finished result.

Reinstall and Enjoy!

And ill throw my bucket and my oem joey modded headlights in there

Thanks for stopping by


Modified by dlo5 at 12:56 AM 11-27-2008

[greek-dub]

Very nicely done.
your headlights are the greatest around no questions asked

[Lower it!!]

Quality work and great write up!

[darkk]

nice job...hmmm I have a spare set too!

[dubbr]

Looks good

[speedster5555]

im glad you all like my headlights

[VrstewartW]

for making it look easier than it really is

[tinygti]

nice work

[THE KILLER RABBIT]

nice

[MFactor]

I must have modded at least 5 headlights in the past. NEVER AGAIN! It's a PITA.

[dlo5]

Quote, originally posted by MFactor »

I must have modded at least 5 headlights in the past. NEVER AGAIN! It's a PITA.

thanks guys and yes it is a real bitch

[speedster5555]

dan i think that was a bit of an understatement

[dlo5]

Quote, originally posted by speedster5555 »

dan i think that was a bit of an understatement

yeah we were only missing some booze to make the time go by quicker.. but then i doubt your lights would get done at all

[speedster5555]

well we did have a pretty hot distraction walk in your side door

[Snow-Jet-MK5]

Nice job! I actually made a DIY for this about a year and a half ago.

[ughson]

very nice! im gonna definitely have to get this project started soon

[slownlow2.5]

dope thread this was very helpful and very detailed......

[jebglx]

Added to FAQ

[edward40handz]

pretty hard to do.. I did this last year.. and refuse to do it again.. I keep telling myself no... but my lights keep saying yes.... good job.

[Vento 3]

nice job, remind me of the mk4 DIY i had few years back

[VeeeDubn]

exactly what i needed.

Thank you!

[fidelcastrol]

I'd rather pay someone to do this for my clumsy azz

[youngkal]

could u better describe the areas that you tape off adn use the press and seal on? also did u scuff the painted area up beforehand inorder to get the paint to stick well? thanks

[.:MKV:.]

Well done

[dlo5]

Quote, originally posted by youngkal »

could u better describe the areas that you tape off adn use the press and seal on? also did u scuff the painted area up beforehand inorder to get the paint to stick well? thanks

Thats the blinker part that you have to tape off. Also you can see where i used the press and seal and it took the chrome off so be careful. No you dont need to sand anything before painting

[speedster5555]

Quote, originally posted by dlo5 »

Thats the blinker part that you have to tape off. Also you can see where i used the press and seal and it took the chrome off so be careful. No you dont need to sand anything before painting

you just cant tape the chrome

[youngkal]

what is the purpose of using the press and seal? if you are going to paint over that area?

[youngkal]

ok well this was horrible...i gave up half way through my 1st light...i will gladley pay 250+++ for a set of helix black headlights...lol

[speedster5555]

you can ship it to us along witha small fee and we can do it for you

[rippie74]

Nice

[oday_taha2010]

Can U show a pic of the headlights while the lights are on

[rix337]

Quote, originally posted by youngkal »

ok well this was horrible...i gave up half way through my 1st light...i will gladley pay 250+++ for a set of helix black headlights...lol

Yeah, I have a set of the Helix lights and they are horrible. You can't keep the blinkers working on them. Headlights were aimed at the sky when I got them, and the beam pattern is worse than the NA lights. But they do look cool as crap on my car. I am in the process of getting them sent back to ECS for a refund.

[FiZzNaZtY]

would be soooooooooooo much easier with out having to take apart the front grill and bumper

[l3lacksheepsquad]

Quote, originally posted by FiZzNaZtY »

would be soooooooooooo much easier with out having to take apart the front grill and bumper

That takes 20 minutes, tops if it's your first time. You can whip the bumper off in 5-10 minutes once you do it a few times.

It doesn't even COMPARE to the monumental amount of work it takes to pry these lights apart. That's why they should just be cut...

[Mr.TrJTI]

wanna do mine?!?! lol
im to scared to tear apart my more expensive car's headlights to try this (mk2 headlights aint expensive)
srsly though if youd be up for it id pay you in beer or something