Clearance Lights -- clean and new lenses

After over 30 years of being in the sun, the clearance lights look pretty sad. AND that isn't the worse part. The problem is they are no longer water tight. Water leaks through the lights (corroding the sockets) and seeping inside the coach. Last summer I did this project.

For the most part, the lights still work. JimK at Applied GMC has the lenses and thicker gaskets for cheap. I got all 10 gaskets and lenses for under $30.

The lights had been sealed by silicone. I wanted to clean it up some.

To reach the outer lights I used a ladder. Note the padding protecting the side of the coach. The middle lights I just laid down on the roof.


Old dry non-sealant. Ugly!


The gasket dried out... no way this sealed.


I used a pick to pull most of the non-sealant. If you do this, do not scrape with the point.



After most of the non-sealant is removed, the goo gone removed most of the residue.



As I did not replace the gasket under the light, the edges will need to be resealed. It doesn't matter what color the sealant is, ALWAYS mask the area. (I installed the old lenses for this step.) I also cleaned up the insides with a Harbor Freight "dremel like" tool. I used rust converter and dielectric grease. I had to glue the socket back to the base on a couple of lights. (I had some old epoxy clay.) I did not take pictures of any of this...


New lenses, stainless steel screws, new sealant around the edges. Lights look good. (I did the rear ones before the fronts.)

I think total cost for this projects was about $40. Done on #02 coach, summer 2010.