Hey guys, i just completed the joey mod on my mk5 gti with bi-xenons, so i thought i would share the process with all of you. WARNING!!!! i take no responsibility for this DIY, do it at your own risk. It will take time to do this mod, so please allow around 3-4 days for the entire process, there's no rushing this project trust me, especially since the bi-xenons cost around 2k to replace. The following tools and supplies will be necessary for the project.
1. windscreen black sealant ( the best one you can find)
2. Dremel (with appropriate head)
3. Stanley knife or cutting blade)
4. heatgun
5. flathead screwdriver
6. Mineral turpentine
7. Plastic adhesive promoter primer
8. Paint (of you choice)
9. torx wrenches
10. protective goggles and mask
11. patience
The first step will be to remove the front bumper in order to gain access to the lights, you will need to first take the grille off and then work your way around the bumper removing the required torx screws, this includes the ones in both front wheel wells and underneath the car. There is a diy about how to remove the front bumper, so if your not sure search the net for it as it will help you.
Once the bumper is removed the next step will be to remove the actual headlights, each light has 3 torx screws holding it to the body, so remove these and then the light will be loose. You will also need to unplug the connecter at the rear of the light.
Once removed your ready for the next step, which will be to remove the xenon bulb, DO NOT miss this step, as you dont want to be cutting into the housing with the xenon bulb in place. To remove the bulb, you will first need to unplug the starter connecter which is the red device you see when you open the back up. Then you will need to remove it, which is done by twisting it to the right,
(instructions are on the actual device). Next step is to remove the four torx screws holding the xenon compartment down. Be gentle with this step, once removed you will again need to remove the plug holding the xenon in place.
Next place the xenon compartment somewhere safe ( i put them inside the house). You want to be sure since there very expensive
Next step is to remove the 3 clips on each headlight, they look like this
Once removed you can then begin the process of removing the lens. In and ordinary joey mod the lights would be placed in the oven and the sealant would just soften so the two parts could be separated, however in the bi-xenon lamps for some reason vw has used a sealant which is very hard and will not budge under heat ( trust me i tried it) so the only way to remove the lens from the housing is to cut away the sealant, which is very time consuming. You first need a stanley knife or cutting blade to cut around the edge.
Once you've done this you will then need to dremel around the entire edge of the housing, this is the part that made me cringe. Take time with this process ( took me 3 hours on each headlight) and use goggles and and mask to protect yourself. Use a bit on the dremel similar to the one in this picture.
And cut your way around the edge, following this line
You will 2 places where there are tabs ( the points where you connect the light to your car) you will need to cut through these tabs without cutting them off, its the only way. It is hard but again take your time and you will get through it.
Once you have cut through the sealant it is time to separate the housing from the lens, its pretty straight forward since you have just cut a way around the edge. You will then need to seperate the inner trimmings from the lens, this is done by removing four small torx screws which are easy to find. You then end up with this.
Last edited by JarekGTIMK5; 04-06-2014 at 07:04 AM.
Next step is to separate all the different components of this piece, for this you will need a small flat head screwdriver for the tabs and time.
Once they are all separated it is time to paint. Firstly you will need to paint all the parts which are being painted with a plastic adhesive promoter, this is crucial as it will prevent any peeling or cracking and will make the paint better adhere to the surface. Spray two coats on making sure you spray several lights coats rather than one heavy one. Once done let it rest for 15 minutes and then your ready for the color. The color which you choose is up to you, it can be black like me, or you can spice your car up by mixing up different colors for different sections, you can be as creative as you want (within reason ). Regarding sanding i didnt do any since my color was a matte, however you might need if you want to achieve a nice gloss, again this will take more time. Let the paint rest for a day, this will make sure that you don't make any finger prints once putting the pieces back together.
This is how it looks all painted up and together. Before you start with the silicon make sure that the lens is clean, otherwise you will be left with debris inside your headlight housing. Use a microfiber towel to clean it.
Next step is to put the housing and the lens back together, this is where you will need your sealant, before you start applying it be sure to clean the lens and housing (surfaces on which your applying the sealant to) with mineral turpentine.
Apply a generous line of silicon around the edge of the housing, then press the lens onto the edge of the housing where the silicon is. Run your finger around the entire housing, making sure the silicon is firmly inside the creases. If you find that some places don't have enough, just add some silicon to your finger and rub gently into area. I then used the heatgun to make sure that the silicon was in place by heating it ever slightly. Once done i used the staples which were removed in one of the first steps as a first measure to keep the parts together. I then used electrical tape to hold the two pieces firmly together.
I then placed them facing upwards so that the lens would be forcing itself onto the housing using gravity. Let the silicon cure for at least 24 hours before removing the tape. Once done you may find yourself with some silicon on the lens, this can be easily removed with turpentine, after this polish up your headlights and all thats left is to install them back on the car.
All nice and shiney
Now its just a matter of putting them back on the car, and installing the front bumper back on.
Heres how they look
Thanks for looking.
Just remember again it all takes time,
If you need any more help feel free to contact me
Last edited by JarekGTIMK5; 04-06-2014 at 07:08 AM.
Looks awesome! Great write up.
I was worried about doing it to my spare set of lights, game as doing it to your bi-xenons at that price!
Just gave me motivation to go do mine!
i like the OEM xenon look a lot better than this. It kinda makes it looks like the cheap china knockoff HID headlamps...
and somehow it doesnt look right with the xenon bulb looking smaller than the headlight highbeam reflectors
looks killer man, great to see some MKVer's getting down and dirty making their cars better! Its funny to see the clips holding the covers to the headlight housing hasn't changed in 15 years either, and are the same as on my MK3.
I went down this path from the original US write up on golfmkv.com. It really was quite a chore, I ended up bailing out after tackling 1 light.
Although, I went about trying to retain the lip which holds the lens in place with silicone. Do you have any pics of your lights with your hood up? I imagine it looks a little raw with the rough edge with visible silicone. Could be wrong, but that's what prevented me from trying your method. Did you paint the rear housing and sand down the cut edges prior to re-siliconing it?
Very brave and credit due for persisting with it.
For anyone wanting to tackle this, I'd offer the suggestion of not painting the front of the housing, but the back. The plastic is semi transparent, and if you paint it from behind, it'll become black, but still have a perfectly smooth plastic finish.
Oh, and surgical gloves would be a good addition to the DIY. If anyone wants to keep any of the silver parts the way they were, you don't want to be touching them with your hands. They're painted silver/chrome and mark very easily, and can chip/peal if you try to clean them up.
I went down this path from the original US write up on golfmkv.com. It really was quite a chore, I ended up bailing out after tackling 1 light.
Although, I went about trying to retain the lip which holds the lens in place with silicone. Do you have any pics of your lights with your hood up? I imagine it looks a little raw with the rough edge with visible silicone. Could be wrong, but that's what prevented me from trying your method. Did you paint the rear housing and sand down the cut edges prior to re-siliconing it?
Very brave and credit due for persisting with it.
For anyone wanting to tackle this, I'd offer the suggestion of not painting the front of the housing, but the back. The plastic is semi transparent, and if you paint it from behind, it'll become black, but still have a perfectly smooth plastic finish.
Oh, and surgical gloves would be a good addition to the DIY. If anyone wants to keep any of the silver parts the way they were, you don't want to be touching them with your hands. They're painted silver/chrome and mark very easily, and can chip/peal if you try to clean them up.
Thanks man
Actually the silicone edge around it doesnt look to bad as i used black sealant and made sure i gave a generous coat around, i then neatened it up with my finger. I will get a pic up of it tomorrow to show you. Oh and i know what you mean about that plastic being semi transparent haha. Oh yeh and the chrome bits do flake off quite easily, i made the mistake of taping it up and then decided to take it off and realised the chrome had come off, i mean its that easy!!!!
Forgot to answer one question, i did sand down the edges before applying siliconing the housing and the lens back together, no too much, but just to get a nice surface on which to apply the silicone
When using silicone get non actinic so it doesnt attack anything with the acetic acid.
Also to get a smooth finish spray over with windex and smooth with finger.
Bazzle
Prev 2008 R32 3 door DSG.
Prev 2010 S3 Sportback Stronic.
Now Lexus IS350 F Sport
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). Regarding sanding i didnt do any since my color was a matte, however you might need if you want to achieve a nice gloss, again this will take more time. Let the paint rest for a day, this will make sure that you don't make any finger prints once putting the pieces back together.
Originally Posted by johnc
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