I rebuilt my headlights years ago with a plastic gear kit that was the only one available then. The gears stripped. Thinking of rebuilding them again.
Which kit do you guys recommend as of today? Rodney Dickman sells aluminium gears with rubber bumper pads. Fierostore sells plastic gears with rubber pads and aluminium gears that don't have the rubber pads. Also there's someone on ebay named carguy8t8 that sells aluminum gears with rubber pads and also some OEM grease.
What do you guys recommend as of 2019? Do your aluminium gears stay good? Do they stress out other stuff in the motors?
There is a brass headlight gear set available on eBay for the 84-86 that looks promising. Looks to be more precisely made and of a harder material than the aluminum gear.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, P-log Manifold, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, Champion Radiator, S10 Brake Booster, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
I went with Rodney's kit...It comes with everything you need and is well made.....I installed it and the motor runs perfect now. Rodney is very committed to making high-quality parts...I have bought several things from him and am always impressed with the quality and thought that goes into them.
That is the 87-88 Generation 2 style gear. It won't work in the 84-86 motors.
I have had a set of brass gears for the Generation 1 motors for many years. Just never had occasion to use them on my own motors and people didn't want to pay what they cost to have them in stalled in their motors that I repaired. So, I've just kept them. I've compared them to OEM gears and they are precisely the same measurements in all respects. I stopped using the plastic gears and started using Rodney's Generation 1 gears and no one has voiced any problems.
[This message has been edited by fierofool (edited 06-09-2019).]
Ditto Rodney's. I've installed his gen 1 head light motor kits with aluminum gears, and never a problem. Have used many of his other parts too. A big + with Rodney is that he stands behind his parts 110%. Always good instructions with just about everything he sells...
I rebuilt my headlights years ago with a plastic gear kit that was the only one available then. The gears stripped. Thinking of rebuilding them again.
Which kit do you guys recommend as of today? Rodney Dickman sells aluminium gears with rubber bumper pads. Fierostore sells plastic gears with rubber pads and aluminium gears that don't have the rubber pads. Also there's someone on ebay named carguy8t8 that sells aluminum gears with rubber pads and also some OEM grease.
What do you guys recommend as of 2019? Do your aluminium gears stay good? Do they stress out other stuff in the motors?
Just flip those gears over. You are only getting half the lifespan out of them if you don't. You'll see the gear only actually wears on half of the face of it. Flipping it over lets you use the unused side.
More than half the gear is used in an up or down cycle. It's somewhere close to 90%. The gear can only be repositioned in 90 degree increments. If you could just flip the gear 180 degrees, rather than tear the motor apart, the easiest way would be to remove the arm that attaches to the end of the shaft and replace it to point the other way. A 180 degree repositioning.
One would need to very carefully index the motor at a full up or full down stop, then index the gear and shaft before removing it in order to replace the gear in a position that may not run across the stripped portion.
If replacing the gear, you will want a gear that utilizes bump stops. The drive plate that has the 4 fingers on it must have a cushion at the end of travel. Without bump stops, there is the possibility of the fingers breaking off as they stop against a metal or hard plastic gear. That part is available only from another motor.
Rodney. Have his kits installed on 3 of my Fiero's for years now and many hours/miles use, all working great. Very pleased with his kits, and his other products as well.
