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    My high beam lamps went down......

    So I am on the east end of LI with the '86 MGM Tudor............day turns to night and on come my headlights........after a small bit I saw I needed some extra illumination so........clicked the high-beam on.............puff..........had no idea that one H4651 sealed beam was out........picked up a new bulb, then discovered the headlamp door is not secured with standard Phillips head screws:-(

    Can someone advise what kind of screws (head type) Ford used to secure the chrome headlamp door?.....and where a cheap driver can be obtained??

    Thanks in advance gents.

    #2
    Are they the star-shaped "Torx" head screws? Or, worse, the "star shaped with a little peg", "Tamper-Proof Torx" screws?

    i thought only GM did that crap in the 80s. Available at most home improvement stores and auto parts stores; pretty likely you can get a cheap set wherever you got the headlight.

    If you have a screwdriver that takes 1/4" hex insert bits, buy a set of the Tamper-Proof Torx (work in regular Torx screws) for around $10 at any of the major chain auto parts stores.

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      #3
      Haven't dabbled much with the GMQ's but CV stuff was standard phillips deals securing the headlight doors/bezels. Its possible someone changed them out to mae it more difficult for perps. I know my pops used to silicone the heads to make it more difficult to get a screwdriver to grab.
      ~David~

      My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
      My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

      Originally posted by ootdega
      My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

      Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
      But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

      Originally posted by gadget73
      my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




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        #4
        At least on '88+ MGM they are standard phillips head screws. +1 someone changed them at some point.
        Vic

        ~ 1989 MGM LS Colony Park - Large Marge
        ~ 1998 MGM LS - new DD
        ~ 1991 MGM LS "The Scab"
        ~ 1991 MGM GS "The Ice Car"

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          #5
          I would double check as maybe there was dirt in the slots of the Phillips head screws.
          03 Marauder DPB, HS, 6disk, Organizer Mods> LED's in & Out, M&Z rear control arms, Oil deflector, U-Haul Trans Pan, Blue Fuzzy Dice
          02 SL500 Silver Arrow
          08 TC Signature Limited, HID's Mods>235/55-17 Z rated BFG G-Force Comp-2 A/S Plus, Addco 1" rear Sway, Posi Carrier, Compustar Remote Start, floor liners, trunk organizer, Two part Sun Visors, B&M Trans drain Plug, Winter=05 Mustang GT rims, Nokian Hakkapeliitta R-2 235/55-17
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            #6
            All the sealed beam Fords I’ve messed with have Phillips head screws.


            My Cars:
            -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
            -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
            -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
            -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

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              #7
              Originally posted by Kodachrome Wolf View Post
              All the sealed beam Fords I’ve messed with have Phillips head screws.
              I looked again and they appear to be spline head screws.

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                #8
                Jay, the heads are not Phillips.
                Originally posted by jaywish View Post
                I would double check as maybe there was dirt in the slots of the Phillips head screws.

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                  #9
                  got a pic?

                  Everything I've worked with from the 82 Mark VI to the 88 Mad Marquis... and even the aeros and whales all use phillips screws on the headlamps/parking lights unless it's a hex head bolt. I've never seen a spline (12 point? triple square?) head used.

                  Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
                  rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
                  Originally posted by gadget73
                  ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
                  Originally posted by dmccaig
                  Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

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                    #10
                    Will try and borrow a camera and take a picture.
                    Originally posted by sly View Post
                    got a pic?

                    Everything I've worked with from the 82 Mark VI to the 88 Mad Marquis... and even the aeros and whales all use phillips screws on the headlamps/parking lights unless it's a hex head bolt. I've never seen a spline (12 point? triple square?) head used.

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                      #11
                      I've honestly not seen a non-Phillips screw in a sealed beam car of any make.
                      86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                      5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                      91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                      1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                      Originally posted by phayzer5
                      I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                        I've honestly not seen a non-Phillips screw in a sealed beam car of any make.
                        Some late ‘80s GM stuff used star bit style stuff. The full size Blazers with the small sealed beam lamps come to mind.


                        My Cars:
                        -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
                        -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
                        -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
                        -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

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                          #13
                          This is what the spline screw looks like
                          Click image for larger version

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                            #14
                            Originally posted by Kodachrome Wolf View Post
                            Some late ‘80s GM stuff used star bit style stuff. The full size Blazers with the small sealed beam lamps come to mind.
                            leave it to General Morons to fuck up headlight screws.
                            86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                            5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                            91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                            1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                            Originally posted by phayzer5
                            I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Those screws being Philips has been a gigantic thorn in my side every time I've had to fuss with them. Philips is perhaps the worst screw head in the history of screw heads due to the great disparity between its design intentions and how it works in reality. With one of those guys corroded, you end up with lifetime headlamps.

                              But it seems a lot more likely to me that they'd be Torx, because that's fairly prevalent in the automotive world, and also super user-friendly, so a person who previously had to deal with this may have opted to put those in. Spline is an uncommon screw...not impossible for it to be that, but you generally don't just find those in unusual places. Torx would be 6-point though.

                              Current driver: Ranger
                              Panthers: 83 GM 2dr | 84 TC | 85 CS
                              | 88 TC | 91 GM
                              Not Panthers: 85 Ranger | Ranger trailer | 91 Acclaim | 05 Focus
                              Gone: 97 CV | 83 TC | 04 Focus | 86 GM
                              | Junkyards

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