CRX Headlights

I've got an '87 CRX that has had something break in the headlight
housing. The left headlight has tilted itself down so that it shines
about 6' in front of the car. The adjusters, of course, don't work. I
assume a spring, an attachment in the headlinght housing or some such
thing has broken or come loose.

Has anyone been into this to know how big a job I'm in for? I'm
pretty sure I've got to pull the front bumper to get access to the
housing. Any other advice or things to watch out for?

 

My advice would be to get rid of that piece of shit. It's 21 years old
and not worth fixing any more. Almost certainly not up to safety
standards either. Take it to the nearest junkyard and see if you can get
a few bucks for it. If not just give it to them and go get a decent ride.

 

One man's opinion - not worth the time it took to read! Why do you think
that just because the vehicle is 21 years old it is a POS? I suppose since
there have been improvements made since 2005, or 06, or even 07 they are POS
and should be dragged to the scrap heap?

 

You should take a logical thinking class, before you make a fool of
yourself in public again. Why would I think a 2-3 year old car is in the
same category as a 20+ year old car?

Stay in school.

 

I bet this 20+ year old Japanese car still runs better than a 2-3 year old
domestic car.

 

Yes, such talk is nonsense. My "newest" is a '83 Civic FE and up to
that year, Hondas were "old" school in how they operated. No friggin'
"Check Engine" light, no PCV valve, no oxygen sensor... Still gets 40+
mpg in mixed driving with an earlier '81 engine.

They'll have to pry my cold dead hands off of the steering wheel in
order to drag it to the scrap heap!

JT

 

Er, a good look in the mirror will reveal the real fool here...

JT

 

Probably best to replace the entire housing. Should be able to find
such on eBay or similar. CRX models still enjoy good popularity.

JT

 

How much are we betting?

 

Which is exactly what the paramedics will do if you ever get in a serious
accident with that POS.

 

It is good to take stock if an expensive repair is in order, but assuming it
is not worth minor repair is unrealistic. Many 1980s cars are still
serviceable and are quite safe, and there is no reason to think otherwise
unless the OP has a litany of recent or current defects.

I recently changed the timing belt on my daughter's '93 Accord at just under
250K miles, and it is showing no sign of general decay. By the time the
timing belt is due for another change it will be more than 21 years old...
as nearly all my cars are before I retire them. Her '82 Corolla, passed on
to her brother, gave out in 2005. My son-in-law wrecked my 23 year old Volvo
last year; until that it was my daily driver. I gave away my previous Volvo
to a friend when it was 28 years old. My Nissan 300ZX had a raft of
problems - mostly electrical - and I got rid of it when it was only 18 years
old.

I think the best age for buying a used car is around 100K miles and 8-10
years old. At 50K miles it is hard to tell how a car has been treated; at
100K it is hard to hide. (I bought the Accord for her 7 years ago with 163K
miles on it. It's been a great car.)

Mike

 

How about your old Packard?

Thanks for the helpful post. Glad to see the trolls are still awake.

 

dan, you're off base here dude. the crx, even the mk1's, are a huge
amount of fun to have with clothes on. try one and you'll understand why
people /do/ want to keep their "pos" on the road.

 

dan, you're off base here dude. the crx, even the mk1's, are a huge
amount of fun to have with clothes on. try one and you'll understand why
people /do/ want to keep their "pos" on the road.

 

dan, you're off base here dude. the crx, even the mk1's, are a huge
amount of fun to have with clothes on. try one and you'll understand why
people /do/ want to keep their "pos" on the road.

 

Does this vehicle have the old-style rectangular sealed beams, or does it
have flush-type aerodynamic lenses?

 

I just realized I have a service manual for the '88 CRX. It looks like that
car has the same type of flush headlamps as other Hondas of the era.

Your assembly likely has broken adjuster pins, which go into the plastic
backing of the reflector. Impacts cause the pins to break off the
reflector. There's no fix for this except to get a replacement headlamp
from the wreckers.

Why don't you remove the headlamp and have a good look at the pins? You
need to remove the front bumper in order to get at the bottom two bolts of
the headlamp assembly.

 

Now that you mention it, I'm sure you're exactly right about the pins
being broken off. This was the daughter's car for college back in the
'98 time frame. She ran it into the bushes a couple of times in the
snow. I've had trouble getting the headlight beam adjusted high
enough ever since then. The pin probably finally broke off.

So it's to the wreckers on Monday for a replacement. That saves me
some time, as I didn't want to have to tear it apart and then spend a
couple of days messing around looking for parts. Thanks!

 

I've seen some late 80's CRX's doing quite well in the SCCA regional
classes. Yes, a little warmed over, but the rules don't let them do
much in Improved Modified. They also do well in A/X.

 

This one isn't doing too bad considering the age. It has 149k on it.
Other than scheduled maintenance, the only things I've had to do so
far are replace the struts for the hatch (which need replacing again)
and replace the heater blower. It still isn't using any oil. The
main problems the car has had are things related to having a 20 year
old daughter drive it - like knocking the spoiler off the front end a
couple of times and tearing the CV boots with some "off road" driving.
Now that it's the wife's car, we don't seem to be having those kinds
of issues any more. The car isn't a gem, but it's reliable and
halfway presentable. Being carbureted and an automatic, we're
entering the season where cold starts are once again "interesting".