1986 Buick Electra How to remove headlight bezel

Tiny
RFAF23
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  • 1986 BUICK ELECTRA
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 75,000 MILES
How do you remove the bezel around the headlights so as to allow removal and replacment of a headlight?

This model has the hood that tilts upward from the back end. I can find the screws at the top of the bezel underneath the front of the hood, but cant find any screws at the side or bottom.

Thanks for your help.

Correction: the "bezel" as used here is not the actual bezel holding the headlights, rather I am actually referring to the side chrome piece that extends the grill over to the fender. Probably a term for that that I dont know

(see uploaded picture showing headlight side chrome piece )


http://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/388995_DSCF0011_3.jpg

Sunday, August 30th, 2009 AT 7:00 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
JDL
  • MECHANIC
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https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/170934_86_buick_headlight_1.jpg



My info showed the above picture. Is that wrong? You remove the three screws from the front, the bezel comes out from the front. It only showed three screws.
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Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 AT 4:01 PM
Tiny
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My car seems to be different. The only screws showing from the outside with the hood down are the headlight adjustment screws. However, since you said there are only 3 screws, maybe mine is the same in that regard, and I can find at least two.

Thanks for your input.
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Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 AT 5:09 PM
Tiny
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I will look again under the hood, there may have been 3, not 2 screws there. But what holds the bottom of the piece down?
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Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 AT 5:13 PM
Tiny
JDL
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Your picture is different, my database doesn't show anything else.
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Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 AT 8:42 AM
Tiny
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I looked at the spaces between the headlights and side chrome* piece to see if I could find the bezel screws. Not much clearance; it looked like it would take a surgeon to get the bezel screws out of without dropping them.

So, I took the cave man approach and removed the whole grill and chrome left/right side pieces. The headlight bezel screws are now right in front of me where I can easily get to them. I probably didnt have to remove the grill but the side piece seemed to be interlocked with it and didn't want to damage the interlock by prying the side chrome piece out, since I didn't know the setup. Lots of small screws in grill and two under hood at top of each side piece, and one in each front fender holding the chrome pieces over side lights. But only took a short while once I found all the screws.

So now will replace headlights -- all of them as suggested by T Greenleaf.

Thanks for all the suggestions and will post into this thread if anything new comes up in case someone else ever has the same problems. But looks straightforward from here.

*chrome colored plastic
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Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 AT 10:28 AM

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