headlamp bushings

Yes, they are flanged nylon bushings split on one side at a 45 degree angle. Otherwise they couldn't be installed over the headlight bar & twisted into their sheet metal support brackets. And being thin nylon, over time they harden, crack and fall apart. Our car hasn't had them in for 30 years now; some day I'll get around to replacing them. There are four per set. Don't have them handy but the dimensions probably aren't critical except to not grip the bar too tightly.

Thanks for the information Bwrench, I can't still see how they function properly as my bushes are shot to bits, it doesn't fit between the inner and outer tube, but well I just don't know!!

I know I must try harder. Pete

I am in a similar position to Peter but in my case there are no bushings in there at all. The picture on the Wilkinson website is confusing in that it looks like there is a lip either side.

Can anyone post a picture of what the actual bushings look like as I also have no idea as to how they will fit.

BossW, by the sound of it its OK to run without them if you have got away with it for 30 years but there is an awful lot of play in the whole mechanism. Won't the headlights bounce around when in the up position and when driving.

Cheers
Horace

this gave me a reason to open the barn door. this is the best I could come up with calipers. I would not use my numbers to machine by, but might be able to match a standard part.

I would question if the piece could be forced around with the bar in place. I would think cutting a notch in the bracket to allow the lip to enter would be very benifical.

that is going to be a hard area to get your hands in to work.

looking at my post above, I realized the nylon bushing does not need to have two lips but could be a simple single shoulder design (still split to install over bar)

quote:

Boss W, by the sound of it its OK to run without them if you have got away with it for 30 years but there is an awful lot of play in the whole mechanism. Won't the headlights bounce around when in the up position and when driving.

True- we've had the car since April 1980. For 10 of those years I didn't even know there were supposed to be bushings there. You do get grinding, squealing noises during both up & down motion from steel-on-steel rubbing. All the headlight bushings I've seen do have lips on them but they are likely all of local mfgr, so all dimensions vary a bit except the ID that fits on on the cross-pipe. The lip cutaways make the bushings a little more flexible; I suggest warming plastic bushings before installing as the twisting to install seems pretty severe. Ice-cold plastic is more likely to crack.

Bushings seem to not be the problem with headlight-jiggle regardless of whether you have round or rectangular headlights, but is the result of the depth of mesh of the sector gear teeth with the drive motor gear teeth. A simple adjustment of the motor mounting plate bolts (holes are slotted for this adjustment) downward fixes the jiggles at no cost & hardly any labor. I've also seen a few Panteras where the stock headlight sector gear is bent & wobbles during use- maybe from a collision fixed by a non-Pantera specialty shop- so the motor drive-gear nearly rides off the big sector gear. A crow-bar or vice-grip pliers on the welded steel sector gear easily 'adjusts' that problem.

I didn't have time nor tools with me, to get good measurements.
So if you do, would you post them.
to get the inside diameter of the bracket, not having the nylon bushing in would help. get a good diameter of the bar, force the bar to one side, then using narrow and multiple thin feeler gauges get the gap between.

the right side shows what I meant by cutting an entrance notch if the two flanged bearing is used

quote:

Originally posted by JFB #05177:
looking at my post above, I realized the nylon bushing does not need to have two lips but could be a simple single shoulder design (still split to install over bar)

I see the light now thank you, and your right 2 lips aren't needed, and I managed to get some TR suspension top hat bushes to tinker with yesterday.

the cost of new bushes is very high!

I now have the correct size bushes made, the ID is 1 1/8" and the OD is 1 1/4"

they work very well the inner bush I sliced in half in order to fit, and I will retain the outer bush with a pin of some kind, hope this helps. The top hat width isn't critical.