[bmw335ie90]

If you are interested in replacing the lenses on your LCI Xenon Headlights, this thread is for you. The lenses on these headlights are sealed onto the housing using "permaseal" meaning it cannot be easily baked and separated like butyl sealed lights. There are several methods to remove a permasealed lens from the housing, cutting it off is the easiest by far, especially if you are replacing it with a new one. It is still no easy task, expect a long day. It might even take two days depending how meticulous you want to be to prevent the housing from getting damaged. For sure two days if you are painting the shrouds, you need to allow 24 hours for the paint to gas and dry before sealing the headlight.

This thread might crash on the mobile app due to the number of high-resolution images. It is best viewed on desktop.

OLD PITTED LENS

NEW LENS (with bezel painted black)

ITEMS NEEDED

1. Replacement Lenses (https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1924254)
2. Heat Gun
3. Something to cut the lens, HIGHLY recommend an oscillating tool. Cut off wheels will melt the plastic
4. Various sized flat head screw drivers and pliers
5. Butyl (to reseal the headlight lens). Recommend automotive grade ‘retro rubber’.
6. Compressed air or something to blow air and clean the housing of all the lens material and permaseal
7. Oven

CUTTING OFF THE LENS

There is an inner trim bezel that is bolted onto the lens. You want to make sure to cut the lens in a way that the bezel comes out with the cut part of the lens. This will only leave a small section left in the lens channel and allows you to easily break the seal and pull it out. Make a shallow cut only deep enough to cut the lens, be careful and work slowly but it’s not the end of the world if you nick something inside. In the corner, on the outside of the headlight, the inner bezel has a tab that seals it in. You will not be able to remove the lens/bezel until it is freed. In my case I carefully broke it in a way that I could repair it once removed.

REMOVING THE LEFTOVER LENS FROM CHANNEL

Get ready for a workout. Patience and liberal use of the heat gun will ensure you don’t crack the housing. It’s best to start on the bottom straight part this way if you mess something up you won’t see it and it’s the least likely area to cause an issue.

NOTE. I did not cut my lens close enough to the channel and ended up having to cut a notch out so I could get a flat head in. Cut the lens as close to the channel as possible to avoid this issue.

Make a shallow vertical cut on the lens, be careful not to cut the housing channel. Heat the housing channel both on the inside and outside then break the seal with a flat head. The heat allows you to warp the housing channel without splitting it open and damaging anything (you can heat the channel and bend it back into place later. Once the seal is broken you can start pulling the lens out and then fully finish the vertical cut. Once the lens it cut you can use it to pull onto as you work around the headlight breaking the sealing inside, outside, then behind. Take care in the corners. As you go you will get a feel for how much heat the channel needs to pry without damaging. Again, patience is key. Beers and chill music helps!

I removed my project housing because I was replacing them but you could leave them in if you wanted to. Be very careful!! The chrome is easily damaged, especially if grease (fingerprints) get on them.

CLEAN PERMASEAL FROM CHANNEL

Pretty self-explanatory but painfully boring. Spend an hour or so per headlight to clean as much of the sealant out of the channel as possible. If you use a large flat head to break it up, then a narrower one to remove it works well. Can also use razer blades to cut it.

RESEAL HEADLIGHT

Once most of the permaseal residue is removed we must install the butyl. Lay the butyl into the channel completely filling it. You can stretch the butyl tape to get it to the correct thickness but you essentially want to fill the entire channel uniformly to ensure a good seal.

Transfer inner bezel from old lens into new one.

Put the housing into the oven to heat to butyl. I removed the AHL Module, LED Blinker, Xenon Ballast, and Xenon bulb before putting it into the oven. I did 250F for 15 mins. Once the butyl is hot press the lens into the housing channel. I also clamped the lens as the butyl cooled to ensure to a good seal.

[lnxguy]

Nice writeup. Best idea once you've got the main part of the lens apart is to heat in an oven @ 250degrees. It's not going to melt the permaseal but it will soften it up a bit and make things easier. Then use a super sharp grout tool to avoid having to cut an access slot in to fit a screw driver.

Flattening out the butyl as well with a small flat head once it's heated up helps to make sure everything is sealed up properly.

Also don't forget some small helper screws once the new lens is in. It will never seal like the permaseal did from factory, needs all the help it can get.

[bmw335ie90]

Originally Posted by lnxguy

Nice writeup. Best idea once you've got the main part of the lens apart is to heat in an oven @ 250degrees. It's not going to melt the permaseal but it will soften it up a bit and make things easier. Then use a super sharp grout tool to avoid having to cut an access slot in to fit a screw driver.

Flattening out the butyl as well with a small flat head once it's heated up helps to make sure everything is sealed up properly.

Also don't forget some small helper screws once the new lens is in. It will never seal like the permaseal did from factory, needs all the help it can get.

Some good additional info. I might add 4 tiny screws or some small clamps to the housing for good measure, thanks for the suggestion.

[roblese90]

awmazing work. i had purchased some cheap ebay lenses a few months ago, right when i was ready to tackle this job i noticed the new lenses were not even the correct shape...

[awenthol]

Thank you. I'm in the middle of doing mine--waiting on spare "broken" headlight because I cut too deep on one of them and got the inner trim piece :/. So to anyone doing this, don't cut too deep.

[lowrydr310]

I plan to do this on my LCI xenons, along with replacing the projectors with a set of the G5s. I already have the brackets, just need to order lenses and projectors.

What's a good solution for the plastic 'eyebrow' on the upper portion underneath the lens? Mine is yellowed and if I have the assembly apart I'd like to do something about that. It doesn't look like it's available to replace separately.

Paint? I can't see chrome or even black looking any good. What are some other options? EDIT: I found a nice look. Silver paint.

[bmw335ie90]

Originally Posted by lowrydr310

I plan to do this on my LCI xenons, along with replacing the projectors with a set of the G5s. I already have the brackets, just need to order lenses and projectors.

What's a good solution for the plastic 'eyebrow' on the upper portion underneath the lens? Mine is yellowed and if I have the assembly apart I'd like to do something about that. It doesn't look like it's available to replace separately.

Paint? I can't see chrome or even black looking any good. What are some other options? EDIT: I found a nice look. Silver paint.

I let mine sit in the direct sun submerged in 35% hydrogen peroxide for a few hours. If you google removing yellow from ABS plastic there is a ton of information on the subject. You will need to paint them with a clear coat before re-installing or they will quickly turn yellow again without UV protection.