man, i'm an idiot..

anyone know how to remove the tail lights? 2004 model? are there any clips? i already unscrewed it, but i dont wanna break any clips.. so just asking before taking them out.

thanks!!

 

nevermind.. i figured it out.. i'm an idiot lol

 

well since you already made this thread. might as well tell everyone else how and maybe post pics.

 

1. open the rear side compartments

2. Find the correct wrench size, preferably open ended. I cant remember 8 or 10mm? or as it a 6mm?

3. Lefty lucy for 5 minutes. or 1 minute if you are using an open ended ratcheting wrench, if you are consider yourself lucky. the posts on these are long.

4. push through the back. the weather stripping on the lamp may make it a little hard to get out but you shouldn't damage anything.

that should be about it.

Oh yeah, some where in these directions you should disconnect the lights it would probably help. also disconnect the battery for extra safety.

 

did you find the angle at which you need to fit your hand and the wrench in there nearly impossible .....man it annoyed the freak out of me ....i just took out my side vents last night ANOTHER PAIN ...and im joey * modding myheads this weekend

 

Both are the easist pain in the @sses. I think the tails pissed me off the most. Socket wrenches are to shallow and standard wrenches were to slow.

 

yeah i ended up using a screw driver attachement socket thingymajig ( not a tool name expert ) but i def spent about 5 minutes each to get them off ...after that it was a breeze but the side vents mannn its just as bad as the mirror caps im so nervous to break the pieces off ...and side pillars.....i hate those too !@ lol

 

Side vents get easier as you take them on and off. I had to repaint mine twice

 

yeah ive noticed that once you take them off a few times they get loose and come off easier.....has anyone taken off the wheel arch lights/reflectors...im trying to change those out and im not really sure how theyre in there to figure out how to take them out safely

 

I took the bumpers off to do mine.

There's probably an easier way. Each reflector has 2 self tapping nuts on the back.

 

i hope when you said 5 minutes. you were exaggerating..
but those side vents look nice. how exactly do you take them off and wat paint did you use?

 

There isn't a whole lot of room to maneuver in those side pockets, that's why it takes so long. I'd say 5mins give or take depending on how fast you are with a open ended box wrench. That's why i said it would be faster and you would be lucky if you had had a ratcheting box open ended wrench.

the side grills were painted with duplicolor auto trim paint (flat black). If you do it, make sure to give the grills a good sanding or you'll end up doing it a few times over.

 

on the tai lights u gotta see where the clips are located on and push them in.. should be two clips on each light

 

nope i was serious about 5 minutes each on the tails....its tricky getting your hand in there while holding a ratchet and turning the ratchet ....anywho i used duplicolor sandable primer on my side vents sprayed a few times over and so far so good ...but yes sand the peices first....you dont need much sanding as primer is meant to stick well ..but sanding will result in better results..i used a 320 grit for a light scuffing and the duplicolor black sandable primer actuallyyyyy comes out a perfect match for the anthracite downtubes and dash in my mini ...i lucked out i guess =)

 

golden child, your sides look great! did you tint the lens? is that a red bulb inside or just the relection from the S logo or something else nearby?

 

BTW its a 10mm i just did it yesterday, and i noticed that if i pushed the clips with my fingers it helped the taillights to pop out easier.

 

i have these suction cups i use for PDR to brace my tools.

those worked great to pull the tail lamps out.

 

Thanks The lens can be bought at outmotoring.com. They are a little pricey for what they are but I looked around and they are pretty pricey everywhere. So, since they are a MINI shop I figured I give them my money. The red is probably a littl bit of reflection fron the "S" and the orange bulb in the lens.

I now have tinted film that I used for my arch reflectors, so I wonder how well that would wrap around the lens? hmmmm???

 

So what did you relace them with?

Art

 

you need a heat gun to wrap the contours of the sidemarkers....the tinting film generally is rather thick so you will have creases galore in the film unless you wrap it with a heat gun

 

That makes sense. I used a blow dryer and film to wrap my arch lights. I can see it being a pain in the @ss to get around the curves of the sidemarker