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Wed Jun 24, 2020 1:25 pm

My rear tail light assemblies are literally disentegrating, so I'm in the process of replacing them. Can someone tell me what is holding this final piece to the body?

I see there are 4 screws on the old and new sections, but there are no screw heads on the screws themselves. So if that's what's somehow holding them to the body I'm unclear of how that's happening.

I checked my service manual and they don't have any details about removing the tail lights.

Wed Jun 24, 2020 1:28 pm

if all 4 nuts are removed just shove it out. the body can hang on the studs as the plastic warps

Wed Jun 24, 2020 1:45 pm

hope you have deep well sockets, or you will be making 100 tiny turns with a wrench

Wed Jun 24, 2020 2:40 pm

8mm deep socket

Wed Jun 24, 2020 3:34 pm

dr8track wrote:

You see those studs on the back side of the housing? Get on the backside of the ones that are installed and remove the nuts from the studs. Once the nuts are off the housing just pulls out.

Wed Jun 24, 2020 4:20 pm

Don’t forget about using a new housing seal!

Wed Jun 24, 2020 4:23 pm

And while the light is out replace the evil vapor hose up behind the spare tire well.

I use a nut driver for the tail lights, just make sure it has a hollow shaft.

Wed Jun 24, 2020 5:43 pm

And hit the nuts with PB Blaster first. Mine were really rusty.

Wed Jun 24, 2020 10:31 pm

Thanks for all the info gents. Got the first one out. I've got new seals on order so I won't be putting them back in untili those arrive. In the meantime, another question. In the pic you can see that the socket for the middle light had a split terminal for connecting the two wires you see in the background. The new one doesn't have that split contact. It's a traditional sized female connector. Since I assume those two wires are both commons, can I connect them together and clip them to the single female connector on the new one?

Wed Jun 24, 2020 11:29 pm

Yep, or move the connector to the new housing. Your connector looks pretty decent.

Wed Jun 24, 2020 11:37 pm

I just replaced mine for the same reason last month. I swapped out the entire metal plate from the old unit to the new as it was in perfect working order. I just polished the connectors with some steel wool while I was able.

Regarding the housing seal, I ordered a new set from CIP and they were really not useful at sealing anything. My old ones were far better so I just reused them and returned the new seals.

Wed Jun 24, 2020 11:53 pm

I’m surprised there isn’t a white/gray butyl type seal for it, it’s what a lot of modern cars use to seal their taillights.

Thu Jun 25, 2020 7:47 am

I've replaced these many times, and can offer this advice:

Try to use the original metal connector strip and bulb housing. The new ones are not as good, sadly.

Use the new plastic housing, but line the inner surface with a reflective tape, like aluminum duct tape (the good metal duct tape, not ordinary duct tape). This will make the shine to the rear brighter.

Good good quality lenses. Original German VW (SWF, for example) or the Brazilian "artib" brand are good. Other reproduced ones are lousy and the colors will fade quickly.

Thu Jun 25, 2020 8:08 am

I did notice that the old sockets are constructed better on the original. However, my original is in horrific condition and reusing it is not an option.

The one socket is so badly corroded I can't even get one of the bulbs out. And this is the better tail light assembly of the two. It was apparently replaced more recently than the other side.

I tried using the two pronged socket in the new metal back plate, but the tab that holds the socket in is a different design and the old socket doesn't stay put. I may but a little JB Weld on it and glue it to the new back plate and see how that works.

Also, regarding the seals, the seals in this assembly are in decent shape and I'll probably use them again. In the other side they have completely disentegrated along with the plastic of the housing. It is literally crumbling away. Maybe due to the years of heat when the bus was in Arizona with the PO. The rusty metal back plate is far more likely to be a result of my poor bus enduring 15 years of Seattle rain with no garage.
Now she has a permanent place in the garage of my new home and she's getting the attention she deserves.

Thu Jun 25, 2020 10:14 am

When I had this issue I just used a Dremel cutting wheel and split it like the original. No problems 5 years later. There are other ways to do it. But if you have a little cutting wheel handy. It’s very easy.

Thu Jun 25, 2020 12:02 pm

Good thought. Might be another tool I need to pick up. I just moved into a house after living for years in a condo with no garage. So my tool supply is limited, but there have been a couple time having a dremel would have come in handy.

Thu Jun 25, 2020 3:40 pm

Watching this thread as mine in my 73 are crispy and crumbling also. :roll:

You might get the same cut result using a CAREFUL hacksaw blade in your hand, going slow.

That said, and not that I'm a huge Harbor Freight fan, but they have a dremel kit with accessories for around $10.

As for getting the bulbs brighter, I've heard that spraying the inside of the housing white will make them brighter. I've never tried it, but a quick pass of spray might be easier and/or more long-lasting than trying to line the inside of the housing with tape.

Did you go with the OE VW housings or the repros? Sorry if i missed that.

Thanks for sharing your effort on this.

Thu Jun 25, 2020 4:04 pm

The Fez wrote: I just replaced mine for the same reason last month. I swapped out the entire metal plate from the old unit to the new as it was in perfect working order. I just polished the connectors with some steel wool while I was able.
Same thing I did, Clean the original German electrical portion if it can be salvaged and transfer it to the new housing.

Sun Jul 05, 2020 11:42 am

I'm discovering that these new tail light assemblies are junk and it worries me that everyone is suggesting to save the metal piece and bulb sockets from the old housings. One of my old ones is salvagable and the one in the picture in my post isn't.
With these new assemblies I just discovered that it's impossible to force a bulb into the majority of the sockets. It seems that the holes in the metal plate are actually just slightly too small. I've requested a refund for these and hopefully they won't hassle me about getting my money back.
I see Bus Depot stock OEM tail light assemblies. They're twice the price of the crappy reproductions, but I'm going to go with them and save myself a headache of dealing with poorly produced repros.

Sun Jul 05, 2020 11:50 am