Hello all. Our 03' S60 took a rock in the left headlight lens recently leaving a hole that allows water to enter the unit. I purchased a new lens that came with new clips but no instructions. Question is how, difficult is it to replace the lens. On a mechanical scale of 1-10 I am about a 5 and don't want to start something that requires more ability than I have. I can see the top clips and they look simple to detach but the bottom clips look to be more difficult to get to. Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated...

I'm sure i've read somewhere that the bumper need to be released to get to the bottom clips but can't be sure.

The only thing I do know from previous experience is when refitting the clips, attach them to the glass side first then clip onto the headlamp unit. Doing it the other way round might result in the glass being chipped / cracked.

Sorry can't be more help.

Thanks Volvo-Virgin... As is turns out I took the car to a local Volvo repair shop and it is a big job which includes removing the entire headlight assembly. Total time 2+ hours by an experienced mechanic. Sure glad I didn't try to replace it myself.
The good news is that I found this local shop and they are the greatest people to do business with. Anyone in the Orlando Fl / Altamonte Springs area that needs a great Volvo only repair shop message me and I will forward their name and address. X2

I had a feeling it wouldn't be easy but didn't think it would be that difficult - perhaps just time consuming ?

Great that you have found a shop you can rely on, I'm still looking.
So if anyone knows of a good independant garage that might specialise in Volvo's in my area, please let me know.

(That would be Berkshire -UK)

Its an hour job. Maybe 2 the first time. You can actually do it with the airdam on you just need a helper or magnet to catch the bolts. For the next person here are the instructions:

http://volvospeed.com/Repair/p2_lens.php

Here in FL you can also leave the light in the sun for an hour or so in place of the heatgun.

So does anyone know...

How do you remove the headlamp assembly?

And no, taking it to the dealer is not a valid answer. :P

Old thread; new poster, but I came to this site, registered, searched and found this thread. It was extremely helpful in me doing this right the first time, and not destroying parts so that I could "learn" how it worked.

On to my tidbit of possibly helpful information... I did this repair at home with a 8mm, 10mm, and 12mm sockets, 8" crescent wrench, common screwdriver, needlenose pliers, T25 torx driver, and my oven... yes, my oven. Since I was at home, my tools are at the shop, and I scrounged for the miscellaneous tools needed in the junk drawers and in the neighbors garage.

I don't even own a heat gun, so I first tried making a velocity cone for the hair dryer out of a piece of paper... so now, I have to go buy a new hair dryer. Next, I tried the oven, which worked better than I expected. I thought I was going to melt everything, and have to buy a new headlamp assembly along with a new oven, and potentially a new house.

Basically, all of the information you need to do this repair is on this forum in one place or another.

1. Flip up hub section of headlamp wiper, remove 8mm nut, wiggle the wiper arm off, disconnect the solvent hose. You'll have to take both sides off to get to all of the bolts to do one side.

2. Pop the six clips off (press center button in) across the top of the radiator. Pop the four that are (supposed to be) along the bottom of the bumper cover.

3. Pull the trim strips from the front bumper carefully so as to not break the tabs that hold them on. Remove the two 12mm bolts that hold the bumper on.

4. Turn the steering wheel left or right, and back out the T25 torx bolt you can see inside the wheel wells on the front. You'll have to do this on both sides.

5. Slide the bumper forward, more on the side you need to work on. Remove the two T25 screws that are right behind the bumper cover that you slid forward.

6. You can pull this "flap" out a little to get access to the 10mm bolt holding the headlight assembly in place. Remove that bolt, the two on top of the assembly holding it to the core support, and the one on the inside most spot nearest the radiator.

7. You should be able to move the assembly now. Remove electrical connection (push wire clamp inward to release). Also remove the turn signal plug from the assembly.

8. As long as I've remembered everything correctly, you should be able to completely remove the headlamp assembly from the car. Take it inside and remove the wiper motor.

9. Take out your bulbs (just to be safe; they're expensive). Clean up the assembly as much as you think pertinent.

10. Preheat your oven to 200F, bake for 20 minutes.

11. I wore a sweatshirt and gloves so that I could work with the warm glass without hurting myself. Carefully pry the plastic off of the glass. Don't break the plastic, that would make it so you have to buy the whole assembly... and that would defeat the purpose of us being cheapskates and not doing that in the first place. Reheat the assembly if needed to loosen the glue more.

12. Some people might replace the glue... I just slapped the new glass back in the place of the old stuff as soon as I got it off. Put your four clips back in place, making sure you put the metal clip on the glass, and push it on to the plastic so you don't break your new glass.

13. Put everthing back on.

14. Profit.

This will probably be my only post on this forum, so hopefully I can do someone somewhere in the interwebs some good, and make this repair go smoothly.

I drew on these resources for my repair, and I am eternally greatful for people who post how-to's on the interwebs. Thank you sirs/ma'ams.



How to separate the headlamp assembly:
http://volvospeed.com/Repair/p2_lens.php


How to remove the bumper:
http://www.volvo-forums.com/t18455-how-to-...ht-assembly.htm