HOW TO: Repair Passenger Taillight leak- 98-02 Firebird/WS6

**chris1974** · 03-23-2012, 07:59 AM

No problem bud..glad it worked out for ya!

**TRNick** · 03-23-2012, 11:08 AM

That is what makes this site so great. If you have a problem, someone will eventually find a way to fix it!!! I bought a new passenger side tail piece and the same thing happened. Had I read this beforehand, I could have saved myself some $$$. Oh well, I now have 2 chances to get it right!!!

**Whamhammer** · 05-29-2012, 02:20 PM

Not meaning to create a Zombie thread, but I noticed that the "chrome" paint used on the lamps seemed to be more of a "satin" finish. Is there a more "chrome"-like paint out there? As the reverse section of the lens is clear and entirely see through, I'm more concerned for that part of the lamp than the rest of it/

**kevinbushman** · 06-14-2012, 08:16 AM

Can you tell me what kind of heat gun you guys have used for this? Thanks! I plan to start this project on Monday. I'm starting to get all my tools together.

**redtaws6** · 06-22-2012, 08:49 AM

I keep blowing bulbs because of my leak. this is a walk throught to the T. thank you for posting this

**FirebirdGT** · 08-01-2012, 09:37 AM

Thank you so much for the walk through! I'll be attempting to fix my rear lights in the next few weeks, and now thanks to your guide I actually know what I need to do!

**TransAmTerry** · 08-14-2012, 07:23 AM

a while back there was a thread that had people putting the whole tail light in the oven for about 4 mins on some un-godly amount of heat -- like 400 or so. I did it ......don't do that ! I warped my light and it was unusable. Just for grins and giggles, I managed to get the light apart just to see for myself what the problem was and it was just as you described - black plastic. I chrome painted it and stuck the lens back on and it was the prettiest warped tail light you ever saw ! Anyway, I got another one from a junk yard but this time all i did was drill some drain holes in the bottom most part of the light and purchased some extra thick gaskets for the bulb housings ( just in case that was some of the prob). I did that for both sides in case the other side would do the same thing. It's been well over a year now and both lights are still nice and bright. I like your solution but I think the drain holes are little insurance.

***SMWS6TA*** · 08-14-2012, 04:49 PM

I did the drain holes before my lights turn black (been 2 yrs now) and my lights still are good.

**Whamhammer** · 08-17-2012, 09:03 AM

I might have missed this, but will a hairdryer work for this? I don't have a heat gun.

**FishinCricket** · 11-28-2012, 03:15 PM

Nice write up!! Thanks..

**Warmonger77** · 12-12-2012, 06:59 PM

I just repaired mine. Looks great! Took half the day to get the lens off but worth the time.

**35th-ANV-SS** · 12-13-2012, 06:15 PM

OP hasn't logged in since April 19th. I wonder what happened to him. Hopefully all is well. He used to post here often.

**Whamhammer** · 12-18-2012, 02:01 PM

Can anyone answer my previous (yet unanswered) question? "Will a hairdryer work for this? I don't have a heat gun."

**chris1974** · 03-03-2013, 06:33 PM

Originally Posted by Whamhammer

Can anyone answer my previous (yet unanswered) question? "Will a hairdryer work for this? I don't have a heat gun."

Whoops! Not sure how I missed this question. I've been creeping and not posting lately.
You've probably already figured it out (considering the question was asked last year! lol) but just for SnG, no, I don't believe a hair dryer gets hot enough to melt the silicone. Even using the heat gun, I was surprised at how much heat it took to get the silicone soft enough to pull the housing apart.

Sorry again for not seeing this question sooner. Things have been pretty busy around here.

**79TransAm** · 03-29-2013, 01:07 PM

I am in the process of doing this also. Sadly I did not have as good of results separating the two pieces as I had a few areas where the tabs broke off. Has anybody put some clear coat over the chrome paint to give it some addition resistance to the elements? I am thinking of doing this as I am worried about how tight the seal will be with the broken tabs areas

**Gomig** · 06-25-2014, 03:01 AM

Originally Posted by chris1974

Hopefully this helps someone out. If anyone has any questions, or if I forgot something, just let me know and I'll help you out. Thanks for reading....peace!

~Chris

Yes, definitely! Thanks for taking the time to put all of this together, Chris! Excellent write-up on what appears to be a rather common problem which I thought was only happening to me!

Mine is just that round, driver's side back-up light and not the tail light itself, but from what you've shown quite well is that it's part of the entire component and eventually going to spread to the rest of the tail-light unit. That being said, I think the best thing is, to do both sets of tail-lights. I think if you're gonna go through all the trouble of even refinishing the reflective coat, then might as well make them both brand new!

Thanks again, this was exactly what I needed!

**79TransAm** · 07-09-2014, 08:31 AM

a year later and mine is still holding up nice

**TransAmTerry** · 07-10-2014, 09:08 AM

Almost 2 years later and my tail lights are perfect. The drain holes and gaskets seem to do the trick.

***SMWS6TA*** · 07-10-2014, 09:11 AM

4 yrs now and no issues...

**Schweinsteiger31** · 07-22-2014, 04:28 PM

Hey all, im planning on doing this to one if my tail lights but I have a few questions...
Did all of you use a heat gun?
What type of glue/silicone did you use?
What type of Chrome paint?
Thanks!