Headlight adjusting screw problems

[Loren]

When I hitch to the trailer I adjust the headlights down a turn or two. After several adjustments I have found that the heads of the Torx adjusting screws are getting looser and looser. One side has stripped (not the threads, just the Torx head).



The dealer has replaced the stripped one under warranty, but in 3000 miles I'll be on my own. These screws are about $6 from the dealer and because of the special spherical head and the fine thread pitch I can't find anything like them anywhere. I was hoping to make replacements from hex (Allen) head screws, but I can't match the threads.



Has anyone else had trouble with these?



Loren

 

[Mactruck]

talk to TNT

TNTWAY I saw him thursday and I know he has the same problem. But he only has 6000 miles on his truck.

He has to bring it to the dealer as well.

 

[work2muchplay2little]

How 'bout some Firestone airbags to bring the rear-end up and maintain the non-towing alignment?

 

[tntway]

frozen screw

my right side's pointed down at the road. looked at the adjusterand the screw lloked a little rusty. took it to the dealer and they have to order a whole new adjuster frame or whatever, because the screw is frozen and totally rounded. must be the same gorilla that put on our oil filters...

 

[Loren]

Kurt,



I have the air bags on the '95 truck (see signature above) and wanted to move them to the new 2000, but they wouldn't fit. The newer truck has overload springs and there isn't enough room to install the bags without more modifications than I am willing to do.



As it turns out, the overload springs on the new truck do a pretty good job of holding the truck level. Only a slight adjustment is necessary. Even on the '95 truck I would still need a small adjustment because the Ride Rite bags wouldn't bring it all the way to level with the pressure I was able to get from my home compressor (about 90 psi).



I don't know if I'm glad or sad that others have had this problem too. Maybe Dodge will address it if there are enough of us.



I found that a bit of silicone lube goes a long way towards making those screws easier to turn. The Dodge technician who changed the screw for me lubed them up and they are MUCH better. If they had turned this easily at first I probably would never had messed up the head in the first place.



If you haven't lubed your headlight screws, do so. It will pay you back later.



Loren

 

[swamp rat]

I dunno if this will help anyone with the stripped headlight adjuster but I figured it couldn't hurt to post it. At least they are a lot cheaper than from the dealer.



http://www.crestnetsales.com/restore/chryheadlamp.htm





or you might even check out the local parts house ie: Auto Zone, Advance Auto so on and so forth. I've seen various off the wall parts such as the H-light adjuter screws on a rack by themselves along with the trim fasteners, knobs and such.

 

[Loren]

Swamp Rat,



Thanks for the link to the site. I never figured I'd be able to get these anywhere but the dealer.



While the one shown on the web site is not absolutely identical, the top adjuster listed might work. I'll call those guys on Monday and ask about it. The problem might be that the screws on our trucks have spherical heads. These fit into a clip. If the others aren't spherical, they may not work, although some grinder work may fix that. We'll see.



I'll be running errands on Monday. I'll also stop by Auto Zone and/or NAPA to see if they have them.



Thanks again.



Loren