JDM HID headlights conversion?

[krappy]

Has anyone here installed JDM HID headlights in their Gen4 Liberty?

Reason I am asking is that the plastic housing (the rear of the LH headlight - you may have seen my post in the WTB section) which the clip screws into has broken, which means I can't hold the bulb in place. I've tried cable ties but I think they allow the bulb to vibrate too much and I've blown 2 bulbs since. Subaru will only supply the whole headlight at a cost of $680, which seems a bit excessive as the rest of the headlight is fine. Tried to source a second hand locally but will still need to spend $450-500 or so, and have tried sourcing just the rear plastic housing of the headlight (it is a specified Subaru part) from Japan but still looking at $450 landed from Japanparts.com. Also looked at sourcing a second hand light from Japan but they all seem to be HID. I can probably get a pair of second hand headlights from Japan for the same money or less than a single locally sourced one which I am happy to do, but not sure how easy it is to convert over?

Appreciate any advice...

[t.renshaw34]

I had the exact same problem when I did my first HID install on my lib, used arildite glue to hold the bulb in. Works perfectly. I originally had 10,000k, they where to blue, so changed to 5,000k, bulb was easy as to get back out, flat head screw driver and the glue snapped lose with little muscle.
Then changed to 6,000k two months ago, again glued the hid bulb in with arildite, havent had a problem and I balanced my headlight perfectly, you have to stand there holding it without moving for 5-10 minutes but man up and you'll be fine .

[blacktop™]

you glued the bulb into the headlight?

[krappy]

I had the exact same problem when I did my first HID install on my lib, used arildite glue to hold the bulb in. Works perfectly. I originally had 10,000k, they where to blue, so changed to 5,000k, bulb was easy as to get back out, flat head screw driver and the glue snapped lose with little muscle.
Then changed to 6,000k two months ago, again glued the hid bulb in with arildite, havent had a problem and I balanced my headlight perfectly, you have to stand there holding it without moving for 5-10 minutes but man up and you'll be fine .

Glued the bulb in?!? Sounds drastic but I understand what you mean about it being easy to break the bond between the araldite and the plastic - it's strong stuff but can be separated fairly easily. I might give that a go for the time being - rather have 2 working lights than one - but still keen on finding out if the JDM HID headlights are a straight swap over with our Australian spec cars...

[seanmau5]

You can get nearly everything from these guys. The quote for postage will come up as costing an arm and a leg but just email for a refund in postage costs. They might be able to help you out.

https://www.subarugenuineparts.com/oe_parts_cat.html

Sales: sales@subarugenuineparts.com
Customer Service: info@subarugenuineparts.com

What I don't get is how you manage to break them?!?!?

[t.renshaw34]

Yep, but arilidite isn't normal glue, if you have used it you will know what I'm on about. Can be removed in 30 seconds if needed and will hold stronger than anything I know of.

[krappy]

You can get nearly everything from these guys. The quote for postage will come up as costing an arm and a leg but just email for a refund in postage costs. They might be able to help you out.

https://www.subarugenuineparts.com/oe_parts_cat.html

Sales: sales@subarugenuineparts.com
Customer Service: info@subarugenuineparts.com

What I don't get is how you manage to break them?!?!?

Thanks for the link - I'll check it out.

It's not the clip itself which breaks, its the plastic where the clip screws onto the rear of the plastic housing that is the problem. Over time with the heat from the lights the plastic goes brittle and can break off. There is bugger all plastic there anyway so it can go fairly easily - apparently it is a pretty common problem with the Gen 4's. I would've tried to glue the plastic back onto the housing but of course once it went I couldn't find it anywhere. Just be very very gentle when replacing your bulbs...

[teflon]

I would also try subaruonlineparts.com. Their website looks the same because they use the same company for the website. They are NY based and had a part to me within 7-10 working days.

https://www.subaruonlineparts.com/oempartscat.html

Subaru genuine parts have been insanely slow with any response lately... if you check out the NASIOC forums there is a thread there about it. Don't know if they've fixed their delay more recently (most people on NASIOC were saying that they needed to call up to get anything ordered).

[RAN94A]

american headlights are a no go...

they're set up different as they drive reverse side of the wrong, they look different (look at the indicators) and i believe but havnt confirmed... the wiring is different..

[seanmau5]

american headlights are a no go...

they're set up different as they drive reverse side of the wrong, they look different (look at the indicators) and i believe but havnt confirmed... the wiring is different..

+1 American indicators work just like our parkers, they stay on all the time & then flash when indicators are put on.

No reason why the headlight casings wouldn't work though

[Kekotic]

Do they even have headlight washers on the USDM versions?

[icnfly]

I occasionally see Gen 4 headlights 4 sale on eBay, pretty cheap! if ur not in a rush... just wait for one 2 come up? anyway good luck, the glue sounds like a good temporary fix

[krappy]

Well I decided to go the araldite option - so far so good with regards to staying in place. Will be interesting to see just how long the bulb stays put and/or lasts - if it holds then the bulb should last just as long as one being held in by clips - and how easy it is to remove if/when required. In the meantime, I'll keep an eye out for a cheap LH headlight...