An idiot turned in front of me last night and hit me damaging the passenger side of the front bumper including the headlight and turn signal. I need to replace the bulbs since the body shops are not open here today. I am having trouble removing the gray ring that holds the headlamp in place. Does anyone have a suggestion for getting this done? It's cold here today (windchill is negative 22!!!) and I don't want to spend too much time fighting with it.

Okay, I got it figured out, I just needed to add a little muscle to my turn. You wouldn't think it would be so tough.

 

2001 Dodge Durango SLT 4x4

I have the same problem (changing a headlamp bulb), and I see the grey ring / collar, but I can't budge it. I see the collar has two diametrically opposed ears for greater turning leverage, but I still wasn't able to turn it loose. Is the collar more accessible to be turned by hand if the battery is removed? If other things are removed? If dosed with WD-40? What about other solutions (such as removing the headlight assembly), and in any case, how to do it? I suppose you have links to other procedures.

I was also informed by a guy who works on cars that the turn signal in the same driver's side light assembly has a bad bulb (or something bad) that's causing the flasher to flash at twice its normal rate. (Therefore, I should change the bad bulb (or whatever) and the turn flasher will slow down.)

Can anybody confirm, deny and / or give other flasher-fixing advice in conjunction with changing the headlamp bulb?

 

I always found it to be a lot easier to change the bulbs by removing the corner light and headlight assembly. All you need is a T10 torx screwdriver to remove the small screw between the turn signal light and corner light and a 10mm socket to remove the headlight assembly. It's a lot easier and faster to do it this way and will save a lot of skinned knuckles and cussing.

 

to replace the bulbs in the corner assembly you need to remove the assembly, the headlamp is the only one which can be removed w/out removing anything

 

Sharpshooter, roger this:

"to replace the bulbs in the corner assembly you need to remove the assembly, the headlamp is the only one which can be removed w/out removing anything".

But have you ever heard of a turn signal that flashes twice as fast because a bulb in one assembly or another is burnt out? In particular, I suppose, because the headlamp bulb is burnt out? Seems strange, if not impossible.

 

Yes. You have 3 turn signal bulbs per side, 2 up front and 1 in back. If either one of them is burnt out, you will get the hyper flash when you use the turn signal on the side until the bad bulb is replaced.

 

this is why its blinking faster, you have one of two front bulbs out, nothing to do w/ the headlight bulb

 

I got the torx screwdrive and removed the screw between the headlight and the sidelight. The light assembly has three lenses: the headlight lens, the sidelight lens and the yellow/orange flasher lens that lies below both of the upper two lenses. After removing the screw, I thought the sidelight lens would come out, leaving only a little work with a 10 mm socket to loosen the headlight assembly. It didn't work that way; when I tried to pull the sidelight out, it wouldn't come out and what seemed like the assembly of all three lenes kind of wiggled as though I could pull them all out at once if some restraint released.

I don't want to damage any of the lenses. What exactly should I do and where should I pull after I remove the torx screw?

 

the amber lenses are attached tot eh sidelight(really just a reflector) iirc and should just pull out ill take a look at mine for you tomorrow

 

On mine the corner lens and the bottom signal lights come out as one. It takes a little bit of force to get it off. Just do some wiggling back and forth and pull diagonally to the outside side of the truck and it should pop out. There are grooves on the headlight assembly that it goes into in order to keep the turn signal markers in place.