[christsay]

05082009090 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Within 4 hours of taking delivery of the exige, some guy pulled out of a parking spot while I was right next and gave it a kiss.

No cracks or scratches amazingly, just a crunched reflector. Anyone replaced this part before? What does it entail?

Anything else I should check, from all looks of it this seems to be the only damage.

-chris

 

[apk919]

05082009090 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Within 4 hours of taking delivery of the exige, some guy pulled out of a parking spot while I was right next and gave it a kiss.

No cracks or scratches amazingly, just a crunched reflector. Anyone replaced this part before? What does it entail?

Anything else I should check, from all looks of it this seems to be the only damage.

-chris

Wow... bad luck (but not very bad luck)

I believe you're going to need to replace #34a:

Lotus Garage - Exterior Lamps, Except Headlamps

 

[christsay]

Wow... bad luck (but not very bad luck)

I believe you're going to need to replace #34a:

Lotus Garage - Exterior Lamps, Except Headlamps

wow thanks for the fast response. you guys rock.

Looking at the HID install instructions it seems I just need to jack the car, remove the liner, replace the part and I'm good to go.

thanks again! I can't believe the luck, but hopefully that gets the bad juju out of the way for a while.

-chris

 

[RoadDad]

You don't need to jack up the car necessarily. Crank the wheel, pull the liner and fish your little mitts into the gap. If you can't fit, then pull the wheel, pull the liner, etc.

 

[paulhastings]

I believe the light is 2-3 pieces. Got lucky on that one!

 

[christsay]

yep, finally found some time to do the swap today. No major damage, just a small crack going from the lip of the wheelwell to the cutout that the lamp sits in. Its not going to go anywhere, its already all the way through, and its not structural so I'm going to call it good.

In case anyone has to replace one of these lamps, it was pretty easy to do with just cranking the wheel over and shoving my mitts in as RoadDad suggested.

I found these Finger Grip Socket Adapters invaluable in the cramped quarters.

-chris

 

[slaughtr]

Personally, I'd take out the wheel liner just to inspect the clam. I'd make sure there's no other damage. Removing the wheel liner is a snap. Soon, you'll be doing crap like this.

 

[apk919]

Personally, I'd take out the wheel liner just to inspect the clam. I'd make sure there's no other damage. Removing the wheel liner is a snap. Soon, you'll be doing crap like this.

Ain't that the truth... anic:

 

[Randy Chase]

Just a warning... small cracks like this can grow over time as vibration causes the crack to flex.

 

[christsay]

yeah, that's what I was worried about, but luckily (or unluckily) the crack is already as wide as it's going to get.

wheel well |--------| cutout for lamp | ------ rest of clam
_________^^^^^
crack ---------|

there is a crack from the wheel well to the cutout for the lamp, 3 or 4 millimeters long.

not sure if it's worth continuing the claim on the guy that hit me.

-chris

 

[Vishus_1]

Just a warning... small cracks like this can grow over time as vibration causes the crack to flex.

What small crack? I don't see it in the pictures.

 

[christsay]

yeah, those were pretty so-so phone cam pics.

The crack would start about an inch above my friends hand if you followed along the wheel well and end underneath the lamp at the rectangular hole that the body of the lamp is recessed into.

Once the lamp is fitted there is really only about 1 or 2 millimeters of it visible so I'm just going to ignore it until my clam disintegrates into a million pieces.

Until then: :shift:

-chris

 

[slaughtr]

Just be aware, when I had a "small crack" in my front clam, it was $9000.:crazyeyes

 

[christsay]

Just be aware, when I had a "small crack" in my front clam, it was $9000.:crazyeyes

where was your crack? I really can't imagine how *this* crack could get larger.

also, looked at the back side when I took off the wheel liner and didn't see anything else amiss...

-chris

 

[cory1000]

I owned my Exige S for less then 2 hours and under 40 miles on it before I had 13k worth of damage done from a mac truck...

 

[slaughtr]

where was your crack? I really can't imagine how *this* crack could get larger.

also, looked at the back side when I took off the wheel liner and didn't see anything else amiss...

-chris

Mine was definitely bigger than yours but because of the location, the insurance company just decided to repace the whole clam.
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f3/another-crunched-elise-29216/

 

[Randy Chase]

I see your point about the crack being defined so it should not grow. Makes sense.

You can always back it up pretty easily with some about $20 in materials. Some resin and fiberglass tape and you would be good to go.

 

[Vishus_1]

Is that a crack I see moving from the reflector up along the wheel arch?

If so, I get that one end ends at the top of the reflector - but if that is a crack under the star shield going along the radius of the wheel arch, where does the other side end at?

It is so hard for me to tell.

 

[christsay]

no, that's the gap between the two pieces of starshield.

A better picture. Red are the holes in the clam to mount the lamp.

green is the crack.

tiny, I swear.

-chris

 

[Vishus_1]

I see now -
No I wasn't referring to the line going to the headlight from the reflector - it looks like there is a line going from the top of the reflector along the wheel arch. (not at the opening but on top) Maybe it is just a wierd reflection.