Fix: 4.2 snapped or broken headlight deflector

[Avalon]

I know this is an old issue that has come up occasionally over the years, but it’s a thing and I suspect one that will crop up more often as the 4.2’s need bulbs replacing over the years. My 05’s p/s went about 6 years ago (prior to me getting it), the break happens - I suspect - due to metal fatigue on the bend, my reasoning is simple, the far end with the deflection cup on is heavy and the weight will cause stress at that point as the front end deals with our wonderful road surfaces etc. Fast forward 130k, 15 years and the bend snaps. Anyway the other side has failed some time in the last 12 months and following a blown bulb, I took the clip out and removed the bulb to the tell-tale noise of deflector dropping into the headlight. Yay!

Out came the same tent peg as last time, I persuaded the deflector back to the opening, deflector isn’t magnetic, so save yourself the agro of looking for one, on the p/s this is easy, on the d/s, not so much as the ABS unit is in the way on my D4D. The first ‘fix’ was one I discovered by accident last summer and worked out from the MOT history. The garage had failed it and put a self tapper in close to the break on the flat section of the bar to secure it. When they realised that this prevented the bulb passing, they fixed that by grinding a notch out of the base plate of the bulb, unfortunately this meant without this modification/butchery, you had no chance of replacing the bulb, as I found out. The other one has gone today in exactly the same place, it had been held in place by the bulb base plate and it’s only when I went to replace that earlier on that it became an issue.

My fix is simple, cheap and has lasted OK on the other side. So what is this miracle product? Loctite Superglue Gel. I used to use the commercial equivalent to bond metal and plastic and had a return rate of zero for many years over tens of thousands of items, a small dab on the underside of the bar and positioning it back into it’s pre-snapped position and holding it for a minute works wonders. You can then re-fit the bulb and clip that you obviously haven’t forgotten fired off into the depths of the headlight or engine bay.

Until usable retrofit LED’s that aren’t awful and the decent E marked ones are not three figures, I’ll stick to Bosch’s finest at under £2.