Well, finally got my 88 convertible up and running, and my first time driving it at night, i almost drive right off the road. The headlights pop up fine, turn on, and have two different brightnesses (normal and high beams), but they just suck. They are pretty dim, and if Im on a back road with little lighting, it can be scary. Sooo, anyway, is there something I can check, like how much voltage the headlights should be getting (im assuming 12V...?), and what is a good headlight replacement. Im not looking for a whole fixed-headlight kit, im perfectly happy with the pop-ups, I just may need new (brighter) bulbs.



Now, onto brakes. They started making a single clicking noise on moderate braking, accompanied by a twitch in the pedal. There was also a little bit of squeaking. Anywho, I have 4 new rotors and a full set of pads i was gonna throw on the car monday anyway, so if theres anything i should look for while doing this, or any advice you could give me on this, id be very grateful. I am doing this with the help of a haynes manual, so im not going in completely blind. Thanks

 

You should of course replace all the fluid, make sure the brake master cylinder is not loose.



When bleeding the brake fluid out you should start at the rear passenger, then do the rear driver, front passenger, and then do the front driver brakes. I was told to do it, but forgot the reason why. Refresh my brain folks. I would also go to AutoZone and buy the **** they sell where it stops brakes from squeaking later on down the road. I should've bought them, because mine are screeching like a banshee now. It is really annoying.



Your headlight situation I don't really know about. I have a S4, and to get new bulbs, you have to replace the whole casing. Glass, bulb, and the back piece of the bulb. Real pain in the *** if you wanted to go with some Xenon Quartz or the Sylvania bulbs. You should go with the sleek headlight kits. They are so money!!



Have fun.

 

Well, got the fronts done, new rotors and pads, they look nice, and although I couldn't really see how they affect the braking, they feel just as strong if not stronger than what was on there before. It is a little hard to tell, considering everything is soaking wet, including the parking lot i was trying them in, and including me, who was sitting out in the rain for a few hours wrestling with rusted nuts, bolts, and other pieces to fix the brakes. One of the caliper housing bolts took the life of my socket wrench, the damn thing, so I had to finish up with my father's. Anywho, the rears are getting done on a nice, sunny day with no rain.

 

This is because you want to do the caliper furthest away from the master first and the closest last. I always change the brake hardware too which tends to weaken from the heat over time and can cause movement in your pads leading to more squeal. So in addition to putting anti squeal compound on the back of your pads, buy the hardware kit... its usually around $10 or so at Autozone.



toplessfc3s, be careful with that rain, the last thing you want is water in the master, you'd have to change all the fluid and bleed everything again. Obviously don't let the master run out of fluid when you're bleeding, keep filling it up.

 

yea, i specifically didnt do anything with the master cyl in the rain for that reason, just made sure it had enough fluid. I was sprinting from the side of my car into my very small garage where i had all the parts and tools laid out and back to try to avoid getting everything all wet. Im waiting for a non-rainy day to do the back tho, since afterwards i was completely soaked. My clothes from that day are still wet. Anyway, they work great, and look a lot better and a lot less rusty than the old ones.

 

dont forget the shims, i use teflon shims

 

Shims? the haynes manual doesnt say anything about those. grrr, and the fronts are all together and working great, does that mean I should take em apart again?