Greetings,

I just put my Xenarcs on my Expy, and WOW! are they bright.

Problem is, I can't drive anywhere except up and down my subdivision street ;->

How do I am these (*&#$^ things? The manual is pretty specific on where to point them, but...

What tool(s) do I use?

I can't see how I can get a socket on the aiming pins. It's awfully tight in there, particularly on the inboard side.

Similarly, trying to get in there with an ignition-sized box-end wrench seems like the hard way 'round.

Help....please....?

Best regards,

Tim ==

2000 Expy XLT 4x4
4.6L
OE 3.53 ring & pinions
SuperChips MAX MicroTuner
FlowMaster Force II
Air filter box cutaway mod
WMS Racing Velocity Tube
K&N FilterCharger
Hellwig Anti-Sway Bar
Air Lift Company 1000 Load Assist Rear Springs
Amsoil synthetic lubricants, all around
Troyer Performance underdrive pulleys
Flex-A-Lite dual-15" electric fan
Factory Tech 4R70W Valve Body
DRLs added with custom harness
AutoMeter electrical Transmission Temperature gauge
Alpine 9813
Polk db6500 in each door
Orion 275 SX
2x Orion Xtreme DVC 12" in sealed 3/4" baltic-birch enclosure
Bilstein HD gas-charged shock absorbers
Brembo OE rotors
Raybestos Quiet-Stop brake pads
In.Pro.Car.Wear Altizza Taillights
In.Pro.Car.Wear Diamondback Clear Corners
Sylvania SilverStar Signal bulbs
Sylvania Xenarc HID headlights

 

It is an uphill climb getting them how you might want them...

I have a headlight adjustment tool that I bought off of ebay a while back for a few bucks... all it is is a small wrench that you can get down behind those aiming pins so that you can turn them how you want them...

It's nearly impossible for me to explain how I did it as I did it about 21 times before I liked how they worked .... I know there have been NUMEROUS threads throughout this message board but, honestly, few really helped me much... it was nearly all trial and error.

RP

 

My Xenarcs are now pointed "mostly" correctly.

I was able to get to the outboard (vertical) adustment screw with a 4MM combination wrench. It wasn't difficult at all.

However, the inboard (horizontal) adjustment screw was almost a royal pain in the ***. No way was I getting a combination wrench down in that little bitty hole, not with my beefy palms. I finally nailed it with a 4mm 1/4-drive socket, on the end of a 6" flexible-shaft extension, and a 3" solid extension leading into the socket handle. Piece of cake, once I remembered that I owned a flexible extension ;->

I aimed the Xenarcs as close as I could manage to the specifications in the owner's manual. However, the 15-degree wind-chill made me cut the tweaky-tweaky short.

RP, I can see how it took you many, many tries to get these beasts tweaked.

On the 1st-half of a 35-mile round trip, I could see headrest shadows on the heads of drivers 30 yards in front of my truck.

At the mid-point, I tweaked the vertical adjusters downward about 3 turns, without any reference point other than the panels on a garage door.

On the return trip, I didn't think I was blinding anyone's rear-view, in fact I felt that I may have lowered the aim a little too much.

Then, I pulled up behind a girl at a stop light, and she immediately tossed her hand up to block the glare coming off her driver's door mirror. A few seconds later she leaned waaaay to the right to get out of the glare.

Hmmmmmm....given that my beam wasn't breaking over her decklid, there's a chance that I my wider vehicle was simply shining right into her mirror, and would've done so no matter how my headlights were aimed.

I'll watch other driver's reactions closely over the next couple of days to get a handle on this business. I bet I can just give the adjusters a quick twist upwards and be done with it.

Best regards,

Tim ==

 

I use a "SideWinder" 1/4" drive ratchet for the bottom screws.

This particular ratchet has a "small Tee" at the end, so the arm of ratchet turns like a screwdriver.





This one came from JCWhitney. The head of the wrench is as big as a 1/2" drive which does limit its use in some situatiions.

(Hey, I finally figured out how to post a pic....Where there's life there's hope)

 

Great tool! I just ordered one from JC Whitney.

I wonder why Sears hasn't snapped this tool up, as they did the O-Rachet a few years back.

Thanks for the advice.

 

Hey xpan...

Correct me if I'm wrong but the outter (nearest the outter edge of the truck) pins are the ones that move the headlight up and down?

The inside one moves the lights left to right correct? I'm trying to remember as I'm going to have to reaim my replacement Xenarcs (I had a little condensation)...

RP

 

Absolutely correct. The outboard adjusters are the vertical, the inboard the horizontal.

 

Thanks for the quick response. Considering that I'm not going to install until this weekend, I figured you could help me out quicker than me dredging through MOUNDS of headlight adjustment posts. Thanks again bud!

-RP

 

I know this thread is old, but the tool everybody WAS looking for is a Lisle 14540. It's a slender ratcheting tool, approx. 11 inches long, specifically made for Ford 4mm headlight adjusters. Just picked up one. I need it to aim my Xenarcs that arrived TODAY! WHOOOPPEEEEE!!!!

SL

 

I ordered one of these immediately upon reading your post. A year later, you have my thanks

Enjoy your Xenarcs. I can't think of anything else that I've added to my Expy which has left as big an impression upon me.