need to replace header panel.

[ZOOMDWEEBEE]

I had a marker light go out on the driver side head lamp assembly and went to replace it. When I did this i found it was less a PIA to just remove the headlight from the housing. I did this by pulling the 2 tab's up that hold the headlight in place. While i removed this i noticed that the Header Panel behind the grill and headlight assembly was cracked and a piece came off from where the headlight mounts. It seems to be held back in place with out anymore movement than before.. wondering if it's worth replacing or just let it go? went to rockauto.com and found the part # and price. GM1221125 $33.79 for the cheap one.. Has anyone had to replace this and how hard is it do do? cant be much more than removing the grill and both headlamps. Any Info would help.. Thanks.

 

[IllogicTC]

It is a lot less annoying. However with small hands like mine, I was able to change the side marker on the passenger side with the light assembly still installed (just tabs pulled to give a little play). I did the exact same thing with my low beams, they were easier.

I can't find anything in the manuals about it off-hand, maybe I haven't searched enough. I would imagine it seems about as straightforward as you describe.

 

[ZOOMDWEEBEE]

yea i looked thru my manual as well. could not find any info that i was looking for.. was just looking for some feed back as i do not want to be driving around in a "hooptie". I try to keep everything well maintained and fix anything as soon as i find it.

 

[Boricua SS]

The dealership broke my header panel on a warranty motor swap so I just replaced my header panel on my SS last week. I know it's not an Envoy, but im sure its kind of the same thing to take one off. Very easy and straight forward. Take out headlights, grille, and then just 8 bolts and a push pin and out she came. I posted pix in the "what did you do to your GMT" thread last week. I have the luxury of getting my fathers discount on all OEM parts since he works at a Chevy dealership so I got an OEM replacement for $120. Alot more then rockauto but there is no comparison when it comes to aftermarket parts vs OEM. Those tabs for the headlights are a bitch to work with as it is and going off of my brothers advise (he was an autobody collision tech for over 15 yrs and said any aftermarket header panel he put in was just a nightmare to line things back up and to get those tabs locked back into place) I just got an OEM panel so it could be that much easier and it was. Everything lined back up perfectly and tabs went down like butter.

 

[ZOOMDWEEBEE]

Thank you Boricua SS .. this is just the kind of info i was looking for.. and for the record.. i do have a TB LT .. i will have to check at work to find out what my employee discount is.. I work on the parts counter at a Kenworth dealrship we also sell heavy duty GM. So i can look up and order any OEM part for a chevy/ gmc. If it's only $120 think that might be the way to go. again thanks for your insite on this. makes me think I was right and this wont be that bad to do.

 

[kickass audio]

One thing to be careful about with the swap is that it is extremely easy, take the headlights out and then unclip the grille and then unbolt the upper bolts and the 2 lower bolts down by the grille. My problem though was that when I was going to uninstall mine to glue it all back together off the vehicle was that the one bolt that fits down into where the grille goes had snapped off when I was unbolting it. I had just used some of my CA glue on that and glued it down. As for the parts that cracked on mine I used the same CA glue and a minimal amount of acetone activator to cure it a little faster and glued it back together. Mine for some reason the plastic is sorta like foam when the glue hit it. I applied the glue to the broken joints and squeezed them together and you could hear like a crunching noise that sounds almost like crumbling packing peanuts together.

 

[IllogicTC]

One thing to be careful about with the swap is that it is extremely easy, take the headlights out and then unclip the grille and then unbolt the upper bolts and the 2 lower bolts down by the grille. My problem though was that when I was going to uninstall mine to glue it all back together off the vehicle was that the one bolt that fits down into where the grille goes had snapped off when I was unbolting it. I had just used some of my CA glue on that and glued it down. As for the parts that cracked on mine I used the same CA glue and a minimal amount of acetone activator to cure it a little faster and glued it back together. Mine for some reason the plastic is sorta like foam when the glue hit it. I applied the glue to the broken joints and squeezed them together and you could hear like a crunching noise that sounds almost like crumbling packing peanuts together.

If the glue was not formulated for use on plastics, or certain types of plastics, there may have been a reaction with some chemical.

 

[kickass audio]

My ca glue is made for plastic and metals. It is the same stuff as superglue but with a stronger bond. The plastic just seems like its poor quality and can't handle to weathering too well. It is very brittle but rigid.

 

[IllogicTC]

My ca glue is made for plastic and metals. It is the same stuff as superglue but with a stronger bond. The plastic just seems like its poor quality and can't handle to weathering too well. It is very brittle but rigid.

I know the TB/Envoy took a hit in reviews both professional and amateur for the quality of materials used for the interior, it's not overly-surprising the exterior plastic would also prove to be of similar quality. I can't recall if the header panel is TPO plastic or not like the bumper cover and all that is, but maybe it has something to do with the specific formulation of plastic and it just happens to be the one that CA glue just doesn't get along with even though it's fine on everything else.