Yellow Headlight Lens - Fixing (Mondeo Mk1)

The Ford Mondeo hit our roads in 1993, and has consistently been a sales success. Now on its 4th incarnation, it remains a drivers favourite.
For more information, visit the Ford Mondeo forum on TalkFord.com, the definitive resource site covering all Fords from the present day to the 1970's.

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Overview Guide
Ford Model:	Mondeo
Petrol/Diesel:	???
Estimated Cost:	???
Difficulty?	???
How long does this take?	???

Background

Yellowed headlights on Mk1 Mondeos can cause MOT failures due to a poor headlight image. This was down to the plastic inner lenses in the headlights 'fading' due to non-UV-filtered bulbs. Replacement lenses can be purchased from Ford. FINIS codes are:

• RHD: LH 7 304 999, RH 7 304 997
• LHD: LH 7 304 998, RH 7 304 996
• and the UV-filtered bulbs you need: 7 304 995

Replacing The Lenses

Now, i was prepared for a good few hours trying to fit these things due to previous posts i'd read about removing the bumper and sawing bits of plastic in half. All I can say from my experience is "THIS IS A QUICK AND VERY EASY JOB, 15 MINS MAX".

• Remove the front grill, (2 screws, 30secs)
• Move the indicators out of the way (loosen two screws, 30secs)
• Remove four spring clips from around the headlight (30 secs)
• Carefully pull the top of the glass forward. Note.....the glass is sealed against the headlight with a rubber gasket and because it's been there for years, the glass was stuck to the gasket. This required some gentle prising away with a screwdriver (be gentle here as you don't want to chip the glass)
• When you have a gap at the top of about 2", unclip the old yellow lens and replace with the new one. This only took about 2 mins for each light.
• Put everything back together.

The whole job takes about 15 mins from start to finish.

Ensure that the new lens is spotlessly clean before you put it in, no fingerprints. And whilst the glass is pulled out, give the inside of the glass a clean with some glass cleaner. And that's it !!!!

The headlights now look very white compared to the horrible yellow before, and also look twice as bright. Makes your car look much newer in someones rearview mirror at night.

One last thing, DONT BLAME ME IF YOU CRACK YOUR GLASS BY BEING TOO ROUGH! And don't forget to change the bulbs for genuine Ford ones (UV filtered) otherwise the lenses will go yellow again in about 2 years.