Roger
I recently replaced the headlight assemblies in my 2006 Monterey so I am very familiar with this process.
The headlight assemblies in our motorhomes are from 1999-2002 model year Lincoln Navigators. I aggressively searched the aftermarket for replacement assemblies which would be an improvement over our original headlights but was unable to find anything which was going to be a significant improvement ie. projector beam, HID assemblies, etc. Best I can tell, there really weren't enough Lincoln Navigators built and/or not enough owners replacing the original headlights to create much of an aftermarket opportunity for these assemblies. My new assemblies were made by Anzo and supposedly are built to original factory specs...they appear identical to our original lights with the exception of having a black background around the light units instead of the original silver/chrome background. I have attached a picture of one of these assemblies from the Anzo website at
http://anzousa.com/.
If you are replacing your headlights because you want better lighting for night driving, new light assemblies alone won't get you there. If you're replacing because the face of your original lights have deteriorated and become heavily pitted, new light assemblies will be an improvement. Finally, if you're replacing because you have moisture inside the assemblies as I did, there may be another option other than buying complete new light assemblies.
The Lincoln Navigator assemblies ARE NOT a direct fitment into our coaches. For the Navigator application, these headlights have some flanges and "wings" molded into the top and sides of the plastic assemblies...these same flanges and "wings" need to be removed before the assemblies will fit into a 2006 Monterey. This is a very slow process!!! I used a dremel tool and set the old assembly next to the new one and carefully trimmed the plastic on the new assembly until it matched the old one. Then a series of test fitments and a bit more trimming until they finally fit into the fiberglass headlight opening. Be very careful not to cut into the walls of the assembly interior...this will allow moisture to enter the housing and fog the inside of the lens. I had moisture on the inside surface of one of my headlights and when I removed the old assembly, I discovered that when the Monaco factory folks were "cutting and pasting" my original headlights, they had cut into a corner of the inside housing and this allowed excessive moisture to get inside. Had I known this before I ordered the new assemblies, I probably could have dried out the inside of the fogged headlight, sealed off the small hole in the plastic assembly and reused the original headlight.
If you elect to install new headlight assemblies, make certain to familiarize yourself with both the horizontal and vertical adjustment mechanisms BEFORE you install the assemblies...you will not be able to see them and barely be able to even get at them after they are installed.
Finally, the real solution to the inadequate headlights on these Beavers is to provide a good power source to the headlight assemblies. Adding two 12v relays to the headlight circuits makes a significant difference in the adequacy of these lights for night driving. Roy Mueller knows these coaches very well and made this modification to my coach at the Branson rally...it really made a difference.
Hope this helps...good luck.
Jim Gill
