Headlight Retractor Rod Cap
1989-1997 Mazda Mx-5 Miata NA
Description
Replacement for the plastic caps on the end of the headlight retractor rods for the first gen miata. If your headlights don't pop up anymore, It's most likely this little plastic cap on an actuating rod that has failed. (Pretty common point of failure.) The only replacements available include the entire rod, and for $40 a pair, I can understand why someone might want to put it off a bit. It's a lot of money to replace a plastic bit. This WORKS, kinda. Printed to fix my left headlight. It holds on for a while, though entirely dependent on usage and heat. I had one made from PLA that lasted about a month. I have both versions I made, one slotted and one solid. It could be best to print both and see what works. Ive tried PLA, Dremel's ECO-ABS, and I had a friend print some out of some carbon fiber stuff. Play around a bit, and see what you're able to pop on, (The solid v2 is difficult to pop into place, try using a little heat) And see what lasts better. In my experience, v2 in PLA works well. Just keep spares with you if you go out at night. I'm not responsible for anything that happens if you utilize these, they are 3d printed parts and are sometimes unreliable. Exercise caution, please. Of course the best option is to replace the rods and get the full strength of the production part, but if these help anyone out i'd be super happy to hear about it. If anyone knows how to make these any stronger, go for it! I'm a novice at best, just needed these to get by until I could get me some new rod assemblies. :) Feel free to message me if you need any assistance, I'll try to help if I can! EDIT: Added a fix for ver1 to try and fix a hole in the model. I've also been told these may work on a Gen 1 Ford Probe, but I don't have one to test on, so I added it to the title so someone might be able to find it and test. Will change if I hear back on it.
Print Instructions
Standard FDM printing settings: - Layer height: 0.2mm - Infill: 70% - Supports: As needed
Part Description
Replacement for the plastic caps on the end of the headlight retractor rods for the first gen miata. If your headlights don't pop up anymore, It's most likely this little plastic cap on an actuating rod that has failed. (Pretty common point of failure.) The only replacements available include the entire rod, and for $40 a pair, I can understand why someone might want to put it off a bit. It's a lot of money to replace a plastic bit. This WORKS, kinda. Printed to fix my left headlight. It holds on for a while, though entirely dependent on usage and heat. I had one made from PLA that lasted about a month. I have both versions I made, one slotted and one solid. It could be best to print both and see what works. Ive tried PLA, Dremel's ECO-ABS, and I had a friend print some out of some carbon fiber stuff. Play around a bit, and see what you're able to pop on, (The solid v2 is difficult to pop into place, try using a little heat) And see what lasts better. In my experience, v2 in PLA works well. Just keep spares with you if you go out at night. I'm not responsible for anything that happens if you utilize these, they are 3d printed parts and are sometimes unreliable. Exercise caution, please. Of course the best option is to replace the rods and get the full strength of the production part, but if these help anyone out i'd be super happy to hear about it. If anyone knows how to make these any stronger, go for it! I'm a novice at best, just needed these to get by until I could get me some new rod assemblies. :) Feel free to message me if you need any assistance, I'll try to help if I can! EDIT: Added a fix for ver1 to try and fix a hole in the model. I've also been told these may work on a Gen 1 Ford Probe, but I don't have one to test on, so I added it to the title so someone might be able to find it and test. Will change if I hear back on it.
Print Instructions
Standard FDM printing settings: - Layer height: 0.2mm - Infill: 70% - Supports: As needed