Fixing a 1990 Ford Tempo GL taillight
 

Hey dudes,

maybe this belongs in how-to, but I thought I'd put it out there for the car guys to see first.

I broke this girl's taillight while we were seeing each other, and now we're done, but her taillight is still fucked and she wants me to fix it which I've agreed to do. It's gonna be $230 if I take it to the dealership, I don't really want to do that, and I 'think' I know enough about cars that I can do it myself.

I know that i"m gonna have to pull the whole taillight unit out of the thing, and get a replacement one.

Does anyone know where I can get a cheap replacement? I've looked at a few junkyards but haven't found anything, I'm going to look at a few more.

The next problem is, I know how to get the unit in and out, but I don't know if I need to do anything else. Does it have to be sealed? or sealed to the car? Is there a good way to make sure that moisture isn't going to get in there and mess up her taillights all of the time?

Is there anything else I need to do?

Any and all help appreciated.

Look on ebay....and if not go to an online yellow pages and look up salvage yards and then call around and if you have a credit card most of them will ship the part to your door.

if you need a right taillights there is one on ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2413259422 but if its not the right one then i would suggest doing what merkerguitars said.

I very surprised you are having problems finding one in a junkyard. Keep looking. I don't remember on the tempo exactly but Ford products I was familiar with have either: 1) a foam type seal that was permanently stuck to the assembly that you should be able to reuse or 2) a caulk type gasket that you simply unroll and remove the backing and press into place around the backside of the assembly.

If it isn't damage the assembly itself should be sealed properly from the factory.

thanks guys, you've been very helpful.

I need the driver side, so far I've found two of the right passenger side ones (including the one on ebay). I probably should continue checking junkyards, but will call some part stores tommorow. I'll let you know what I find.

another post, if not in a desperate bid to rid myself of rookie status.

Found a 4 door at the junkyard today, after freeing the assembly, I found that the 2 door and 4 door are not the same. Didn't have time or enough light to keep looking. Will try again Saturday.

Simple. Buy a Chevy! :D

hey watch that crazy talk.

flamewar in 3. . . 2. . . 1. . .

How appropriate to speak of flames related to Ford...that is just too funny! Thanks for the laugh there. Sorry...I'm just die-hard GM.

bastard . . . lol

ive got 175,000 miles on my falcons engine though, still running strong. Albeit burning oil, but running strong.

I'm pretty diehard GM myself considering my whole family works on the line. However this girl who was in love with me, let me borrow her car, and I broke the fucking taillight, so it was her ford, not mine. It's a long and boring story, the moral is, don't borrow a car from a girl, unless you're a great driver, or she's fucking you and will never leave you, and she isn't crazy as a fucking loon. That's all I have to say. Sunday we're not leaving the junkyard till we find the part, then she can kiss my ass. Seriously though, don't borrow a car from a girl unless you're getting married, it's so much easier that way. I'm living proof.

god I'm so drunk.

i had a 88 tempo, the taillight used a foam gasket as mentioned above. Just make sure everything lines up right once you get the correct lens and you should be good to go.