Please explain lol ?

The way to remove the lights the BMW way is through the wheel wells. Thats how everyone who has done the LCI light swap has done it. You do not need to remove the fenders or bumper to remove the lights.

You can also do it without having to remove the oil cooler

+1 I did try to say both these things :thumbup:

I ended up masking off the adjacent areas. Started with 0000 fine steel wool to remove some of the hazing. I don't think its strong enough to remove the haze, but wanted to start with a smooth surface, so I'm going to wet sand with 1000 and work my way up. :( Weather hasn't been great this week, so I'm hoping tomorrow I can finish the job bright and early.

One you drop the subframe and motor, they are super easy to get out..

A preview of the passenger side after sanding and buffing with rubbing compound. Still need to finish drivers side and clear coat both headlights. Damn good if you ask me and still not the finished product.

Ard, can you elaborate? What is the subframe, and how do I drop it/what screws do I remove to drop it? Does it drop without having to be entirely removed?

I have one xenon (passenger side) not burning so I'm trying to replace the ballast on that side (bulb works when placed in driver's side). I've separated front bumper from fender, removed all the bolts/screws I can see on the fender (several along top of fender & 2 behind door hinge), removed the 4 screws I saw holding the headlight assembly, but neither the headlight assembly nor the fender want to go anywhere. I'm fed up and can find no info to help!

I want to be able to get it out so I can refinish the lens like the OP here, but most importantly right now I just need to get to the thing to make it work.

HELP???

BTW, BMWX5CHI, great looking restoration job! I want to repeat your procedure on mine, once I get the light working. So how are things with it 9 months later? Still look as good as that photo after sanding? What did you use for a protective coating afterwards?

Thanks, the lights are still look like they did the day I finished the job. Also, something to take note of is my X is garage keep and is never left outside. I don't know how long they would last in an outside enviorment. I used Blue Magic Headlight Sealer. I applied like 6-7 thin coats and left it to dry before appling the next coat. After that I used paint sealer and then I applied a few coats of wax.

I recently replaced the lenses on both headlights (I had to replace one because there was a hole right through it due to a massive ball of hail - long story) the other was opaque/yellow because I had previously 'refinished' it but did not keep up with the waxing/UV protection. I also needed to replace the ballast due to water damage. I found it quite challenging to remove the headlights from the vehicle on the passenger side. I removed only the front half of the wheel well, I recall two vertical bolts/screws and 4 horizontal bolts holding the lights in place. I had to remove/shift a number of other cables and mounts and the ballast in order to get it out of the vehicle. I did not remove the oil cooler but I also only replaced 3 of 4 bolts on the driver's side. IMO this job is definitely not worthwhile if you are only refinishing the lights. The ballast can be replaced after removing the 6 bolts but you don't need to remove the full headlight unit from the vehicle as the 4 torx screws holding the ballast can be removed by shifting the headlight slightly backward.

For the lens replacement (eBay $300). After removing the two small screws I convection baked the lights at 270F for 10 mins and then pried the lens off starting at one end using a heat gun to assist. After scraping out the old adhesive, I used construction adhesive to reseal the unit. There were a number of broken plastic bits/tabs but none that are visible or caused any problems for reinstalling. The lights look great now, but it's not a job for the faint of heart.