Euro Headlight Fit - Gap?

[CraigD]

There's a gap below the euro headlight chrome in this photo.  Is this normal from the factory?  I've seen in a couple cars...

[Pawel66]

There is a bit of a gap, but I am not sure if this wide. There is a channel in headlight housing for water to flow away, so such big gap is not needed, I think.

[RAY]

Also I believe the screw should be chrome plate slotted ?

[Pawel66]

It is a very special screw. Yes, chromed and it has rounded tip so that it is easy to fit it in position to the threaded orifice.

[Benz Dr.]

The top of the chrome is actually just slightly lower than the top of the fender on a perfectly fitted headlight.  It's not easy to get one to fit that well.

[Tyler S]

It is common to have a distorted headlight bucket if/when the front bumper was ever impacted. The bumper tends to ride up and pinch the bottom of the reveal. These areas aren’t usually repaired correctly. It is more noticeable on euro headlights as the fixture plate is much more rigid than the US version.

[RAY]

Pawel,

I recently bought 2 new screws for this purpose which were advertised as 5 x 16 but when I tried to fit them they were slightly to large a diameter thread and the slotted head looked to large to sit in the cup of the frame comfortably.

I ended up using 4 x 16 chrome slotted which threaded in perfectly and the screw head sat nicely in the cup.

Neither had the special rounded tip.

[Nicolas Aristodemou]

I remember I had the same issue when converting my headlights to EU spec. Fortunately, at the same time I war replacing my front fenders as well as the front grille surround panel and my fitter had a hard time with his cutters and brazing torch to make everything fit.... you can see him smiling on the attached photo as well as another photo of the "finished product" 

[Shvegel]

There is a factory seam in that very spot.  what you are seeing may just fall under manufacturing tolerance.

[Pawel66]

Pawel,

I recently bought 2 new screws for this purpose which were advertised as 5 x 16 but when I tried to fit them they were slightly to large a diameter thread and the slotted head looked to large to sit in the cup of the frame comfortably.

I ended up using 4 x 16 chrome slotted which threaded in perfectly and the screw head sat nicely in the cup.

Neither had the special rounded tip.

I think all the screws there are M4 and the 4 that hold the headlight should have heads smaller than standard (not to touch the glass). All 5 had rounded tips to make it easier to fit them.