I have what I think is a oem brush guard on my 97 disco and I need to remove the headlamp grills but I'm confused how. Its very rusty and the plastic ***** do not spin. Checked the rave, nothing there so I need some help. Can anyone explain how to remove the headlamp guards?

 

Turn the *****, they are not plastic, they are steel covered in plastic.
They will break, the lamp guards will fall off.
Plug holes, paint, done.

I had the same problem, I did the same thing.

 

thanks man, will do.

 

well tried to turn em and no go so rusted they were seized. PB blaster and waited a few hours, went back and the only thing that turned was the plastic part, i actually twisted the ***** off the metal bolt. A stupid design if you ask me, whats wrong with a regularly threaded bolt. Anyways going to have to drop the whole brush guard and drill out the old and tap for some new.

 

If it is that rusted, you ought to get rid of it, it will literaly fall of some day and offers no protection if ever hit.

 

Best resolution is:

1. Remove the bolts securing brush guard to frame.

2. Sell the rusted out brush guard to scrap dealer or if that is not an option,

3. Throw it off nearest cliff into deepest crevice you can find. If you are worried about pollution. it will eventually corrode and the elements will return to a natural state.

4. In the event of a crash, that "brush guard" will signifcantly increase the amount of damage to your Discovery Hood. Discard it.

 

lol thanks danny, im hoping that the only part that is rusty is the headlamp guards which is why im trying to remove them. the rest of the brush guard still feels very solid no rust but ill see when i get it all off. I have a sand blaster so i will be able to tell much better once it is removed.

 

Seriously, that was not a joke. All those original LR Brush Guards tend to rot from the inside out. The inside was not treated to prevent corrosion. So what happens is they get the moisture and road salts and such inside them (bottom pipes are not sealed I Don't think) and the nice plastic coating hides all that until they do literally fall apart. That is what happened to mine and pretty much all of them do that.

I had considered trying to repair mine but saw that was worthless. And they do increase rather than prevent damage since in a crash they will hit your hood. There have been several that the insurance companies totalled due to the cost of hood replacement exceeded vehicle's value.

Even if you want to keep the vehicle, it gets an R title. It's really not worth keeping, but it is your choice, just passing on some acquired knowledge, take it as you may.

 

Dont let these guys scare you, you can snap off the bolts, grab them with pliers, bend up and down until they break.
If any sticks out on the brush guard tap it with a hammer to smooth it out.
Then paint it, I placed mine on my sawhorses and rattle canned it with Rustoleum.

Any and all hollow steel rusts from the inside out because of condensation building up on the inside.

The OEM brush guard was not meant for protection anyway, it was meant for looks, and it looks good in my opinion.

 

Paint it and it will be cute, just don't hit anything with it. It is not a push bumper or a recovery point either.

But mine was so badly rotted especially in the horizontal tubes so I tossed it.