Ford Explorer, Maintaince And Repair Manual, Page: 715 / 1119

Close the bulb access panel and the vehicle's hood. 9.
AIMING THE HEADLIGHTS
The headlights must be properly aimed to provide the best, safest road illumination. The lights should be
checked for proper aim and adjusted as necessary. Certain state and local authorities have requirements for
headlight aiming; these should be checked before adjustment is made.
CAUTION
About once a year, when the headlights are replaced or any time front end work is performed on your vehicle,
the headlight should be accurately aimed by a reputable repair shop using the proper equipment. Headlights
not properly aimed can make it virtually impossible to see and may blind other drivers on the road, possibly
causing an accident. Note that the following procedure is a temporary fix, until you can take your vehicle to a
repair shop for a proper adjustment.
Headlight adjustment may be temporarily made using a wall, as described below, or on the rear of another
vehicle. When adjusted, the lights should not glare in oncoming car or truck windshields, nor should they
illuminate the passenger compartment of vehicles driving in front of you. These adjustments are rough and
should always be fine−tuned by a repair shop which is equipped with headlight aiming tools. Improper
adjustments may be both dangerous and illegal.
For most of the vehicles covered by this manual, horizontal and vertical aiming of each sealed beam unit is
provided by two adjusting screws which move the retaining ring and adjusting plate against the tension of a
coil spring. There is no adjustment for focus; this is done during headlight manufacturing.
Because the composite headlight assembly is bolted into position, no adjustment should be necessary or
possible. Some applications, however, may be bolted to an adjuster plate or may be retained by
adjusting screws. If so, follow this procedure when adjusting the lights, BUT always have the
adjustment checked by a reputable shop.
Before removing the headlight bulb or disturbing the headlamp in any way, note the current settings in order
to ease headlight adjustment upon reassembly. If the high or low beam setting of the old lamp still works, this
can be done using the wall of a garage or a building:
Park the vehicle on a level surface, with the fuel tank about
1
/
2
full and with the vehicle empty of all
extra cargo (unless normally carried). The vehicle should be facing a wall which is no less than 6 feet
(1.8m) high and 12 feet (3.7m) wide. The front of the vehicle should be about 25 feet from the wall.
1.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
AIMING THE HEADLIGHTS 721