on my 70 theres this rubber piece on the front end that is used to open/close the headlights, theres a leak in it i can hear it and i was juist wondering what the name of that piece is so i can replace it. any other ideas would be awesome thanks.
I am by no means an authority but the rubber piece in the picture is a dust shield. I don’t think replacing that alone will fix your issue. There are some type of O-rings around the shaft that make the seal.
I have a leaking eyelid actuator and was looking to have them rebuilt.
WCCC has a couple videos that discuss these. More focused on 67 68 headlights though. Concept is similar I suppose.
thanks for responding, i looked further into it and it seems impossible to just buy that accordion rubber piece. i found a used actuator on WCCC that is in great shape and pretty good price too, so ill probably just get that, this has leaked a while and you’re right theres probably more problems to unfold. hope you can get yours fixed too! Thanks
Correct that the leak is coming from the actuator and not the dust shield. Get a rebuilt one and trade yours in as a core.
The part that is most likely leaking is the small rubber seal that is underneath the dust cover bellows you show above. Here are both parts from the WCCC site:
Here is the WCCC page: Shaft Seal Kit - Headlight Vacuum Actuator - Repro ~ 1967 - 1970 Mercury Cougar ( 1967 Mercury Cougar, 1968 Mercury Cougar, 1969 Mercury Cougar, 1970 Mercury Cougar ) at West Coast Classic Cougar :: The Definitive 1967 - 1973 Mercury Cougar Parts Source
It says it is out of stock, but others probably sell it, too.
Easy to do yourself. I did my 70 5 years ago and still working fine. I prefer the original vacuum set-up, although I understand some others prefer electric conversion.