GM Saturn Pontiac Corvette pop up headlight motor gear

thingiverse

This is the worm gear for the pop up/flip up headlight motor on my 96 saturn. It's common for these gears to strip their teeth rendering the headlight motor unusable. Replacement gears are available in brass, aluminum and plastic (i've heard the aftermarket plastic gears also strip out fairly quickly). I ordered a replacement brass gear but in the meantime I needed something to allow the headlight to function while waiting for the new gear. From what I can gather from the internet, the same gear was also used in some pontiacs and corvettes....not sure what years/models. FYI, the gear cover looks to be sonic welded but can be split open. I used a razor blade knife and tapped the back of it to "cut" the welds open. I used epoxy to re-seal the cover. I did the best I could to match the angle of the teeth. Everything else seemed pretty spot on (O.D., shaft hole, depth of part, etc) I made this out of PLA, but would probably use nylon if this was to stay in the motor. I made this gear to see if: 1. I could actually design a worm gear that works. 2. Needed something temporary to keep the headlights working. The gear is a little tight on the shaft so some twisting and pushing is required (and perhaps some lubricant). I was able to fit it dry on a cleaned motor shaft. The rubber absorber fit great inside the gear as you can see in the pictures. I would love to hear from anybody who prints this and uses it. Hopefully it can help you as it did for me.