My tail light lens have separated from the housings. The ones I saw in the junk yard on another 88 were the same way. Is this common and what is the remedy? Must be some kind of dum dum or epoxy to but them back together
It's actually quite common. There are several metal clips around the housing that are supposed to grip the lens, and there's a dum dum like substance that's supposed to seal it. Neither work very well. When I put mine back together I cleaned all the dum-dum out and put a 5/16" bead of black caulking (not silicone) around, then bent the tabs on those metal clips so they'd bite better, then put the lenses back on.
You could try asking a glass shop if they would stick them back together with some windshield urethane. strong stuff, but don't get any on your fingers... it'll take a week to get rid of the stains.
Here's a drawing of the clips I made a few years ago...
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(http://www3.telus.net/neat/pics1/taillight_clip.jpg)
you can buy windsheild adheasive at checker or orileys. Its thick and black.
I would use a strong adhesive,but one that can be taken apart again as a just in case.Sometimes these lights fill with dust,and the only way to fix it is to disassemble them.