First I'll assume it's not much different than a 1998-2002 Continental. I pulled mine out last week to remove some water. I was successful in reducing the moisture, but not eliminating it. It still fogs up. First thing is to pull off the black plastic engine shroud to expose the radiator/light assembly area.
There should be a pair of inverted "L" shaped, 1/2" wide (5" tall) black metal brackets that come out vertically. Those clamp down your HL assembly. Once those are out it should start to wiggle free. I used some pliers/vice grips to pry them out...one was a little resistant. Maybe a little WD40 on them on the way back in would help for next time. When re-inserting them later I tapped them down with a rubber mallet + 1" square piece of wood as a buffer.
The 3 light runs join together and go to a common plug at the car's center-line, just above the radiator fans/hood latch area. That should allow the light assembly to come out safely. A tab at the outermost light aligns it into the front fender.
To repair, I used some silicone along the top seam of the light assembly. Also taped over with electrical tape. I recall watching one video where the guy used a 3-4" syringe to better inject it. There's a rubber drain hose at the lower center of the assembly that helps to get water out. It's probably a good idea not to tip the light assembly upwards before the light bulbs and connectors are removed (otherwise you can get pooled up water into the elec. sockets/plugs). I found the yellow coating on one bulb quite brittle. And while trying to remove it, half of the coating flaked off inside. That particular plug was a pita to remove as it must have been cocked into place at the factory. It took me about 15 min to get that free, all the while more coating came off. Those bulbs should only need to be rotated 90 deg and then back right out. Some warnings include not handling the glass portion of the bulbs, minimizing the time they are exposed to contaminants, etc. I probably should have replaced some of the bulbs while I was in there....in fact I think even bought 2 sets of the car's smaller exterior bulbs a couple years ago...just to have them around.
After removing as much water as I could by draining, I then ran a hair dryer on each opening while keeping another open for flow. They came out perfectly dry and clear. And the next morning, foggy again. At least the standing water was removed. I'm thinking I'd have to fully separate the halves to get a good reseal. Wasn't going to go there yet as these things are expensive if you mess up. In looking at the other HL assembly which had no standing water, I saw no difference on how that factory seal looked.
I used to work in Wallingford and went through North Haven every day. Small world. That's about 35-40 miles from me. In the old days I used to visit Montowese Auto every once in a while.
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