On my 85 300 SD California model, the headlight door (aka headlight frame) would not come off even pulling very hard and risking breaking. So I removed the entire headlight assembly by removing 2 bolts on top and one on the bottom, unplugging the electric cable, and sliding the headlight assembly to the front of the car. Eventually I was able to get the headlight frame off by prying gradually with the hl assembly out of the car. The hl frame was scraping on the bezel that holds the sealed beam. Bent it on the lateral side to reduce scraping.

Attachements are pic of 2 bolts to remove, headlight assembly and headlight frame. Bottom bolt is easily seen crawling under the bumper and looking up.

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