Replacing door mirror glass

[Mark Elder]

Having read the wobbly mirror FAQ I thought this was going to be a 10 minute job, 3 hours later I'm still baffled.

Anyone done this (and found the screw I can't find)?

The FAQ says there is a "small screw" inside the mirror accessed from the underside.

I found 2 holes and one screw (C in picture below) (I resorted to removing mirror from door to get a better view)

Hole B has nothing inside (putting screw driver deep inside I can feel the various wires )

In hole A I can see the bottom of the mirror, or, if the mirror is tipped to the up position, I can see/feel past the notches marked in the picture below to some soft material - perhaps some foam, perhaps a cable.

pic of rear of new mirror glass from underside

Any clues please? How deep is the screw inside the case?

I've tried removing screw C and it does not release the internal mechanism - think it just secures the plastic that protects the interface between the two parts of the mirror unit.

I can't see any other (useful) screws on the PET.

Thanks for any ideas....

 

[Guards Red]

Hi Mark,

there is no screw, you're looking for something that's not there! The mirror is held in place by a rotating bezel, the bit at the bottom of your picture is what rotates it. The whole plastic ring rotates to lock the mirror onto the motor. The bit accessable through the hole at the bottom is the edge of the bezel which is why it has a grooved/notched bit in line with the hole. You put the screwdriver through the hole and work the notches along until the mirror is tight. You don't turn the screwdriver handle as you would tightening a screw, instead your working it into the notch and levering the notch along a notch at a time if that akes sense..

The only other thing to do is make sure the motor screws are tight. This is done with the mirror out.

Hope I've answered your question, not sure though that this is what you were trying to do!

GR

 

[Mark Elder]

Thanks GR - I now see! Got the bezel to move fairly easily, and from the new one I can see which way should release the mirror. But so far it's still jammed tight - I'll have a go with the one on the other side of the car see if I learn anything from that one!
Thanks

 

[Guards Red]

Mark,

stick a staw into the hole at the bottom and give it a quick jet of WD40 or the like. After its just a case of carefully levering the mirror side to side till it lets go.

Best of luck.

GR

 

[Mark Elder]

Thanks for the suggestions GR

Turns out the circular grey area you can see in the second photo above is sticky - it's designed to form a water resistant seal protecting the motors and gears from the weather.

Once I realised this it was obvious the glass was not coming off without some force. So I made something resembling a cats-cradle from string to loop around the back of the glass from both ends - so I could give a strong pull without creating a twisting force that might damage the motors or the glass.

Couple of good firm pulls and it was off.

 

[Mark Elder]

I also mean to say - just for anyone else doing this. To release the mirrors you move the notches mentioned above:

Left door mirror TOWARDS car to release
Right door mirror AWAY from car to release

 

[clyde]

Mark, looking at your last photo of the cat's cradle affair you need to spend a little less time playing with your car and a little bit more time weeding your drive [][][]

 

[Mark Elder]

[][] - I knew one of you would say that!

It's the GFs territory - no way I'm getting into gardening. That said, she regards the drive as "car territory" so she ignores it when doing the garden, which she seemed to spend longer on than I did messing around with those mirrors.

 

[Pete917]

Nice little guide. I also took the base mount off to re-spray mine. What job that was!

 

[dommorton]

Helpful thread. Looks like your mirror was once red then.

 

[Mark Elder]

ORIGINAL: dommorton

... Looks like your mirror was once red then.

Yes - well spotted Dom - car's first 6 years in London - and several early invoices were for replacement mirrors[] - I suspect the owner got tired of paying OPC prices and then started the fuel the cyclic demand for "under the counter" mirrors herself...