Door mirror removal and adjustment

[Discopotatoes]

My door mirrors are loose, I believe it's the torque screw that is loose,
what's the best way to access this?
I can't seem to find the grub screw, Ive looked at the accessable parts of the collapsible turret but can't see it.
what size is the Allen key for this screw?
I'm going to need to repainted these in the future so what's the best step by step procedure to completely remove the whole mirror assembly
Cheers

[jojackson4]

When I did mine I started at the top
Glass out then the screws that hold the back on
Back off then you can see what's loose mine was the aluminium cage that was snapped
A plate of aluminium and some rivits sorted it

[mach2]

You won't be able to access the grub screw with the mirror on the car, or at least that is my experience.
The grub screw tightens onto a recess in the main door boss and sits below the surface of the door so you can't get an Allen key on it.
As above start by removing the glass, then the motor and then the back casing. You will then be bale to see if it's the screw that's loose or the supporting cage / tripod is loose / broken.
If you need to remove the mirror from the door you will need to access the wiring in the door to disconnect.
There is a really good break down with pics here;
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[Hedgehopper]

You aren't going to like this.

To remove the complete mirror............

1st. First of all remove the door trim.

2nd. Unless somebody has been there before you, cut the mirror cables leaving nice long tails so you can fit connectors later.

3rd. Carefully un-screw the entire mirror assembly pulling the cables through the door as you go.

You are now ready to do what you need to do on the bench.

Re-fitting...........

Mainly trial and error. Tighten the grub screw on the bench and then screw mirror back in. The mirror will probably be in the wrong place unless you are incredibly lucky. Keep repeating this until the mirror screws into the correct position. Now remove mirror once more, mark position of grub screw and countersink a small hole in the casting for the screw to locate in. This should prevent it moving again. Screw mirror back into door, connect cables and the job's a good un.

Don't waste your time by fitting the mirror into the door and then trying to tighten the grubscrew, it's almost impossible.

Good luck.

[Discopotatoes]

Cheers chaps I shall let you know how I get on

[SMB]

Hedgehopper said:

You aren't going to like this.

To remove the complete mirror............

1st. First of all remove the door trim.

2nd. Unless somebody has been there before you, cut the mirror cables leaving nice long tails so you can fit connectors later.

3rd. Carefully un-screw the entire mirror assembly pulling the cables through the door as you go.

You are now ready to do what you need to do on the bench.

Re-fitting...........

Mainly trial and error. Tighten the grub screw on the bench and then screw mirror back in. The mirror will probably be in the wrong place unless you are incredibly lucky. Keep repeating this until the mirror screws into the correct position. Now remove mirror once more, mark position of grub screw and countersink a small hole in the casting for the screw to locate in. This should prevent it moving again. Screw mirror back into door, connect cables and the job's a good un.

Don't waste your time by fitting the mirror into the door and then trying to tighten the grubscrew, it's almost impossible.

Good luck.

You don't need to remove the whole door trim, removing the speaker is enough to access the wiring and the existing connector. Likewise disassembling the existing wiring connector to make the wires thin enough to go through the whole in the mirror mount screw saves time or adding more connectors/ possible failure points.

[J400GED]

Hedgehopper said:

You aren't going to like this.

To remove the complete mirror............

1st. First of all remove the door trim.

2nd. Unless somebody has been there before you, cut the mirror cables leaving nice long tails so you can fit connectors later.

3rd. Carefully un-screw the entire mirror assembly pulling the cables through the door as you go.

You are now ready to do what you need to do on the bench.

Re-fitting...........

Mainly trial and error. Tighten the grub screw on the bench and then screw mirror back in. The mirror will probably be in the wrong place unless you are incredibly lucky. Keep repeating this until the mirror screws into the correct position. Now remove mirror once more, mark position of grub screw and countersink a small hole in the casting for the screw to locate in. This should prevent it moving again. Screw mirror back into door, connect cables and the job's a good un.

Don't waste your time by fitting the mirror into the door and then trying to tighten the grubscrew, it's almost impossible.

Good luck.

You don't have to cut the mirror cables!
If your connector plug looks similar to this:


You should find an orange locking plate, which fits across the connector plug, that will push out one side. Remove the plate and then you can dismantle the connector by, using a small watchmakers screwdriver or pin removal tool, bend in the two locking legs circled below.


You will then be able to remove the cable with the connector still attached.

Obviously note the position of each pin in the plug before dismantling.
Before refitting the pins, just bend the locking tabs back out again like in the picture above, push in the pin until it locks in and then refit the orange locking plate.

Hope this helps

Ged

[Hedgehopper]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Good point.

Unfortunately on my car someone must have got there first.

[Discopotatoes]

Had a play with it today and got the glass off and disconnected, also the motor mechanism and connections, so now I can see what's gone wrong. The Spring tab has detached so the whole thing will have to come off, but the wiring is already disconnected so I don't need to unplug it

[USChimaera]

I don't follow the mirror removal and of course mine, on the passenger side is loose. Does the whole mirror assembly unscrew anti-clockwise? The photos from crazycraig's post are no longer available. Help

[QBee]

Yes, it all unscrews anti-clockwise. The hole in the door is threaded.
It can be well stuck if it has not been off in 20-25 years.
If it is stuck, protect the paint in the area before you start, as I have seen an expert free it by using a hammer and chisel to start it moving.
It can be very tricky to remove if it is already so broken that the mirror just flops around.

[Sir Paolo]

I had to repair my drivers door mirror recently.

It wasn’t just loose, it basically had collapsed.

I ordered a new “toadstool” thinking that was the problem.

However, upon disassembly, I noticed the base plate (inside the mirror) was broken instead.

Thankfully, Racing Green supply a repair plate, so I didn’t need a complete mirror body.

The only real casualty was the original toadstool which broke as I loosened the unit from the captive thread in the door

[over_the_hill]

Sir Paolo said:

I had to repair my drivers door mirror recently.

It wasn’t just loose, it basically had collapsed.

I ordered a new “toadstool” thinking that was the problem.

However, upon disassembly, I noticed the base plate (inside the mirror) was broken instead.

Thankfully, Racing Green supply a repair plate, so I didn’t need a complete mirror body.

The only real casualty was the original toadstool which broke as I loosened the unit from the captive thread in the door

I get the "we need to support these companies" argument, but the best part of £40 (including £8.95 p&p) for a flat piece of metal with a couple of holes in
(the repair plate) is ludicrous.

[phillpot]

over_the_hill said:

I get the "we need to support these companies" argument, but the best part of £40 (including £8.95 p&p) for a flat piece of metal with a couple of holes in
(the repair plate) is ludicrous.

To a bloke who has neither the time, tools nor inclination to make one I guess even at getting on for 40 quid it's a life saver?

But blokes like me who are a little more canny with the purse strings would rather spend an hour or so in the garage with a bit of scrap metal and end up with that smug "I fixed it for nothing" smile

[USChimaera]

Thank you. It looks like the toadstool rotates so I am guessing the ring/ collar below the toadstool is what should turn with the mirror housing. Ill put some pennetrating oil on the base and have ago at it tomorrow.

[Sir Paolo]

phillpot said:

To a bloke who has neither the time, tools nor inclination to make one I guess even at getting on for 40 quid it's a life saver?

But blokes like me who are a little more canny with the purse strings would rather spend an hour or so in the garage with a bit of scrap metal and end up with that smug "I fixed it for nothing" smile

All valid points, and it’s not too difficult to fabricate a plate.
However, time is a big factor for me, if I spend trial and error time trying to get a plate to fit, I’d rather just buy something that “works out of the box”.

I don’t know where the £40 comes from, I paid £25.00 delivered.
Given that repairing the mirror can be a real pain anyway , for the sake of £25.00, it’s definitely worth it.

Less time fettling and more time driving!

[over_the_hill]

Sir Paolo said:

phillpot said:

To a bloke who has neither the time, tools nor inclination to make one I guess even at getting on for 40 quid it's a life saver?

But blokes like me who are a little more canny with the purse strings would rather spend an hour or so in the garage with a bit of scrap metal and end up with that smug "I fixed it for nothing" smile

All valid points, and it’s not too difficult to fabricate a plate.
However, time is a big factor for me, if I spend trial and error time trying to get a plate to fit, I’d rather just buy something that “works out of the box”.

I don’t know where the £40 comes from, I paid £25.00 delivered.
Given that repairing the mirror can be a real pain anyway , for the sake of £25.00, it’s definitely worth it.

Less time fettling and more time driving!

[pits]

over_the_hill said:

I get the "we need to support these companies" argument, but the best part of £40 (including £8.95 p&p) for a flat piece of metal with a couple of holes in
(the repair plate) is ludicrous.

With my current and ongoing experience with one of the vendors, I can honestly say I won't be supporting them ever again and if I have to pay more by using the other ones I will as they are taking the utter piss now. (For the record it isn't Racing Green, it is another vendor)


As for the mirrors, when mine got loose, all I did was take glass out, undo the screws and move the housing around a bit, then cut down an allen key and did the grub screw up, think it is due it's yearly tighten now.

[Sir Paolo]

over_the_hill said:

You won’t need to pay £9.00 for delivery.
It’s a flat piece of metal, and mine was sent in an envelope for £1.50.
Total invoice was £25.61

[QBee]

Try phoning your order in.
If you order online you tend to be charged the standard courier rate.
Ask the parts guy nicely and he will stick something small and cheap in an envelope first class