Near side mirror
Discussion
I'd just like to check if its a case of TADTS or something I need to fix.
The nearside door mirror has two positions other than fully folded in. In the outermost position, the mirror won't come in enough to see the rear of the car. On the innermost position, the mirror won't go out enough to see the rear of the car.
It's never been an issue but I have a European trip coming up and would like to know if I'm pulling out into the path of Mr Angry Audi driver.
Thanks.
The nearside door mirror has two positions other than fully folded in. In the outermost position, the mirror won't come in enough to see the rear of the car. On the innermost position, the mirror won't go out enough to see the rear of the car.
It's never been an issue but I have a European trip coming up and would like to know if I'm pulling out into the path of Mr Angry Audi driver.
Thanks.
Took my mirror apart to try and 'fix' it. My research led to to all the various posts on them.
There is a length of sprung steel (or should be, mine is missing!) in the mirror base which locates in the teeth of the mirror base tripod, giving the casing only 3 positions, which you have, I'm afraid.
If you take it all apart, you could slacken off the screw and twist the base slightly, giving the 3 positions a bit of a change. But don't undertake this lightly! you have to remove the door speaker, disconnect all the wiring and take the whole assembly off the door. Don't even get me started if you have a seized grub screw.
There is a length of sprung steel (or should be, mine is missing!) in the mirror base which locates in the teeth of the mirror base tripod, giving the casing only 3 positions, which you have, I'm afraid.
If you take it all apart, you could slacken off the screw and twist the base slightly, giving the 3 positions a bit of a change. But don't undertake this lightly! you have to remove the door speaker, disconnect all the wiring and take the whole assembly off the door. Don't even get me started if you have a seized grub screw.
I suggest you take a firm grip of the whole mirror assembly, and attempt to rotate it.
Does your mirror base go into a recess in the door or is it mounted on a protruding part of the door? I will assume its the horrible door recessed type.
I'll try to explain how the mirror base is put together.
The mirror is built on a monkey metal casting (Toadstool), the circular base of this contains a rotating "Bolt" Imagine a 3/4" long bolt who's thread is about 1/2" diameter, with a 2" circular top, that the toadstool fits over, the 2 are locked together with a grub screw. This grub screw is inaccessible with the mirror body on the car due to the recess.
When factory installed, they position the mirror and tighten the grub screw before fitting to the car.
If your grub screw is loose, its bad news. The mirror will go round and round until you snap the wires in the door and it will still be attached :-) I pulled back the rubber base, to expose the base of the toadstool, and was able to get a spike into a recess on the top of the bolt part, then belt the spike with a hammer until it moved. There was still enough grip from the grub screw to then undo the bolt by turning the mirror. (I had earlier removed the speaker and disconnected the 2 plugs to the mirror). Copious masking tape advised round the recess.
I am hoping that the reason you mirror is not lined up well is that it was badly fitted before you got it, and with luck you can rotate it a few degrees without having to undo anything. If not then you could try above.
If you have the protruding door molding, then it should be a lot easier to get to the screw and you can just loosen it, move the mirror, and re-tighten.
Cheers, Dave
Does your mirror base go into a recess in the door or is it mounted on a protruding part of the door? I will assume its the horrible door recessed type.
I'll try to explain how the mirror base is put together.
The mirror is built on a monkey metal casting (Toadstool), the circular base of this contains a rotating "Bolt" Imagine a 3/4" long bolt who's thread is about 1/2" diameter, with a 2" circular top, that the toadstool fits over, the 2 are locked together with a grub screw. This grub screw is inaccessible with the mirror body on the car due to the recess.
When factory installed, they position the mirror and tighten the grub screw before fitting to the car.
If your grub screw is loose, its bad news. The mirror will go round and round until you snap the wires in the door and it will still be attached :-) I pulled back the rubber base, to expose the base of the toadstool, and was able to get a spike into a recess on the top of the bolt part, then belt the spike with a hammer until it moved. There was still enough grip from the grub screw to then undo the bolt by turning the mirror. (I had earlier removed the speaker and disconnected the 2 plugs to the mirror). Copious masking tape advised round the recess.
I am hoping that the reason you mirror is not lined up well is that it was badly fitted before you got it, and with luck you can rotate it a few degrees without having to undo anything. If not then you could try above.
If you have the protruding door molding, then it should be a lot easier to get to the screw and you can just loosen it, move the mirror, and re-tighten.
Cheers, Dave
All Chimaera (and Griffith I think) door mirrors go into a recess in the door unless they've been modified. You don't need to belt in to undo it if the grub screw is loose. At least, I didn't. I pushed a wide screwdriver blade between the gaps in the mirror mount tripod and twisted it loose. you need to undo all the wiring first to avoid an almighty mess.
The mirror mount 'tripod' looks like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TVR-Chimaera-and-Griffit...
The mirror mount 'tripod' looks like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TVR-Chimaera-and-Griffit...
Edited by ianwayne on Tuesday 18th March 22:50
I recently replaced a broken (toadstool) nearside, after much head scratching I decided to disconnect wiring through speaker hole and unscrew the whole mirror including base of pillar anti-clockwise from the door to gain access to the grub screw and toadstool. The only problem I found was that the wiring connector didn't fit through the hole in the door and I couldn't see how to remove it 
(maybe I'm just a numpty) so I cut the wires and re-soldered after fitting new toadstool.
Just moving the collar with grub screw a few millimetres made a big difference to the angle of the mirror.
(maybe I'm just a numpty) so I cut the wires and re-soldered after fitting new toadstool.Just moving the collar with grub screw a few millimetres made a big difference to the angle of the mirror.
I should have explained you'd have to disconnect the wiring somehow. Sorry, I forgot.
Personally, I used 2 instrument screwdrivers to press back the connector clips and disconnect the 2 pin door release wires (earlier models don't have this I presume), but lost patience and just cut off the mirror control wiring at the 5 pin plug, using a chocolate block to reconnect afterwards. There's some slack in the loom to allow this. Soldering is neater but I had to take it on and off a few times to get it right.
Personally, I used 2 instrument screwdrivers to press back the connector clips and disconnect the 2 pin door release wires (earlier models don't have this I presume), but lost patience and just cut off the mirror control wiring at the 5 pin plug, using a chocolate block to reconnect afterwards. There's some slack in the loom to allow this. Soldering is neater but I had to take it on and off a few times to get it right.
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