Take apart rearview mirror?

Does anyone know haw to take apart the cable controlled exterior mirrors? My passenger mirror is worn out and the glass flops around.

Thanks

The only way to take them apart is to remove the glass. I have heard that you can heat it up with a hair dryer or something of the sort, and get it off without breaking, but I have not tried this.

As for repair, be prepared for the almost certain discovery that the mirror is not worn out but broken. What happens is that there is a cast aluminum or pot-metal cross shaped gimbal inside, which begins to stick in its pivots from corrosion. If, after it stiffens, you make the mistake, as many before have done, of pushing on the glass instead of using the cables, the gimbal will break. It will flop forever now, unless you can repair it.

Again, I have not actually tried this, but have heard that it is possible to braze up a replacement gimbal out of welding rod or something of the sort. I have had a couple of these mirrors apart, and the mechanism is not that complicated. Once the glass is off, it will reveal the screws that hold it all together, and the rest will be pretty easy to figure out.

If you have a mirror that has not yet started to flop, exercise it frequently, and if possible, try to shoot oil into the mechanism behind the glass. It's worth doing, even if you end up with oil dribbling out of it, and have to clean it up for weeks afterward.

I'll try it out tomorrow, thanks

I too had some floppy mirrors and although they got changed, my "fix for them was gonna be shooting some expandable foam behind them. The "Great Stuff" foam that is. and while it is expanding/ drying, you have someone adjust them while you sit on your seat........kinda sucks though cause then they cant be moved. Not a problem if it is your Jeep and no one elses and you will drive it forever.

Just a thought though, I havent had to try it yet.

--Alex

I've had passenger side held in place with a blob of silicon in corner between the housing and the mirror for quite a while. Not sure I'd want to sit there for an hour while the foam finishes expanding and hardens.

When the drivers side got too floppy, I did an interesting fix. If you fold the mirror back you can get to the three little cables that run into the mirror. I used a pair of pliers to stretch the outer sheath a bit (maybe 1/16" on each one and that took up the slack. The mirror actually works reasonably well now.

how hard is it to just replace the whole mirror? mine is just plain broke and i am getting a replacement today.

ecgtech said:

how hard is it to just replace the whole mirror? mine is just plain broke and i am getting a replacement today.

Click to expand...

It's very easy. On the pre-97, if it's a non-electric mirror, just remove the little triangular trim piece on the inside (careful not to break it), and you'll find a couple of screw heads. Undo, replace mirror, put plastic piece back in. It's similar on the later models, but I have never had one apart, so I don't know where they hide the electrical connector for the power version.

I just had my passenger mirror come off during a long drive. With the clips and retention spring broken, I just cut off the mirror till I can get back home to order and install the replacement.

My question is about removing the triangular piece on the inside: is it glued on on snapped on?

Matthew Currie said:

It's very easy. On the pre-97, if it's a non-electric mirror, just remove the little triangular trim piece on the inside (careful not to break it), and you'll find a couple of screw heads. Undo, replace mirror, put plastic piece back in. It's similar on the later models, but I have never had one apart, so I don't know where they hide the electrical connector for the power version.

Click to expand...

Best I remember, it has one phillips head trim screw holding it on.
No problem to remove.

There's a plastic pop-rivet on top and a phillips head screw at the bottom. You have to take the entire door molding off to get to that one screw though. The connector for the mirror is under there as well.

I tightened up my floppy mirror by making sure the set screw in the trim piece was firmly holding the base of the adjuster wand. If the base flops around, it sucks up all the movement and the mirror doesn't stay put.

If the mirror head is what is loose, oh well, time for a new head unit - and you could go late model with heated mirrors . . .

I've had some luck tightening up floppy mirrors. I grab each of the metal sheaths for the adjuster cables with two pairs of pliers and very gently stretch them a hair. I do that for each one and that takes up some of the slop. If you're lazy, you can just bend the mirror back and cut off the rubber that covers them. Also a good time to hose them off with some sort of spray oil to get them moving freely.

Otherwise, if you're the only drive just put a dab of clear silicone in two corners to hold it in place (after aiming for your tastes, obviously).

I did the silly cone trick for a while then just picked up some basic manual mirrors on ebay... much happier now. They were 25 each.