How To Guide Removing wing mirrors without removing door car.

[Sumilidon]

Hi all.

I am tackling the wing mirror corrosion today and after reading the many guides on how to do it, a handful mentioned how to avoid removing the door card. None of them had pictures however so I thought I would take a few as I gave it a try.

I haven’t painted them yet or added back to the car (tomorrow job) but basically I’ll just be doing the same in reverse.

What I am dealing with:

Glass removed (one broke but not an issue as I am replacing the glass due to the current ones having a zoom)

I then remove the cover via the 4 Torx screws

Then I removed the mechanism via the 4 Phillips screws. I then removed the 4 push fit wires. As you can see, they are labelled where they should go when putting back together/

Next step was to mask off the connectors and then bundle them together. Then I removed the 2 hex head bolts attaching the wing mirror body to the car. One you can get access to easily, the other I used an Allen key. They are not in tight but be careful if they are rusted.

Last step, remove the wing mirror, pull off the gasket and feed the cable through the wing mirror assembly. I will not dangle freely and it’s not under tension so won’t fall back into the car. If you worried it will, just tie a knot in it.

That’s it. Go fix the mirror etc then do everything above in reverse. One wing mirror removed without even needing to open the car door.

Apologies for any grammatical errors. Typed up on IPad.

 

[Si Mcinerney]

Great post.

Do you know if new gaskets are readily available?

 

[Sumilidon]

Great post.

Do you know if new gaskets are readily available?

I looked for some before starting the job and it looks like they are, but about £15 each. The ones on my car are 27 years old and still in great condition. In comparison, the door handle gaskets fell apart so they are not made of the same stuff.

 

[Geoff Crispin]

Hi all.

I am tackling the wing mirror corrosion today and after reading the many guides on how to do it, a handful mentioned how to avoid removing the door card. None of them had pictures however so I thought I would take a few as I gave it a try.

I haven’t painted them yet or added back to the car (tomorrow job) but basically I’ll just be doing the same in reverse.

What I am dealing with:
View attachment 290651

Glass removed (one broke but not an issue as I am replacing the glass due to the current ones having a zoom)
View attachment 290653
I then remove the cover via the 4 Torx screws
View attachment 290655
Then I removed the mechanism via the 4 Phillips screws. I then removed the 4 push fit wires. As you can see, they are labelled where they should go when putting back together/
View attachment 290657
Next step was to mask off the connectors and then bundle them together. Then I removed the 2 hex head bolts attaching the wing mirror body to the car. One you can get access to easily, the other I used an Allen key. They are not in tight but be careful if they are rusted.
View attachment 290659
Last step, remove the wing mirror, pull off the gasket and feed the cable through the wing mirror assembly. I will not dangle freely and it’s not under tension so won’t fall back into the car. If you worried it will, just tie a knot in it.
View attachment 290661

That’s it. Go fix the mirror etc then do everything above in reverse. One wing mirror removed without even needing to open the car door.
View attachment 290663

Apologies for any grammatical errors. Typed up on IPad.

How does the glass mirror come out?

 

[Sumilidon]

How does the glass mirror come out?

For me, one side easy and the other side hard! I later discovered why - the easy side had previously snapped and been welded so it had already been stripped before. The drivers side had never been removed before so was as tight as the day it left the factory + 27 years of muck.

I pushed in the mirror so that the side nearest the car was the furthest in. Other other side, I slid a curved, plastic trim remover tool and basically pried until it popped. I then pried from the bottom and then top to pop the other connections.

One thing to be careful of is that if you have heated wing mirrors, the connections are on the side nearest the car. They are just push fit, just likely corroded. I don't have them, but I would avoid prying from that side for this reason.

 

[Ianmc]

Good luck, my glass broke on removal!

 

[Geoff Crispin]

OK chaps think that i will keep spraying a fluid like wd40 and see if it moves. The mirrors are in the right possition and i dont need them to move but would like them to.

 

[Duncodin]

OK chaps think that i will keep spraying a fluid like wd40 and see if it moves. The mirrors are in the right possition and i dont need them to move but would like them to.

Inside there's two big rings where one ring moves inside the other allowing the glass to move around. The whole thing is covered by a rubber sleeve to keep the muck out. Mine had somehow pulled that rubber sleeve in between the inner and outer ring so it was well jammed up. Any amount of lubricating wouldn't have unjammed it. I had to strip it down and put it back together.

 

[andyglym]

OK chaps think that i will keep spraying a fluid like wd40 and see if it moves. The mirrors are in the right possition and i dont need them to move but would like them to.

I keep my wing mirrors lubed with ACF-50, WD40 ain't at the races compared to this stuff.

 

[bombur]

I keep my wing mirrors lubed with ACF-50, WD40 ain't at the races compared to this stuff.

Looks good stuff that. Guessing it would be good for UPVC window hinges?

 

[andyglym]

Looks good stuff that. Guessing it would be good for UPVC window hinges?

Yes mate. It's actual use is as a lubricant and corrosion inhibitor in the aircraft industry, popular stuff in the Motorbike world too.

 

[bombur]

Yes mate. It's actual use is as a lubricant and corrosion inhibitor in the aircraft industry, popular stuff in the Motorbike world too.

Just ordered some