Dislocated side-view mirror
#1
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Dislocated side-view mirror
One day, I noticed my driver's side mirror was a little off. Find out that it is completely dislocated and swinging loosely both ways (instead of just folding inwards). The motor still moves/works fine. I am able to lift it up a little and see that something did break loose/off. Now I am driving around with it swinging in the wind and I can't see a thing w/ it. Does this mean I need to buy a whole new mirror or am I able to fix this somehow? Thanks in advance!
#2
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happened to mine when i was buying my car. i not sure what they did but it stays now. they might have like glued it, cuz when i went to pick it up there was a zip tie around it. i bought mine from a dealership and told them about it and told them to fix it, lol. and they cut it off and it stayed...
peace out
peace out
#5
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I ran into this problem awhile back.
The most likely problem causing the mirror to flap around is that the spring holder apparatus has broken off inside your mirror.
This spring holder apparatus is difficult to fix/glue because it requires the spring to be compressed. Also, I was not sure if glue would have held up under the pressure of that spring.
Instead of fixing/gluing it I bought a replacement mirror from a salvage yard and I used electrical tape around the base of the hinge as a temporary fix.
I guess gluing the mirror assembly is another option if you do not mind losing the ability to fold your mirrors in.
Hope this helped.
The most likely problem causing the mirror to flap around is that the spring holder apparatus has broken off inside your mirror.
This spring holder apparatus is difficult to fix/glue because it requires the spring to be compressed. Also, I was not sure if glue would have held up under the pressure of that spring.
Instead of fixing/gluing it I bought a replacement mirror from a salvage yard and I used electrical tape around the base of the hinge as a temporary fix.
I guess gluing the mirror assembly is another option if you do not mind losing the ability to fold your mirrors in.
Hope this helped.
#6
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huh, this problem is more common than i thought... and here i thought it was only my car =P i was going to get new mirrors, but maybe i should just have them glued. or, hopefully i can find carbon fiber mirrors that has the electric adjustments, but i haven't found any that would fit =P
#7
Yeah, both of mine are like that too... mine was a prank done overnight one night...sucks
Found a cheap fix though... I went ahead and just used two pieces of velcro; stuck one along the face of the swing plate, the other on back side of the mirror, so that when they line up, they stick together! It's kind of thick-feeling and a little tough to get them aligned, but that's the point - they're not gonna move anywhere!
It's held for months now and makes it so they can't swing past each other, but will give under load... Kind of like putting weather stripping between two saloon doors. Holds up in the rain, but have to do a slight re-adjust after a run through the car wash.
Good luck.
Found a cheap fix though... I went ahead and just used two pieces of velcro; stuck one along the face of the swing plate, the other on back side of the mirror, so that when they line up, they stick together! It's kind of thick-feeling and a little tough to get them aligned, but that's the point - they're not gonna move anywhere!
It's held for months now and makes it so they can't swing past each other, but will give under load... Kind of like putting weather stripping between two saloon doors. Holds up in the rain, but have to do a slight re-adjust after a run through the car wash.
Good luck.
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#8
I just suddenly had the driver side mirror turn up with this problem. It swings freely and I have no idea how it happened. It was fine at night when parked then the next day it was swinging freely.
#9
Intermediate
loose side mirror
Dunno how it happened but I now have a swinging passenger mirror. I don't see any marking where someone hit it but previous threads state that it's spring loaded.
Anyhow, I'm gonna use double sided tape or the Velcro idea sounds good as previously mentioned.
Anyhow, I'm gonna use double sided tape or the Velcro idea sounds good as previously mentioned.
#10
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Hi, The mirror on my 92 SC 400 broke loose on it's own during covered storage. The pot metal/u-clip arrangement failed due to spring pressure ( a design flaw ). I developed a fix that works ( other than replacing with a mirror with the same potential flaw ). Will share with those interested.
#11
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Had this happen to me on my previous car. I fixed it by taking the mirror apart (some will tell you that you need to remove the door panel and completely remove the mirror, you dont)
Carefully remove the glass by applying pressure from the bottom and push outwards, You will then see multiple screws to take off. Take all of them off and the mirror should come apart.
Once you take the mirror apart you will be left with this
and the from here youll need to inspect the mechanism. There is a horse shoe looking pin that holds the spring down. Over time it could have fallen off the rod that houses the spring. IF thats the case youll need to compress the spring and reinsert the pin. Here is a picture
Now this next part is important. If you look at the last photo, you can see that when the pin in my mirror came off, It also damaged the grooves that held the pin in place by bending them upwards. After lightly applying pressure on it, the grooved part completely broke off. What i did was use a filing tool and filed a new groove on the opposite side of the pole at the same hight as the previous one. This is important to do because if you put it into the same location and its damaged it will just fly out again.
The spring is INSANELY hard to compress without a proper compression tool. I didnt have one so i had to use 2 heavy duty zip ties on either side of the spring, then i put the spring on the floor, stepped on it to compress it and tightened the zip ties. After installing the spring and putting the pin back in i cut the zip ties and slid them out of the spring. its a PITA but not impossible.
Carefully remove the glass by applying pressure from the bottom and push outwards, You will then see multiple screws to take off. Take all of them off and the mirror should come apart.
Once you take the mirror apart you will be left with this
and the from here youll need to inspect the mechanism. There is a horse shoe looking pin that holds the spring down. Over time it could have fallen off the rod that houses the spring. IF thats the case youll need to compress the spring and reinsert the pin. Here is a picture
Now this next part is important. If you look at the last photo, you can see that when the pin in my mirror came off, It also damaged the grooves that held the pin in place by bending them upwards. After lightly applying pressure on it, the grooved part completely broke off. What i did was use a filing tool and filed a new groove on the opposite side of the pole at the same hight as the previous one. This is important to do because if you put it into the same location and its damaged it will just fly out again.
The spring is INSANELY hard to compress without a proper compression tool. I didnt have one so i had to use 2 heavy duty zip ties on either side of the spring, then i put the spring on the floor, stepped on it to compress it and tightened the zip ties. After installing the spring and putting the pin back in i cut the zip ties and slid them out of the spring. its a PITA but not impossible.
Last edited by - V -; 07-19-17 at 10:04 AM.
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