JCOB2

This method is far superior to the older method of re-using the stock washer and pinning it in place (which I did 2 yrs ago and the repair just failed, thus my having to re-do it this past weekend).

One thing I want to mention that may be of use to future people doing this work - go to HOME DEPOT like the author of this thread did. In their lamp repair parts section, they carry a line of repair products by Westinghouse, and one of the little packages they carry is TWO 1/4" I.D. threaded rods already 2" in length which is exactly what you need for $1.49. Also, for $1.89 they sell an ASSORTED LOCK NUTS (as shown in the original post) which includes 2 of the required 1/4" ID lock nuts. For $4 you are out the door with everything you need, and no requirement to cut rods to length like the original poster did. Even easier!! The only thing you need to break out the hack saw for (or rotozip w/ cutoff wheel in my case) is for trimming down the stock aluminum pipe.

randy814u

I had a bad mirror when I bought my car. This fix might not be for everyone. I know there are a lot of perfectionists out there.

OK OK, this is a bubba fix.

I used black silicone between the base, and the housing. Stuck the mirror back on in place, and let it dry.

It has been on there for 3 years now with no problems, or comments.

Also if someone knocks it off, it will take me another 5 minutes to fix.



It just looks like a black gasket between the mirror and base.

This took me 5 minutes to do.

TEXHAWK0

You are kidding, right?
Just make sure to check the wires each time you stick it back on so that it does not come completely off and mess up your paint.

randy814u

I am not to concerned.
I did this 60,000 miles/ 3 years ago, and it has not moved since.
This car is a daily driver. It see's 100 plus degrees, and freezing temps.
It is washed once a week.

It also has seen a number of 130 mph runs.

Also this door is open and shut pretty much 5 times a day.

I think it has held up well for a one time 5 minute fix. I have never had to redo it.

Seems maybe gm should have done something like this to begin with.

They glued the rocker panels on, maybe they should have done the mirrors also.

gleds

The mount is so soft that the threads cut their way in without having to tap the mount. I used a bit of jb weld too

Nd4spd2

subscribing

newgene

This is an outstanding fix! Over the years, we haven't had a good one, and this is flat-out the way to go. I actually tried to put the original washer back on, and of course, it didn't work. I'm now waiting for the wife to come back from home depot with the parts to fix it.

I'm sure this will, although I haven't tried it yet. I may use some red lock-tite on it, as well, or at least some blue. Just using this method takes all the PITA part out of it.

Ed Swaneck

The best way to fix the mirror is to send it to Ohio. No wires are cut, and he sends the instructions to remove the mirror. Call Ed: 330-727-3188 or swanecke@gmail.com.

CactusCat

I did this exact same fix to my 98 about a month ago. I used the exact same parts as the original poster except my Home Depot only had 6" threaded pipe so I had to cut mine off. I did everything exactly as the OP except I did NOT have to cut off the top of the inside post (inside the mirror). Instead I made my threaded pipe 2-3/8" in length and it was exactly the right length to accomplish everything without the additional cutting. (Besides, getting things done inside the mirror is a bit crampled.) Simply by the very nature of the fix, everything the OP did is spot on and very easy to accomplish with just some basic soldering skills and taking your time. I did want to add one caveat however. Pressing the mirror back on is a CHORE!!! You have to get everything lined up and press REALLY, REALLY hard and ONLY PRESS IN THE CENTER OF THE MIRROR !! Ask me how I know. (Actually I got the mirror back on and then the mirror came off from the black plastic back. It was when I was glueing the mirror back on that I broke it from pressing on the sides a bit too hard. I broke the mirror in half.) So, here's a couple of tips since I broke the mirror. Before you press the mirror on, get the black plastic back really warm, even hot if you can stand it, by heating it with a hair dryer. That will soften up the plastic enough that it will press on MUCH easier. And lastly, if you break your mirror like I did, here's how to fix for cheap. The heat pad on the back of the mirror is simply glued to the back of the glass mirror. I simply used a sharp razor, took my time, and slowly removed (peeled off) the heat pad. Very easy to re-use and re-glue onto a new mirror. I got the mirror from here for $20 shipped.
http://www.wheelskin.com/burcomirror...ETTE&year=1998
When the mirror arrived (ordered Friday morning, arrived with Monday's mail - USPS), I simply used a little bit of superglue to re-adhere the heat pad to the back of the mirror, then used Shoe-Goo to adhere the new mirror w/heat pad to the plastic mirror back. You lose the auto-dimming with this fix, but its a WAY lot cheaper and I have tinted windows anyway, so not a biggie at all. Total cost to repair my floppy mirror was about $26 since I had to spend the $20 for the mirror. And best of all, like the OP said, you will NEVER have to repair this again. I'm sure I'll be doing the passenger door mirror some day. WTF were the GM engineers thinking when they came up with this stupid POS?

cruisecity

Many thanks for a fabulous tech article. I have a pampered, 40K miles '97, red, similar to yours. It obviously has spent most of it's time in the garage, so I was really surprised to go out a couple of days ago and discover that it had succumbed to the dreaded "floppy mirror disease" while it was merely parked in the garage. Thought maybe I had bumped into the mirror on an excursion in or out with the zero-turn or leaf blower or something, but when I finally popped the mirror out, I could see that the retainer had probably just worked it's way off the soft metal post from the pressure of the spring.

Anyway, your blow-by-blow convinced me that your fix was the way to go, but I pulled out the factory service manual to see if it would be of any use in the disassembly/assembly only to discover that other than how to replace the mirror, there were no instructions on how to repair this particular problem. I tried desperately to see if I could make a repair without pulling the door panel, but it wasn't gonna happen.

So, I made that trip to Home Depot and found essentially the parts you did, but went (what I think was) a step farther. I found a washer that fit over the post, backed it up with a smaller one that would only fit over the threaded tube, and then used two thin nuts over that so that one could lock the other. I did not have to cut off the end of the post, this way, and could still provide desired pressure against the spring.

Also, I used a rotary file to enlarge the opening at the top of the post, which was compressed a little because of the factory cut groove for the retaining clip. That allowed the threaded tube to free turn in the post, to minimize the chance of the lock nuts loosening. On the other end of the threaded tube, I used another washer that fit over the threaded tube (had to cut one side off with a cut-off saw) and backed up this washer with two more lock nuts. Finally, I put just a drop of oil on the washers so everything would move easily.

I was able to get the wiring harness back into the new threaded tube by slitting it so that it would compress in the now smaller hole. Silicon spray helped, as you suggested.

I had a fair amount of difficulty getting the mirror back on the motor until I correctly followed the factory procedure. In a nutshell, you must first put the jackshafts back on (into) the motor and position their tabs correctly. Then, with a firm pressure distributed across the center of the mirror, you snap the center of the mirror in place. Then, reposition the mirror and snap one of the jackshafts back into it's socket on the back of the mirror, reposition the mirror again and snap the other jackshaft into it's socket. If you're not worried about breaking something during this part, you're probably NOT normal. Now just bolt everything back the way it was.

Again, a well written and documented article! Now I know how to do the other side when it fails!https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...s/thumbsup.gif

randy814u

Ok a update. It has now been 6 years and 120 thousand miles, and still no problems or redos for this bubba fix.

Works for me.

rcduffy

Thanks to everyone that contriputed to the flooppy mirror repair, it saved me lots of $.
The photos were really great, keep up the good work!

pinballfixer

I used a smaller bolt, that would fit with the cable, so I did not have to cut it. I used a large washer on top and ground down a groove big enough for the cable. The lower washer was smaller and ground nearly 1/2 off. The cable was snug but not pinched. Used locktight on top and bottom. seems to work fine.

wkndbern

After a couple years of velcro and wadded up duct tape I finally bought some silicone.... that bubba guy knows his stuff....
I used the permatex ultra black on both sides about a month ago...
So far so good...