jasoncoker

Hello All,

I was on the freeeway this morning and heard a clunk. When I looked up, I realized that my driver's side mirror was flapping in the wind. I did a search and it appears that the bolt has backed out.

From what I understand, this is a PITA to fix the first time it happens but is easier after that. Has anyone in the L.A. area done this enough to feel comfortable with it? If so, would you be available to help me out while I do it? Thank You!

Sincerely,
j
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Cyrus951

It's pretty simple.
Just fold the mirror towards the door, and screw the philips head screw back in.
If that doesn't fix the shake, then you have to remove the mirror, it's a 20 minute job to fix the loose bolt on the inside.

Randy_J

sounds like the bottom locking nut has come loose. You'll have to remove the mirror to get to it and it is a bit of a PITA to fix but definitely doable - just takes patience. There's a good write up for this repair with photos somewhere ... found it - it's a PCA write up on 968 mirrors - very similar hardware - has photos too at http://www.951motorsports.com/#Assem...Aero%20Mirrors

there's a thin plastic washer in the assembly, and if you have a real problem compressing the spring pre-load, you can leave that out and create a little more threaded length to get a good start on the lock nut. A little lock-tight would be a good idea too to prevent it from backing out again.

Cyrus951

Yeah, I ****canned that spring when I was fixing mine, the setup works fine without it.

jasoncoker

Thanks for the advice, guys. Looks like I have plans this Saturday morning! Hopefully, it will go back together reasonably easily.
Is there any way to do it without removing the mirror?

icat

Sounds like the mirror is already off!
If it's just the allen head bolt - then all you need to do is "fold" the mirror assembly to get to the bolt, then reset the base on the door, screw in the bolt, "unfold" the mirror assembly and you're finished. If the spring in the mirror assembly has popped and the base is still attached to the car door - then it's a bit more complicated. In that case you will need to remove the base and fix the issue with the spring before reattaching the mirror to the door.

jasoncoker

Yeah, I wish it were only the allen bolt! Oh well.

FSAEracer03

Just to let you know, though, if you go this route, you won't be folding your mirrors back in place. Also, if you don't have the triple-square bit to rescrew the mounting assembly back in place, a 3/8" allen head will suffice. Definitely use blue loctite when reassembling it. If you have reasonable skill at car repair, this job shouldn't take you much more then and hour or two for your first time. It's not difficult unless you approach it blindly, then chances are you'll break or scratch something and be very agrivated. If you feel uncomfortable about it, I'll walk you through the process. It isn't very hard, just a little patience-testing. As a matter of fact, I have to remove my passenger side mirror and do this very process as my mounting screw is loosening. I'm guessing your mirror was shaky at speed before it came totally floppy? If it didn't, something broke. Best of luck either way.

-KR

Randy_J

Kevin is right - best not to dump the internal spring. If you really have trouble compressing that whole assembly to get the locking nut started, you can remove the thin plastic washer - that'll allow just enough to get the nut started. The PS Mirror on our 85.5 na came apart and after the re & re without the plastic washer, the mirror swivel action works, but with just a little less tension. It doesn't move at all during high speed driving or on rough roads, but just lacks that teutonic "snap" as when it was OEM new.

jasoncoker

Well, I did not notice it being shaky prior to the instant that it really came loose. I hope that nothing broke. I have been working on cars for a long time, but I just got this car 2 months ago and don't know what I am doing with it. Thanks for the offers of help, I will let you know how it goes . . .

danny951

my driver mirror just came loose tonight. the spring/bolt just came loose. i've got it all apart right now but don't have a torx big enough to screw the big bolt in again and it's hard as hell to get the spring compressed enough to screw down! what size torx do i need for this? I have up to a T50 and it's still too small!

jasoncoker

Danny,

Just put everything back together and compress and turn the spring assembly with a large screwdriver. It is a slightly tricky getting the threads started, but should not take you more than 5-10 minutes. The spring is fairly stiff, but by no means is it incompressible. Good luck!

Sincerely,
j

FSAEracer03

...or a 3/8" allen head. Fits like a charm and is far easier to find locally, cheaply.

jf951

is taking the door panel off difficult?

icat

No