Side View Mirror Repair

[Jager]

My passenger side rear view mirror started flapping in the wind this past week... Very distracting. So I disassembled and was able to fix it this weekend.

The reason it became loose is that the adhesive that holds the glass and plastic mount together no longer held.

Here are the tools needed… a #25 Torx socket and drive, Permatex Super Glue, and a flat blade screwdriver or small prying tool.



Remove the interior triangle by pulling the bottom of the triangle away from the door first and then lifting upward on the triangle not to break the tab at the top of the triangle (see tab at the top of the triangle in the photo below to understand why you need to lift it upward).



Remove electrical connector by pulling on it.

Use a #25 Torx drive to remove the three bolts holding the mirror housing to the door.





Use a small prying tool to carefully remove the loose glass from the mirror housing. Mine came-out fairly easy since the adhesive was barely holding-on at this point.

Then remove the plastic mount/holding plate by prying and pulling it off the pan/tilt mount. Note the wires for the defrosting pad that are attached to the plastic mount plate.






Clean both the back side of the mirror and the front surface of the plastic mount plate with glass cleaner or other cleaning fluid.

Use a good glass adhesive, (I used Permatex Super Glue), and apply all around the outer edges and a few spots in the center of the back side of the glass.

Attach the plastic mount plate to the back of the glass and clamp together. I used a number of spring clamps to hold the two pieces together. Let dry overnight.





Reassembly was straight forward. Reconnect the defrost pad (brown wire) connections.





Align and carefully press the mirror assembly back onto the pan/tilt mount in the mirror housing.

Reattach the mirror housing to the door starting with the top bolt first, tighten all three bolts.

Reconnect the electrical connector.

Install interior cover/triangle.

[jdraupp]

Great write up Jager. Probably will be needed by all at some point.

[randy7601]

You don't have to remove the mirror housing from the car. Just use the motor to tilt the mirror to one side, or even all the way facing down.

"Then remove the plastic mount/holding plate by prying and pulling it off the pan/tilt mount. Note the wires for the defrosting pad that are attached to the plastic mount plate."

Proceed as above.

How do I know this? My story is a little different.

My driver's side mirror struck a lane divider where they were working on the road. It knocked the mirror assembly nearly flush with the door, the mirror-glass and plastic mount came loose and cracked the mirror. OK, shattered the mirror. I pulled over, the only thing holding the mirror-glass/plastic from falling off the car was a single heater wire. I connected the other lead and snapped the mirror assembly back on the pan/tilt mount.

Next step, I ordered the "Aspheric Mirror Upgrade" from Suncoast Parts Suncoast Porsche Parts & Accessories Aspheric Mirror Upgrade

The new mirror was already attached to the base plate. So all I had to do was tilt the mirror down, gently pry off the mirror, detach heater leads, and reattach heater leads to new mirror.

Then I moved the mirror pan/tilt mount to a more centered position and snapped the new mirror in place. Took about 2 minutes for a project I thought would take a couple of hours.

I had a mirror like this in my old Saab 93. It's kind of like a low-tech blind-spot monitor.

[Jager]

Originally Posted by randy7601

You don't have to remove the mirror housing from the car. Just use the motor to tilt the mirror to one side, or even all the way facing down.

"Then remove the plastic mount/holding plate by prying and pulling it off the pan/tilt mount. Note the wires for the defrosting pad that are attached to the plastic mount plate."

I now know removing the housing was not necessary but I was not sure what I was getting into with the mirror being loose. Removal of the housing is very easy and I found it helpful to have the housing in my lap as I was removing and installing the glass.

[randy7601]

Originally Posted by Jager

Removal of the housing is very easy and I found it helpful to have the housing in my lap as I was removing and installing the glass.

I appreciate your work (and your photos). If the need arises where I need to change the mirror assembly, I'm coming here first.

[Gforrest2]

Timely thread! Mirrors are okay, but both housings are scraped. Was going to paint them on the car which would have required lots of masking. Now that I know how to pop them off, the job will be a lot easier. Thanks!

[vijayvignesh051991]

The rest of the time, we use them without taking much notice of their presence.

[r00ster]

Long time lurker... might be my first post???

First: Thank you to everyone that contributes here, your posts have helped me save thousands of dollars! Over the past 2 years I've replaced my alternator and accessory belt; replaced the water pump (composite impeller) and thermostat (lower temp and housing); removed and repacked both of my rear axles; removed front spoiler to clean the radiators; installed new front rotors, turned the rears, new pads and sensors on all four corners before a complete brake fluid flush. Also replaced the rear (caster) control arms. Upgraded the plastic gears in both of the convertible top transmissions. Serviced the Tip Trans. I've also resurfaced my front headlight lenses and there's more I just can't remember right now. THANK YOU EVERYONE, I wouldn't have had a clue without your instructions! Hopefully, at some point, I'll post something "brilliant" to help pay back this forum...

Second: 2003 2.7L with Tip. 147k miles... My driver's side mirror started flapping around in the housing this past week. Jager's situation sounds similar to mine. Yesterday, I was able to carefully pull the mirror off the plastic/rubber plate because it was barely holding on. Whew, I saved my mirror! I'm just starting my research on issue and so Permatex Super Glue is the first product I've heard about so far. I realize it's only but 4 months: is it still holding good for you Jager? Anyone reading this use a different product? I had a buddy advise me to use Epoxy but I'm worried about it drying out in the Florida sun so I'm leaning towards Permatex at this point.

Finally: Thank you Jager for the photos and instructions on removing the housing and plate. Digging the cars on your bench!... Thank you to randy7601 as well for your contribution to this topic!

[jakeru]

I unfortunately didn't catch my loose side mirror glass until it was too late. Glass fell off while driving, nowhere to be found.

Luckily, a used good eBay mirror from a 996 (entire housing with glass and in the proper color code also) came to the rescue. Finish was in even better condition than on the old housing, so an improvement on the original. I'll definitely keep an eye out more closely now for the "wobbling mirror syndrome" though. Happened recently on my 2001 boxster with 110k miles.