Sport mirrors how do you pull them apart for painting?

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Ol'forest

Ol'forest

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Might seem like a stupid question, but before I go trying to pull my sport mirrors apart and damaging anything (remember I'm in the south pacific here = expensive and hard to get) are there any tricks to disassembly for repainting? Looks as if the mirrors were assembled and then painted by the factory and the lenses stuck in after? If so how do I pop lenses out? I've got a loose passenger mirror too, so have to figure out how to tighten that too. Not to mention missing the ring nut and clip to hold the adjuster to the door....
 
Are they on a thee wire cable like these?

0005.gif
 
They can be taken apart but really are not made to be taken apart. On the remote adjuster there are crimps where the cable is help in. Carefully pry those open just enough to slide the cable out. Your success will largely depend on the condition of the mirrors. If there is a lot of corrosion it will be hard to not break something in the process.
Safest bet is to just mask off the mirror and rotate the mirror to gain access to the inside for painting.
 
You may not need to remove the glass to tighten it up. They have a screw that holds the mirror in the housing. When I removed it I was able to slide the housing down the cable to work on the mirror. I haven't released the cables from this mirror in the picture. This mirror has an aluminum back that that distorted over time. I was able to tighten it up with a washer which didn't last so I replaced it with a short cap nut.


Side View Mirror Stuff FWIW
 
Also mark and put the cables back in same location on the knob part too otherwise when you push the knob the mirror glass may move opposite of the way its supposed to.
 
moparmat2000 said:
Also mark and put the cables back in same location on the knob part too otherwise when you push the knob the mirror glass may move opposite of the way its supposed to.
Click to expand...

yep :D
I haven't done it but I can imagine.

That part that goes in the door is pot metal and even just trying to move ene of the crimped over the cable tabs can just crumble off.
I had one wire housing that the crimp was busted off so I put it back in place and wrapped them together with real small wire and now it works great.
My point is that the adjustable mirrors usually only loosen up because one or more of the cable housings came loose from the part that goes in the door.
At the mirror end they are a little tougher. (a little) :D
 
moparmat2000 said:
Tape it, paint it, and forget it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm thinking the drivers side I have works well, so I can probably get away with careful masking and stripping, but the passenger side is loose as a goose, and its very different construction to the remote. I'm guessing the ball joint stud screws into the housing before the mirror glass is glued in? So unless it's possible to turn with curved fine nose pliers, I will have to somehow get the glass out without damaging....dam I remember breaking the glass doing the same thing 30 odd years ago when I was 15 with my first car, luckily dad knew someone that cut me a new piece. Will heat soften the glue? or something else?
 
I believe masking is your friend. I have caused more problems for myself by trying to get too intricate . It wasn't worth it for me .
Yote
 
Here's a cheap after market mirror that the glass came of easy with a heat gun.....

MirrorRemove5.gif
MirrorRemove6.gif


If it has that black sealer on it, it will be a pain.
 
Related question here. Dave I have those same mirrors as in your pics. I want them rechromed. Do you know how far they need to be taken apart for rechroming?
Glass replacement shouldnt be too bad (if need be)
But can cables etc be left attached?
Thanks
Daves69 said:
Are they on a thee wire cable like these?

View attachment 1715093817
Click to expand...
 
How to disassemble the remote control assembly. First and most important, the 3 cables are, or were color marked and must go back in the same positions relative to the locating tang so the mirror moves in correct directions. Make new marking, take pictures, whatever.
You'll need to fashion a jig with a small C clamp and a small piece of tubing over the wand to compress the tension spring without bending/damaging the wand.
The cable sheathes are spiral wound so they will screw right out of the crimps like any threaded hardware ( a drop of 3 in 1 machine oil could help ). Now the cable itself will come out of the lower crimps gap ( whittle to widen that gap only as much as needed ). Any bending/prying will break the crimped pot metal material so just don't.
Push/pull the ferrules crimped on the cable ends upward and out, again whittling those gaps only enough to remove the cable. Beyond the C clamp fixture I needed a dental pic and utility razor.
The only "tricky" part was pre or back twisting the sheathe the correct number of turns so it screws back into that lower crimp to original full depth. I think I used a very small needle nose vise grip parallel to the sheathe ( its been a while ).
A heat gun will melt the adhesive bonding the glass to the metal.
 
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You'll need to disassemble as Redfish says Steve.
RedFish said:
.......You'll need to fashion a jig with a small C clamp and a small piece of tubing over the wand to compress the tension spring without bending/damaging the wand.........
Click to expand...
Here's what worked for me to compress the spring.............
MirrorFlopComp.jpg
 
You can use paint markers or different color sharpies to mark the cables and which spot they go to for reassembly, also mark the position of the wand to housing, and put it all back clocked the same way it was before dissassembly. Did you mention you were painting them or rechroming them. If chroming them, just buy new repops, and resell the old ones.
 
I used a C clamp with one end placed in between the 3 cables, mostly because I didn't know if the spring pressure could blow that end apart / out of the 3 attaching limbs or not. Pot metal is worse than plastics in most cases. Good luck with it.
 
Reviving this thread... I managed to get the passenger mirror lens out, not with out a chip, though, but it wasn't perfect any way, and I can see why mirror is loose, easily fixed with a pop rivet, but danged if I can figure out now how to remove the ball joint stud from the housing, its pretty darn stuck in there, and it really needs to come out for a nice strip and paint job.
 
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