Busted mirror guts - how screwed am I? (instructions on disassembling a manual FJ62 mirror) (1 Viewer)

[Gringo]

I decided to take my mirror apart to try and make it pivot better. I tried to be really gentle and pulling it apart but the plastic is just so brittle it cracked apart. Those top tabs that slot into the cast aluminum bracket are toast. Also as compared to the PS mirror there are some flanges in the 4:00 and 7:00 position that look busted too. The DS and PS plastic guts are different levels of crusty and discolored and so I’m wondering if the PS one has been replaced at some point. I’m wondering if there is someone that sells some replacement guts so that I don’t have to buy some crappy aftermarket mirrors that are in my budget or sell a kidney to get some OEM ones. Sorry I don’t have any pictures of the PS for comparison.

 

[OSS]

It's toast. Mine did that too (I bought them in 1988). As you've discovered, the plastic internal mounting pivot has morphed into something resembling a rice cake. No way to fix it.
I purchased the cheap aftermarket versions (about $110) and boy they looked great. They're definitely not as bomber as the originals, but they work fine.
One good thing about them is that they're inexpensive. If you break one in the future- so what. They start looking tired in a few years - so what. Easy to replace

 

[Gringo]

Are the guts the same? If I buy the aftermarket can I swap the internals into the beefy oem housings?

 

[OSS]

They're different inside.
The chromed plastic outer shell is nowhere near as thick or durable as the originals. Got to keep them waxed and treat them gently. The base is plastic, not aluminum like the originals.
They're not too bad.

 

[SteveH]

Consider CityRacer's fully manual mirrors for the '62. OEM Toyota quality, super vibration proof, cheaper than electric, and once set up, you essentially don't need to adjust them. One of my better FJ62 purchases. Still not really 'cheap', sadly.

 

[Gringo]

Consider CityRacer's fully manual mirrors for the '62. OEM Toyota quality, super vibration proof, cheaper than electric, and once set up, you essentially don't need to adjust them. One of my better FJ62 purchases. Still not really 'cheap', sadly.

It looks like CityRacers are sold out at the moment. I looked at the various aftermarkets.

Mirrors - FJ60 FJ62

Mirrors - FJ60 FJ62

www.coolcruisers.com

FJ55, FJ60 and FJ62 Land Cruiser Side and Rear View Mirrors - Specter Off-Road

Toyota Land Cruiser parts since 1983. From the oldest FJ25 and FJ40 to FJ45 BJ40 FJ55 FJ60 BJ60 FJ62 FJ70 BJ70 FJ80 and 100 Series, SOR has the largest selection of top quality new and used OEM and aftermarket Land Cruiser parts in stock in the world. Specializing in restoration parts for both...

www.sor.com

Mirror Set - Chrome - FJ60, FJ62 1980-1992

fj62 fj60 mirrors

cruisercorps.com

For about $100 I can roll the dice on quality and vibrations etc. It seems like this forum is full of people trying to figure out how to stop the vibrations. For about $250 I can get some new OEM's. That's up there in price ... but I think I'm just going to go for it. My plan was to paint them (Rust-oleum flat soft iron) to match the color of the vents on the back pillars ... but after spending $250 for them I should probably just let them shine for awhile before I do ---- I don't know, I'll let that one simmer for a few days.

It was weird this morning. I had to do some driveway shuffling to get a different car out and available to drive to work today. The whole time backing out of the driveway I kept looking at where my mirrors should be. I KNEW they were gone, but my brain just kept sending my eyes there to look where was was going.

 

[tonka az]

Can anyone confirm if power guts would fit in the aftermarket shell? @Gringo, could you take off the yellow plastic off the mirror pad and show the back side? I'm curious if I can drop the power guts in. My pad is broke, and the shells are tired...

 

[SteveH]

I tried swapping my old OEM Toyota power 'guts' into the new Toyota manual-mirror shell. No dice. And you risk breaking your new manual mirror.

Also, my power 'guts' were a tiny bit sloppy, and the new manual mirror was rock solid and has much more surface area to provide friction to hold the mirror in place (hard to explain, but easy to see if you peek inside).

 

[tonka az]

Bugger... I have the switch for power mirrors, I want to use them... Oh well. Thanks for the update. @SteveH, could you post pics of what you're talking about? Of course, only if it won't break your mirrors

 

[Gringo]

Can anyone confirm if power guts would fit in the aftermarket shell? @Gringo, could you take off the yellow plastic off the mirror pad and show the back side? I'm curious if I can drop the power guts in. My pad is broke, and the shells are tired...

Yeah I'll be home in a few hours and will try to remember to take that picture for you

update: Looks like @SteveH answered it for you. If you do decide to do something, I'm happy to send whatever pictures you need.

 

[Gringo]

Here’s a few. Let me know if there’s any other angles you need.

 

[tonka az]

Whaaaaaaaat??? How does the pad attach to the yellow piece????

 

[Gringo]

To take the mirror apart:

1. Carefully pop the glass mirror out of the black plastic holder. You can start from one of the corners and slowly separate the black plastic from the edge of the mirror
2. Once the mirror is removed, you can see what it looks like in the picture below.
   1. Remove the screw and washer
   2. Set the spring aside
   3. The white plastic "ball" part of the "ball and socket" will come out the same direction of the screw, washer, and spring
   4. The black plastic tray can now be lifted out of the housing, leaving the brittle yellowed plastic that connects the guts to the cast aluminum mount inside of the mirror housing.
      1. I don't have a picture of the yellowed piece in the housing because I didn't go in the right order and broke the yellowed plastic. I unscrewed the screw that has a guide hole on the bottom of the mirror housing and then tried to pop out the whole assembly. Don't do what I did or you will likely break the same piece that I did.