How To Fix Swinging Mirror, Caused By Broken Post

[96beast]

So the other day I was cruising when I noticed that my DS mirror was swinging in the wind as I accelerated/braked. I searched on 'Mud and discovered that the post that allows the mirror to swing has two little plastic tabs that hold down a large spring. The spring puts pressure on the mirror, which forces it to stay in place. When the plastic tabs on the mirror post become brittle and break, the spring decompresses and the mirror housing is free to swivel.

I found several threads with ideas on how to fix this problem without purchasing a new mirror housing (~$300), and combined all of the great ideas I found into a simple and cheap solution (~$5). Here goes:

1) Remove the mirror glass, mirror motor, and finally the mirror housing. More detailed instructions for this procedure can be found here:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/83177-shakey-sideview-mirror-fix.html

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/378291-broken-mirror-glass-replacement-idiots-lots-pics.html
(Note: you don't have to remove the post, just the mirror housing)

One thing that I never saw mentioned in other threads is be careful for the three ball bearings that reside in the bottom of the metal "mirror frame". I didn't realize they were there until they all fell out when I removed the mirror and I had to sweep the garage floor to find them.

2) Go to hardware store of choice and purchase: 1x .25x3in. bolt, 2x fender washers (must be larger than the diameter of the spring), 1x .25in locking nut, and 2x .25 nuts. I bought more than I needed and ended up using the above hardware.


3) If only one plastic tab on the post is broken (as was the case with mine), file off or cut off the other tab so that when you tighten the bolt the fender washer won't sit crooked.


4) Feed the 3 wires that were disconnected from the mirror motor through the most rear hole (closest to tailgate) of the post housing. The wires must be rerouted due the fact the bolt/fender washers will be occupying the space inside the post.


5) With the mirror frame in place, run the bolt through the post with one fender washer at the bottom and one fender washer covering the top of the spring. Add locking nut and tighten with the two nuts. Tighten the fender washer down to the post then loosen just a tad so that the apparatus won't be rubbing up against the top of the post. Note: You can still add all of the other parts of the mirror after this step (you will need to room to tighten the nuts)




6) Put everything back together as you found it and reconnect the wires. If you are facing the glass of the mirror, from left to right the colors are Black, Red, Brown. Here is a picture of the BACK of the motor plate from another thread (This is for DS; order of wires is reversed for PS):


Note: Now would also be a perfect time to R&R your mirror hangers and bottom screw hole if you have a "shakey mirror problem" (most likely you will if the post broke). Refer to here: https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/83177-shakey-sideview-mirror-fix.html

6-2)

Credits (and reference of all threads concerning this issue):
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/83177-shakey-sideview-mirror-fix.html
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/378291-broken-mirror-glass-replacement-idiots-lots-pics.html
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/295383-loose-mirror-problem-not-shaky-mirror.html
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/456180-swinging-mirror-fix-broken-mirror-post.html
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/395744-drivers-side-view-mirror-housing-loose.html
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/368071-side-view-mirror-bracket-broke-pics.html
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/72535-broken-mirror-mounting-tab.html

 

[gotmud]

Great fix!

 

[FaronF]

Good morning I just wanted to say THANK YOU for taking time to write up and document this issue, it saved me a bunch of time/$ on Friday. If you're ever in Charlotte I'll gladly buy you a beverage

Faron

 

[Blade 80LC]

Thanks for pulling those posts together. I've meaning to check out the FAQ post for the shaky mirror fix.

 

[Walletclan]

Well done! My driver side is shaky and I cannot tighten the screw anymore. It drives my nuts when I'm on the freeway because it shakes like crazy.

 

[96beast]

Glad you guys found it helpful. Wish I had time to do more stuff like this!

 

[OG 91 LC]

I'm stoked!!!!!! Did this today. Fix could have taken less than 20 min, but I like to tinker and find out how this stuff works. I took lots of pics. Visual learners. Here you go.

I had prepped the mirror to be facing upwards with the inside door controls. I had read of members doing this fix only to have their mirror fall off and break. So I grabbed one of my chairs and set it near the door, under the side view mirror and added a bunch of pillows and blankets just in case.

Then removed lower screw at the bottom of mirror.

With the lower screw removed you may gently and slowly lift the mirror from the brackets inside the housing. This reveals the inside with the wiring. Don't drop the mirror!!

The wires are connected like so. The mirror is face down. If you were facing the mirror on the vehicle, then the wires are connected as follows from inside out; brown is closest to the window, red in the middle, and black on the outside.

Disconnect the wires.

I proceeded to unscrew the screw on the inside of the housing.

 

[OG 91 LC]

Then came unscrewing the 4 screws you see here.

Removing these screws allows the housing to be separated.

Removing these halves exposes the spring, the post, and the various parts that hold this apparatus together.

I removed everything and left the wiring through the post. I then bought about a few dollars worth of hardware at my local True Value and followed OP's idea.

I ran the bolt with the washer from the bottom and notice that my bolt was narrow enough to run it through the post including the wiring.

 

[OG 91 LC]

I ran the wiring through the post and ran it through the spring since the second washer was going to be at the top.

I then ran the wiring alone the fastener and made the wires point down like so.

Notice on the above pics that the washer, lock washer, and the two nuts have been set in place.

What's cool is that you only need slight pressure down on the spring. You'll notice that even a small amount of tension makes it work as it should.

Put everything back by reversing the steps. Pretty chill.

Btw. I was lucky in that my tabs on the mirror mount were still intact and not broken. This is usually the reason why most get the shaky mirror. I did notice some stress/strain hairline cracks so I added a very thin coat of crazy glue.

Once again. Thanks Mud/OP for making this possible and nearly a $0 fix.

 

[jtwopark]

sub'd

 

[plutonius]

The spring in my DS mirror "popped" yesterday as I was standing next to it. It made the strangest sound, and I really didn't know what it was until I got on the road and noticed the mirror swinging in the wind. Pulled over, searched ih8mud for a fix, spent $2.77 at the local hardware store in Santa Barbara, and fixed this thing in the parking lot 20 minutes later. Brilliant. ilovemud!

 

[plutonius]

The spring in my DS mirror "popped" yesterday as I was standing next to it. It made the strangest sound, and I really didn't know what it was until I got on the road and noticed the mirror swinging in the wind. Pulled over, searched ih8mud for a fix, spent $2.77 at the local hardware store in Santa Barbara, and fixed this thing in the parking lot 20 minutes later. Brilliant. ilovemud!

 

[Seth_O]

I did this same fix a few weeks ago, but instead of a bolt down the middle I used threaded tubing from home depot/lowes, like the kind you find in a lamp. I cut it to length and then ran the power wires through the tube.

it worked awesome.

 

[GPappas]

Awesome fix, $1.24 and 20 minutes later no more duck tape or floppy mirror. Thanks for walkthrough!

 

[RattleAndRoll]

Such a great fix. I completed it in the hardware store parking lot during my lunch break in my dress shirt. I ended up using three 1 1/4 washers with a 5/8 opening between the spring and top washer to compress the spring down to where it would have been with the factory clip. I also used a lock washer and a lock nut because why not. I had to swap out the 3' bolt for a 4' in order to get the nut started with the extra spacers on. While I was in there I fixed the shaky mirror syndrome using a washer, a file, and some Gorilla Glue. I filed the washer to match the clip opening, scored up both surfaces with the file, glued, clamped and 30 minutes later had a solid mirror again. (I did that part back at the office). I noticed a crack on the other clip so for good measure I filed a second washer and glued it on there to hopefully prevent future failure. That mirror has never been so stable.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Wow - thanks a million for this fix. We just got back from a week out of town to find my passenger mirror broken. It was parked along a wooden fence with about 3 feet of space and the boat trailer hooked up as well. I can see deer tracks as if it ran along the fence in a panic and nailed the mirror, breaking those swivel spring tabs off. Read the thread this morning, went to Home Despot for 89 cents worth of bolts and put it back in within the hour. The mirror glass is drying with epoxy on it to repair the broken "ear" tabs and I'll file it to shape tomorrow.

 

[GeoRoss]

I don't know who did this first, but I used hollow lamp all thread to fix mine.

 

[Clydespop]

So the other day I was cruising when I noticed that my DS mirror was swinging in the wind as I accelerated/braked. I searched on 'Mud and discovered that the post that allows the mirror to swing has two little plastic tabs that hold down a large spring. The spring puts pressure on the mirror, which forces it to stay in place. When the plastic tabs on the mirror post become brittle and break, the spring decompresses and the mirror housing is free to swivel.

I found several threads with ideas on how to fix this problem without purchasing a new mirror housing (~$300), and combined all of the great ideas I found into a simple and cheap solution (~$5). Here goes:

1) Remove the mirror glass, mirror motor, and finally the mirror housing. More detailed instructions for this procedure can be found here:

shakey sideview mirror FIX

Broken Mirror and Glass Replacement For Idiots...Lots of Pics
(Note: you don't have to remove the post, just the mirror housing)

One thing that I never saw mentioned in other threads is be careful for the three ball bearings that reside in the bottom of the metal "mirror frame". I didn't realize they were there until they all fell out when I removed the mirror and I had to sweep the garage floor to find them.

2) Go to hardware store of choice and purchase: 1x .25x3in. bolt, 2x fender washers (must be larger than the diameter of the spring), 1x .25in locking nut, and 2x .25 nuts. I bought more than I needed and ended up using the above hardware.


3) If only one plastic tab on the post is broken (as was the case with mine), file off or cut off the other tab so that when you tighten the bolt the fender washer won't sit crooked.


4) Feed the 3 wires that were disconnected from the mirror motor through the most rear hole (closest to tailgate) of the post housing. The wires must be rerouted due the fact the bolt/fender washers will be occupying the space inside the post.


5) With the mirror frame in place, run the bolt through the post with one fender washer at the bottom and one fender washer covering the top of the spring. Add locking nut and tighten with the two nuts. Tighten the fender washer down to the post then loosen just a tad so that the apparatus won't be rubbing up against the top of the post. Note: You can still add all of the other parts of the mirror after this step (you will need to room to tighten the nuts)




6) Put everything back together as you found it and reconnect the wires. If you are facing the glass of the mirror, from left to right the colors are Black, Red, Brown. Here is a picture of the BACK of the motor plate from another thread (This is for DS; order of wires is reversed for PS):


Note: Now would also be a perfect time to R&R your mirror hangers and bottom screw hole if you have a "shakey mirror problem" (most likely you will if the post broke). Refer to here: shakey sideview mirror FIX

6-2)

Credits (and reference of all threads concerning this issue):
shakey sideview mirror FIX
Broken Mirror and Glass Replacement For Idiots...Lots of Pics
Loose Mirror Problem - Not Shaky mirror -
swinging mirror fix; broken mirror post
Driver's Side View Mirror HOUSING Loose
Side view mirror bracket broke? (pics)
Broken Mirror Mounting Tab

 

[Clydespop]

This is a great post and fix. My mirror was flopping around. I don't know how it happened and I've been driving around with it duck taped to keep it in place. I read this post and it motivated me to go out to my garage late at night and see if I had what I needed to do this. Sure enough, I used a 3 1/2" bolt and I had washers that work. One is wide enough to cover the top of the spring. 20 minutes later my driver side mirror feels factory firm on my 95 Landcruiser. This is an old post and I don't know if you read it, but I registered to say thanks for taking the time and for giving these details. Now if other fixes could just go this way.

 

[duece71]

Necro thread reply but thank you to the OP and OG 91 LC. My whole mirror assembly on both drivers and passenger side will extend with the button press but NOT retract with the button press. I have to jump out and run around to help both fold in. I will try this fix and be really happy if it works. Thank you again.