Topic: Fixing the OE Droopy Mirrors

[Jeffy]

Well, I'm finally getting around to replacing my mirrors.  When I was on my LA trip and hit 70mph with a gust, my mirrors folded like like they were made of paper.  Sucked since I can't roll down my windows with the doors closed. (Rollcage)  I ended up rotating the arm 45* and turning the mirror so they would stay up for the remainder of that trip.

Fast forward to today and I toll them mirrors apart.  The ball joint is tight and can't be tightened anymore.  I accidentally unscrewed one of the screws all the way and something fell off inside.  it's rolling around.  I think the mirror is a gonner.  There doesn't seem to be a way to get inside unless I can remove the mirror from the housing.  In any case the ball is worn down and it won't stay up even when closing the door.

So I did the Mozman thing and threw my wallet at it.     I bought the Qtech mirrors that are modeled after the '03 Wranglers though.  I thought about going with some CJ mirrors but they suck and would involve drilling.  I just need the mirrors to drive onroad and not fold over.  The new mirrors look a lot better then the old ones though.  I kinda wish they weren't as tall though.  I think Qtech has a typo in the description.  These can't be used with the JK unless maybe you remove the atm from the mount.  JK's use that new rounds mount and not the big triangular square mount.

http://www.quadratec.com/products/13111_0320.htm

[Jeffy]

Okay, since I can't keep well enough alone I decided to disassemble the mirror and see what makes it tick.   Hopefully this will be helpful to others who I'm sure will have the same problem.

If you are trying to tighten the two screws under the ball joint, do not loosen them till they fall out.  The point of no return happens if you turn the mirror upside down and the nuts for those bolts falls out of the bracket.  You're SOL then.  Well, not really.

You'll hear the two nuts bouncing around in the housing.  There's no way to get them out or back into place without taking it all apart.

So, I took the mirror apart.  I used a feeler gauge to slip between the mirror and the housing.  If you're mirrors are like mine they are old.  Mine is 23 years old so the adhesive on the mirror is old and should pry loose if you're careful.   I started at the bottom.

Inside is a U bracket with a upper ball joint that has several washers on it.  If you want it tight replace some of the shims with a washer.  Anything that increases the pack thickness will force the ball joint to be tighter.  Once your done put the shims back into the upper cup.  You can try to put the brass nuts back onto the bracket or do it once it's back in place.  It's a bit of a tight fit to get it all in there.  You might also want to add a little RTV to the nuts so they won't ever fall out of the bracket.

I ended up flipping some of the shims the opposite direction since they're cupped.  It tightened it a bit more but if you really want it tight add a washer.

Once that's done you'll want to scrape the dried adhesive off the back of the mirror as well as the housing.  Be careful not to scratch the surface as you'll see those scratches on the other side.  I used two line of RTV on the housing o re-attach the mirror.

[Jeffy]

Got by Bestop Mirrors today.

The first thing I noticed was that the opening at the bottom that the OEM's have is still there.  They just have a plastic cover over it.  With the mirror off you can slide the panel out to unbolt the arm if you wanted to.  The next thing I noticed was how much lighter these mirrors are.  The plastic feels strong as there's no noticeable flexing.  The mirror housing seems to be a little bit shorter then the old ones it's replacing.  A plus in my book.  The biggest thing is the mirror moves rather then the housing to adjust the angle.  It made little sense to have the mirror pitched forward to be able to get the right angle.  This puts a lot of stress on the ball joint and will cause it to wear out.  The new system doesn't have that problem at all.  Also, there's no rubber gasket.  The new mirrors are designed to drain water.

The mirrors come with six new bolts that are phillips head but I decided to reuse the torx.  The instructions give you that choice.  Overall, they're a lot nicer then the old OEM's I had by far.  Took only a few minutes to install and adjust.  I think they're well worth it if you need to replace them.