HELP w/replacing mirror glass in outside mirror

[damascus]

guys,

 

i broke my mirror glass trying to pry off an old blind spot mirror that was attached . unreal. anyway, fredbeansparts is sending me a new mirror glass by monday.

 

i've searched and cannot find the techs instruction page or link needed to replace the mirror glass. if anyone would share the instructions or link on how to replace the mirror glass, i'd appreciate it greatly. with my luck, i'll tear off the entire mirror from the door next!

 

thank you.

[Bajaguy]

Hey Damascus,

I have just replaced the right side outside rear-view mirror glass in my '05 Baja, and I have to believe that your is very similar. First, remove the glass from the mounting plate. It's held in by 3 very tacky adhesive strips. Once the glass is removed, note in the middle of the mounting plate is a recess with a small Phillips head screw holding in a white nylon nut. Remove this screw, but take note that behind it is a small spring. Once the screw is out, carefully pry the mounting plate out of the housing, pulling out the 2 small white nylon guide rods with it. Carefully remove these guide rods, since the replacement glass kit form Subaru does not have these. You can remove them by pushing them to one side of their socket, and gently increase downward pressure until they pop out (NOTE: They have little nubs that keep them aligned with their sockets). Next, get the new mounting plate, and put it facedown on a bench, and pop those guide rods into their respective holes by lining them up with the little nub on the ball of the guide rod lining up with the slot on the socket, and tapping them with a hammer until they pop in. Then take the center nylon nut and put a little grease (non-melting type) on and line up the little nubs with the slots on either side of the recess. Then, mount the mounting plate, aligning the guide rods into their respective sockets and push the mounting plate into position, and install the spring and small Phillips head screw and washer to fairly snug hand-tight. Next, take the adhesive pads and stick them to the same spots where they were on the old mounting plate, and remove the release papers. Then take the mirror glass, making sure it's oriented correctly with the warning lettering on the bottom and readable. line it up with the mounting plate and slip the edge of the glass under the upper lip of the mounting plate and CAREFULLY work the glass from the top to the bottom, pushing in along the edges on both sides at once, until it is fully seated in the mounting plate. You should be able to see an equal amount of mounting plate lip around the entire mirror glass. Next, go and adjust your newly installed mirror.

[LGT Dave]

This should walk you through it pretty well: http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109790.

[jwk]

Thank you for your DIY. I replaced my driver side heated breakaway mirror on my 2003 Outback Wagon. Some addition info you may want to include in the DIY:

 

A) The threaded white nylon guide rods don't always come out of the backing plate in one piece. I used the method you outline and it snapped off at the ball like a dry twig. Subaru does not sell replacements, the only two parts that that Subaru has part numbers for are the mirror glass (which comes with the backing plate and the hardware that mounts it to the mirror cowling frame) and the complete mirror assembly. There are no other parts available.

 

I bought a completely mirror assembly off a wreck from a parts supplier for $30 just to get one replacement guide rod. The mirror and heating element assembly were fine, so I cut the cowling off with a Fein oscillating tool (after trying to cut it appart with a hacksaw and realizing how long that would take) to make it easier to remove from the backing plate without damaging it.

 

Looking closer at the backing plate and the guide rods, I realized the reason there are holes in the bottom of the socket that the guide rods sit in serve not only to allow excess lubricant to excape, but also to use a tool like a thin nail-set or something similar to knock the guide rods out with a firm tap with a hammer. I used a jeweller hex wrench which worked perfectly. I also realized that the hole through the center of the theaded shaft of the guide rod also was likely there to aid installation in the backing plate using the same tool used for removal. This allows the tool to guide the guide rod straight into the socket without the risk of a slightly off-center stap from the hammer accidentally snapping the the guide rod. I removed and reinstalled the guide rods several times in the 2 backing plates to see which backing plate they fit in best (the ball ends seem to vary in size slightly).

 

 

B) When removing and installing the mirror, it is extremely difficult unless you use the method outlined in the factory manual:

 

 

MIRROR GLASS DISASSEMBLY:

 

1) Remove the door assembly [NOT REALLY NECESSARY]

 

2) Warm the area around the mirror holder [AKA BACKING PLATE] with a hair drier until the edges of the mirror holder become soft (about 2 or 3 minutes with a 1,000 W drier.

 

3) Use a flat-bladed screwdriver without sharp edges to lift the mirror out of the mirror holder. (Also remove the connector from the back of mirrors with heaters.) [i used a nylon spluger tool made for opening iPods, cell phones and various other electronic devices]:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Component-Spudger-Pry-Tool-for-iPhone-iPod-Touch-Flex-Cable-Repairs-/271992938551?hash=item3f540ae037:g:E6UAAOSwDk5UGb3A

 

MIRROR GLASS RE-ASSEMBLY:

 

4) Warm the area around the mirror holder with a hair drier until the edges of the mirror holder become soft (about 2 or 3 minutes with a 1000 W drier.)

 

5) Remove the backing of the new two-sided tape and push the mirror in to install it. [i used the spluger tool to go around the edges of the mirror to facilitate seating the mirror glass under the edges of the mirror holder.]

 

 

 

[The factory instructions worked MUCH better than trying to install the mirror without heating the mirror holder edges.]