Feb 19, 2015, 07:11 PM
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Floppy passenger side mirror fixed!
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 10,295
Likes: 4
From: Downers Grove IL
St. Jude Donor '15
Floppy passenger side mirror fixed!
Well, the other day I was set to take the car out for a drive and noticed that the passenger side mirror was flopping around like a fish out of water. Upon taking it apart it is clear that this part of the C5 is a bad design. There is one flimsy retaining ring that holds the spring onto the post on the inside of the mirror. If that clip fails, you're in floppy mirror territory. I used the directions from this thread and they worked great:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...or-repair.html
I did do a few minor tweaks though. I didn't use a nail. Instead I used 1/8" stainless steel rod. Much more durable. I also took about 1/2" worth of steel out of the spring which made it easier to compress and use the bigger rod. From what I've read to replace the side mirror is about 4-500 bucks (plus paint). This fix saved me some $$$ and wasn't too hard. The mirror still pivots fine, but I won't mess with it and it should last a long time. Just use patience if you have to do this fix!
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...or-repair.html
I did do a few minor tweaks though. I didn't use a nail. Instead I used 1/8" stainless steel rod. Much more durable. I also took about 1/2" worth of steel out of the spring which made it easier to compress and use the bigger rod. From what I've read to replace the side mirror is about 4-500 bucks (plus paint). This fix saved me some $$$ and wasn't too hard. The mirror still pivots fine, but I won't mess with it and it should last a long time. Just use patience if you have to do this fix!
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 10,295
Likes: 4
From: Downers Grove IL
St. Jude Donor '15
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Congrats on getting it repaired. And nice tip on how to do the repair a bit different than others have done.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 10,295
Likes: 4
From: Downers Grove IL
St. Jude Donor '15
Thanks. I figured that I'd post this in case someone does a search and can't find much info about tearing apart the mirrors. I hate paying the Corvette tax, especially for such a bad design.
