I have a '97 Corvette. The side view mirror has no tension on it; it flops
from side to side.

I took the glass and the motor assembly out of the mirror housing. The
little retainer has seperated from the spring. What's the best way to put
that retainer back on? It does appear it was prssed at the factory.

I was thinking I'd have to buy a whole new housing, get it painted, etc. But
thr top has to seperate from the bottom, as I don't see how it'd be able to
be painted without that functionality built in.

Thanks for your help!
william

 

Search in the tech section. It's really hard to do. Some folks either buy a new mirror ($$$$$ and you will have to get it painted) or use screws to fasten the mirror head to the stalk. Of course, it won't rotate then.

 

I used some boat epoxy that I bought at Wal-mart on mine. It is made for fiberglass and is the only thing I could find that would hold. It was going to be about $300 for a new mirror and a paint job, so I thought I would try some $5 epoxy first. You can't tell the difference, and it has been on there for about a month now. If you are going to spend the cash on a new one anyway, you might as well give the epoxy a shot first.

 

If your car is under warranty, I would suggest getting a new mirror. If not, you can the procedure below, it has worked fine for me 2+ years now.

If the spring loaded pivot action in your outside mirror has broken, there might be a fix so you won’t have to buy a new mirror. Rotate the mirror all the way in towards the car so you can get your fingers behind the outer edge and just pull until you have the mirror in your hand only attached by the two heater wires. With all the ripping, cracking and popping sounds, you’ll swear you ruined everything, but the mirror is a snap fit assembly and someone else snapped it together before you got it, and you can snap it back together just like you took it apart.

[img]file:///C:/Program%20Files/PhotoDeluxe%20HE%203.1/MyPhotos/Corvette%20Mirror%20Repair/DCP00893.JPG[/img]

You can now see the retainer clip, that has popped off on my mirror, and spring. There is no chance of putting the spring and clip back in place unless you remove the whole assembly from the door and have some type of spring compressor similar to a valve spring compressor. That spring is similar in strength to a valve spring and in my case has pushed so hard on the retainer clip that the little tabs on the clip have sheared off the aluminum in front of them until the clip was pushed off the end of the shaft.

[img]file:///C:/Program%20Files/PhotoDeluxe%20HE%203.1/MyPhotos/Corvette%20Mirror%20Repair/DCP00889.JPG[/img]

My solution was to hold the housing in place and drill through the mirror housing and through the base, providing a place to insert a stainless screw to hold it solid. Install a small hose clamp around the electrical cable to be clamped on top of the shaft where the retainer clip was pushed off. Some pieces of double sided tape in the pivot point between the base, that bolts to the door, and the mirror housing also helps prevent any movement. This procedure eliminates the pivoting action, but you don’t have to buy a new mirror either. Place the mirror housing back on the shaft and press it down against the tape, slide the clamp onto the end of the shaft that protrudes inside the housing. Press the clamp down tight against the housing and tighten, then insert & tighten the screw in the hole you drilled. Leave the spring and clip on the wire, there is plenty of room for them.

[img]file:///C:/Program%20Files/PhotoDeluxe%20HE%203.1/MyPhotos/Corvette%20Mirror%20Repair/DCP00716.JPG[/img]

Then reassemble the mirror. Look over the back of the mirror to see the five pivot points that you have to snap back together. The center pivot and top and left side adjustment pivots will be the ones you need to line up first. Just spread your hand out over the surface of the mirror and snap it back together.
If you snap the pivot points back together one by one, you will have two crunch sounds, these are the ones with the silver wire retainers on the end. They are threaded and attached to the electric motor for adjusting the mirror. Along with the two crunch sounds, you should get the "big" snap when the center pivot goes back into place. You'll need to have one hand on the mirror and the other hand on the outside (front) of the housing and press together. You basically get the big snap and the two crunches all together in one terrible sound. That will probably leave the two small position stabilizers, one on the bottom and one on the inside next to the door. Rotate the mirror towards the door until it starts to "snap" and won't go any farther, then push forward on the inside portion of the mirror (next the door) and you should get a small "pop" when that stabilizer goes into place. Rotate it down and do the same thing for the bottom stabilizer.
If you get the center pivot and the two crunch sound connections together, it will work just fine, but it may not be quite as solid as it will be with all five connections made.
If all else fails, stop by when if you're in the neighborhood and we can snap everything back into place.
Just look at the great C5 below, that mirror has been apart twice now and you can’t even tell.



[Modified by alanh, 10:46 AM 7/28/2002]

 

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