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5 minute read
3G mirror repair with pictures!!
Compliments of crazyjr79 @ https://acurazine.com
9-7-2011
Ok guys so I looked around for a thread on anyone who repaired their mirrors to work smoothly like when the car was new. As it turns out there is alot of advice but no one posted up pictures so i thought I would document my repair. About a year ago my passenger mirror started studdering off and on. Then all the time. 2 months later my driver side followed. I heard about re-lubing by simply moving the mirror to its furthest corners and adding more grease from the sides, but in a short period of time that quick fix will come back again and again. So I decided to remove all the old grease and add new grease.
First, make sure you do not use a screw driver. It can not only scratch your paint but it can also cause a pivot point on the mirror and cause it to break. I used a panel remover.
There are self locking clips at 10, 2, 4, and 8 o'clock. Pick one corner, and once it pops off simply slide the mirror in the opposite direction and it will come off easily.
Notice the clips? There are eight (8)...four corners in pairs. Once you get one off, the rest slide out.
After it is out remove the two wires from the mirror housing. This is not entirely necessary, but I don't like to feel restricted with elbow space. If you do decide to take them out i suggest you mark them so that you put them back on the same way. I personally don't know the scematics and whether or not it is necessary, but i don't take any chances.
Remove this center #20 screw and the center cap, screw, and spring will come off. Put aside the screw and spring and clean this bad boy up. All that yellow gunk it what is making your mirrorclick.
It should look like this...
I used basic white lithium grease from auto zone for $3 and the final result should look something like this
After you put it all back together screw back in the spring with the screw...make sure you don't over tighten the screw. once the screw reaches the end STOP tightening. This slack alows the mirror to move around, overtighening will only cause your mirror to freeze up. After the screw is in, plug up your wires and simply snap the mirror back in place. Be very careful when doing so because mirrors don't bend! make sure you dont create an access point, use your entire hand as you push the mirror back into place. DO NOT USE YOUR FINGERS as they will cause the mirror to crack. This is a $50-60 replacement, so I would take that seriously. I did the reverse of removing it. slide in one half of the clips until they grab, then the third one, then finally push back on the fourth tabs until they click. After this you will enjoy smooth quiet reversing again...oh yeah.
Thanks for reading, thanks are appreciated.
9-17-2011
So about a week and half later, one rainy day, one car wash later and it is still as smooth as butter. Like CubanLynx84 says, i think rain, car washes, and weather are the reasons why the stuttering happens in time. White lithium grease is water resistant, but to stay on the safe side I suggest staying safe by closing in your mirrors while washing your car. I also think synthetic will be more durrable for this project. But so far others have successfully tried this method and I will be sure to let you guys know how long this method works. The cool thing is that once you have done this, if you chose the wrong type of lubrication, you will know how to do it again and it will probably take you less than 30 min the second time around. In all honestly, i'm extremely satisfied with the results I have. And if stealerships are charging nearly $100 to fix, I would go with DIY and save some time and $. I'm glad you guys are all finding this info helpful. Good luck and be sure to post your results, good or bad, so we can all learn together.