Technical Wing Mirror replace repair

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Technical Wing Mirror replace repair

WitleyPanda

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Mirror pod hanging on wires. This is a 2012 4x4. I cannot actual see what is broken, no loose parts and no witness on plastic of snapped/broken. What holds the metal tube to the lower bracket? Is there an exploded view/drawing somewhere? If I buy a Primed, how do i strip it to extract the parts I need and use the good pod and bracket I have?
 
Many thanks !

Unfortunately the metal tube does not seem to have a castellated flange. So either I buy a whole and recover parts I need or a few hours on the lathe making a new one seem the order of play.

Again Thanks and will post pictures, progress when I do this next week.

Peter
 
Ok, Had fun.

Stripped mirror and quarter light panel from vehicle, removed mirror etc.

tried to compress spring with tie wraps but cannot get spring back into tube with the tie wraps on. So used a M10 bolt, a 35mm dia spacer to support the bottom and a tapped top bush with two pins left to engage the cutouts on the tube flange end. Tommy bar fitted to this. Align, fit bolt, take up the 16mm compression, rotate the bush 45 degrees and job done. used some 5 minute 2K epoxy resin to secure tube to lower mount as belt and braces.
 

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Bimmer : I guess your was cable adjust, rather than electric? Did you swap the coloured/painted outer pod cover, or just use as is?
 
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B*gger!!! Just broke off my driver's side wing mirror by going too close with a trailer-load of logs. One of the plastic tangs has snapped off, so I suspect I'll have to buy a replacement rather than try to fix it. :(

It got the gentlest of knocks from a very spindly branch, so they're clearly not designed to take any forwards pressure. Grrr.
 
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OK, so I've now spent the afternoon reading through all the wing mirror DIY fixes, and I'm thinking, I'm damned well going to fix this mutha...

This may not end well. Past experience tells me that I'm more adept at taking things apart than I am at putting them back together again. But hell, I'm retired now, my time is no longer more valuable than my money. And how hard can it be?!!
 
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And how hard can it be?!!

Famous last words. This is proving to be an absolute sod of a job!

First I tried the cable tie method, which seemed like an easy & neat solution, but as WitleyPanda found, there's hardly any room for the ties within the plastic socket. I tried using some very thin ties, with the catches at the top, but they weren't strong enough to hold the spring fully compressed.

So, I either need to source some stronger ties (metal, perhaps?) or cobble together a spring compressor. I've discounted brute force, because I don't reckon I've got enough strength or dexterity to compress and then twist the spring single-handed (at least, not without doing more damage to the mirror, to me, or probably to both).
 
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If you were nearer would offer you the spring compressor. In current form a bit heavy to post. Washers and a long bolt?
 
Cracked it! And I reckon this fix will be easy for others to replicate, as it avoids the need to use brute force, or to fabricate a complicated tool. All you need is a tool that many DIY-inclined owners will already have in their tool kits, along with a short (20mm) piece of pipe or strong tubing to use as a spacer.

The tool? A bog-standard brake cylinder rewind tool, which anyone who has ever replaced their brake pads should already have. Mine cost a few quid, fifteen years ago. It's perfect for this job, as it enables the wretched spring to be compressed safely and easily. Who'da thunk it?!

The fix? Remove the plastic inspection cover on the underneath of the part of the mirror assembly that fixes to the door. (For simplicity, I'm going to refer to this as "the bottom section" of the mirror, and to the part of the assembly that contains the mirror itself as "the top section". Apologies to any nomenclature purists).

Hold the threaded nut end of the rewind tool tightly against the underneath of the socket in the bottom section (i.e. the socket into which the metal cylinder locates). Locate the two sections of the mirror together, taking care to ensure that they are correctly aligned. Pass the bolt of the rewind tool through the metal cylinder and spring, insert into the plastic socket in the top section of the mirror, and the secure the bolt into the nut. This is slightly fiddly, but once the thread has engaged, you can proceed to compress the spring from the underneath, by tightening the nut of the rewind tool. I found that, to provide sufficient clearance between the rewind tool and the plastic socket as the spring is compressed into the socket, I needed to insert a short (20mm) spacer between the metal cylinder and the top end of the bolt. I used a piece of nylon tubing from one of the kids' old construction sets (any port in a storm!) but anything that's wide enough to fit over the bolt (eg, a large nut, some washers, or a bit of copper tubing) would do the job equally well. The bolt of my rewind tool is 950mm long, which was just long enough to reach through both sections of the mirror and engage with the nut.

Of course, once the spring is fully compressed, you need to rotate the metal cylinder a quarter-turn, to engage it with the bottom socket. After a bit of trial and error, I did this using the method that others have recommended (i.e. via a few taps with a hammer and screwdriver on the indentations on the top of the metal cylinder).

I'm pleased to have found another fix, to add to the ones previously suggested, but it really shouldn't be this difficult to fix what is clearly a common problem (and an expensive one, if you ask your dealer to fix it.)

I reckon this is the tool I have https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline...60&hvtargid=pla-431462481321&psc=1&th=1&psc=1
 
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Quick addendum - careful measurement of the gaps, and positioning of the various components, is essential. You need to compress the spring just enough to allow the metal cylinder to rotate 45 degrees anti-clockwise, so that it engages with the lugs on the bottom section of the mirror. In order to rotate, the top of the metal cylinder, when compressed, must be at least 11mm below the lip of the plastic socket into which it locates. But if you compress the spring too much, the metal cylinder will jam up against the nut, or washers or whatever, on the bottom, and the cylinder won't rotate. (Even with the correct amount of compression, and lots of vaseline, it took a few stout whacks to rotate the cylinder.)

So, now that it's stopped raining, I can put the mirror back on the car. Phew!

Reflecting on the process, it took me the best part of a day to finally work out how to fix the mirror, using what tools I had available. Objectively, it would probably have made more sense just to stump up £67 for a replacement (that's what they currently are on Eurocarparts). But it was immensely satisfying to be able to fix it myself, drawing on the previous experience of other members as recounted in many excellent posts on here, and contributing my own bit of head-scratching. As someone who made his living for 41 years attempting to solve complex mental puzzles, I get such a kick from fixing stuff, and having the time to do so. Having said that, if I hadn't been able to fix the wretched thing, and had ended up having to buy a replacement, I'd be livid.

Anyway, another day, another challenge. It's MOT-time for the Murena today... :eek:
 
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Ha! Well spotted - that should of course read 95mm!!! (But yes, big calipers, and I've got arms as long as an ape!)
 
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I ave a similar issue and have been reading through the repair thread. Unfortunately I am about a “handy” as someone with no hands.

Has anyone got a clue what I should be looking for for a passenger side wing mirror (that will fit the colour coded trim) for a 2016 Panda 1.2 Lounge? It is the cabled version not electric.

Apologies for jumping on your post, but I didn’t want to start a new thread.
 
Has anyone got a clue what I should be looking for for a passenger side wing mirror (that will fit the colour coded trim) for a 2016 Panda 1.2 Lounge? It is the cabled version not electric

Something like this?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/2739597520...MI_vny17TZ7AIVxbHtCh3VvwTNEAQYGiABEgJOUfD_BwE

I just searched for Panda passenger wing mirror manual, and then looked for ones that are 2012- and have removable covers (i.e. that are not black). Many parts suppliers (eg Eurocarparts) will check the correct part-number against your registration. Most of the replacement mirrors that are available are pattern parts (i.e. not genuine Fiat parts) but if you want an OEM mirror it will cost a lot more, unless you can find a secondhand one.

(I'm assuming that you can reuse your existing coloured mirror cover?).

As for fitting a replacement, it's an easy DIY job if you follow the instructions on here. Just two pieces of trim to remove, and 4 bolts to undo. Shouldn't take more than 30 minutes. If you don't feel up to tackling it yourself, a local garage will probably do it for you for £30-40, if you're supplying the parts.

Oh, and welcome to the forum! :wave:
 
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