QUestion on rearview mirror replacement

On my 92 there is a little metal piece that the mirror is attached to and secured with a set screw. If you have the same setup, remove the metal piece from the mirror mount. scrape of the old glue from the windshield after you put a piece of tape on the outside to mark the right position. Then the metal hunk gets glued back on . Be sure you put the metal holder on right side up. There is a taper to it. I used to use the aftermarket glue that is sold to reattach the mirror but it has never lasted very long. Th last time I used a clear epoxy. I had to tape the metal in place until the epoxy cured (overnight.) That has not failed after at least 5 years. Make sure that all traces of the old glue are gone from all mating surfaces

Charlie

"Tax frustrated" wrote in message news:qHJgg.132209$ snipped-for-privacy@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...

Thanks Charlie (Sorry about that "Tax frustrated" thing. I had changed it to post to a tax newsgroup to be funny and forgot to change it back :)

I realized after I posted that that indeed WAS glue. It was so perfectly formed and rubber-like it looked like a piece of clear plastic.

I removed it and cleaned everything with alcohol. The plate on the 92 is not held in with a set screw, and it's a pain getting the plate out (I read some old posts from here and checked my Ford shop manual). Finally freed it.

The glue instructions say it sets in 15 minutes. But I think I'll take your advice and let is sit all night. I'll post back just to let folks know how it went. 5 years? My fingers are crossed!!!

Thanks again.

Before you scrape the glue off.... mark the OUTSIDE of the glass with a felt marker or such. This makes placing the spud a simple task. A strip of duct tape keeps the spud from moving after it is placed....

I've also had better results with epoxy rather than "rear view mirror adhesive." Mine lasted at least a couple of years but I recently got a new windshield.

No you are not wrong. I'm not sure why but Ford uses those sometimes to stick the metal shoe to the windshield. It does seem like really thick glue. I'd scrap it off and use window adhesive. Like others have said, the genuine window adhesive doesn't necessarily last for more then a few years. If you use epoxy you run the risk of making a mess and it someone yanks too hard on the mirror it may take a chunk out of the windshield instead of just coming off. I just use either plain old superglue or the special mirror glue from the auto parts store.

I've found that often that spring gizmo ford uses to hold the mirror to the "shoe" gets munged up when you take the shoe off the mirror. The result on mine was that the mirror wasn't really held tight on the show and it would vibrate and be hard to adjust. I drilled a hole in the mirror mount where you would logically put a setscrew and put a self tapping screw in it to cinch it down tight.

Thank you everyone. Well, whether that was a piece of plastic or not, I scraped it off and used the standard mirror glue kit (thanks for the tape advice, Jim). (It was a real pain getting the plate out of the mirror housing. Even though I read what folks have said in the past. As a last resort, I checked the Ford shop manual, and it clarified how to get it out). Anyway, I let the metal plate sit on the windshield all night and snapped the mirror on in the morning. On day two so far, and all seems good. I post back if it falls off in the next few days.

Thanks again everyone for your help!!

Anthony... if you had that much faith in your magazine articles, your typewriter would be dust covered.... Oh - wait a minute... you're typewriter IS dust covered.... God bless the word processor.... 8^)

Well, that's one of the reasons I like epoxy--I used the "correct" stuff once and the mirror fell off and took a chunk of windshield with it.

. I just use either

You can say that again, Jim.

Still holding, by the way. My XLT is about to hit 80,000. Drats. Now that I'm using it for commuting, mileage is catching up. Wish they'd still make 'em with a manual. The autos guys at the mag are pushing me toward an Xterra (too short?), newly-issued Toyota FJ Cruiser (Man, those blind spots, but it sure is neat looking!). Gonna try to work at home as much as possible and keep that XLT as long as I can. Still on the first set of brakes!