99 E430 Passenger Side Mirror housing removal

Hi,

I am having to replace the guts of my 99 e430 passenger side mirror. I have a donor mirror that has the wrong color housing. I have figured out how to remove the mirror glass and the little motor pivot. However I am completely frustrated trying to remove the interior frame of the mirror from the exterior plastic housing.

Does anyone have some cues/clues they could give me about how these to parts separate?

I know the bigger hammer method, but I am hoping for something more elegant.

Reply to
me
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this should do the trick. bend mirror back (it's a strong spring) and with good lighting, look for wire latch which hold two nubs that keeps the mirror cover from falling off. carefully pry latch past the nubs. slide cover off. shouldn't take more than 30-60 seconds.

Reply to
raymond

hmmm, just re-read your post. *IF*....you've already removed the mirror from the door, then your task is 50x more difficult. if you can, reattach mirror to door, then follow video clipped instructions. if you try to do this seperation w/o the mirror attached to the door, you risk damaging the plastic cover. it'll take you about 20 mins and 2 pairs of hands.

Reply to
raymond

Thanks! As soon as I saw the trick it took about 30 seconds. I wrapped the mirror in thick padding, put it in a vice and used a long screwdriver to "simulate being attached to the car (I stuck it in one of the screw holes), pried back the hinges (and the spring didn't break!), and viola!

Merci buckets!

Reply to
me

sweeeet! i didn't have a vice so I put it between my knees and wrestled it. one mirror took about 5 mins, whereas the other took more like 25 mins. i had purchased them off Ebay and the seller shipped in fitted condition. ah!...but I paid $80 for the pair, shipped, so I was still extremely thrilled.

Reply to
raymond

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