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  View original topic: Power Mirror glass removal
superflydisco Sat Jan 31, 2015 6:29 am

I had explained the process of removing the glass from it's backing on Vanagon.com but you can't put pix on there so here they are. I learned a little from the first one and applied that to my second attempt and it worked quite well. I actually got the glass off in one piece!! Starting with a corner, I wedged a small screwdriver in between the glass and the metal plate. Slowly working away from the corner in both directions I kept adding screwdrivers and tapping them in with a hammer up to the screwdriver handle. When I ran out of those, I started using wooden skewers to wedge into the largest opening and kept tapping them in as the glass slowly seperates along with a few squirts of Goo Gone to help he process I finally got the last 1/4 of glass to just pop off. Nice!!! I cleaned up the metal plates making sure I didn't lose the little retangle contacts (3) and glued them back into place. Now ready for the new glass mirror and then to get them wired and installed!! Oh, and whoever these mirrors came from must have been hearing a serious buzzing sound....LOL!!





coastdog Sat Jan 31, 2015 7:32 am

Ha! that is very funny. Nice work on the mirrors. They look like they are in good shape except for the glass.

I got mine all working last winter. broken wires and some corrosion, and installed a new controller switch. They work perfectly now and the heat option for clearing them works great with the rear window defrost.

Post some pictures when the new glass is on.
Thanks

alaskadan Sat Jan 31, 2015 9:20 am

Were the replacement mirrors convex? Where from. Do all power mirrors have heat. If my van is equipped with rear defrost is the wiring in place to just plug in power mirrors?

Nice work btw. Door shims work well too for popping glued mirrors off.

rmcd Sat Jan 31, 2015 9:44 am

Thanks for posting. What is being shown in the close up picture? Is that something to be avoided with the shims during mirror removal?

Where to source replacement glass? Is there anything special about the glass?

91syncro Sat Jan 31, 2015 1:17 pm

both of my power mirrors have now quit working. Ive been tempted to dig into them to see what is going on but haven't figured out how to get into them...yet. Can you explain how to get the glass and backing separated from the mirror (before removing the glass as you have shown here)?

16CVs Sat Jan 31, 2015 1:49 pm

If you bought those mirrors from GW or VC they are designed to be an overlay. The heater will work as well as they did originally. If you look in my Gallery you will see where I froze one of them and hooked power to it and it worked like a dream.
Those mirror blanks are made from the finest German mirror and are totally distortion free.
I would not advise to remove the mirror from its backing as the plastic is flimsy and you can damage the heating unit. Once installed either way they are are a great low cost alternative to a complete plate.

Stacy

T3 Pilot Sat Jan 31, 2015 2:24 pm

91syncro wrote: both of my power mirrors have now quit working. Ive been tempted to dig into them to see what is going on but haven't figured out how to get into them...yet. Can you explain how to get the glass and backing separated from the mirror (before removing the glass as you have shown here)?

Instructions on power mirror glass removal/replacement Bentley 66.3

This illustrates how to remove the mirror plate from the electric motor assembly housed within the body of the mirror.

This would be the first step in the process that the OP is illustrating to separate the glass from the plate........

Removing the glass from the plate is painfully slow, but it does look better than a double layer of glass.

insyncro Sat Jan 31, 2015 2:29 pm

Classic Parts has brand new heated mirror glass available again, big ticket item.

SCM Sat Jan 31, 2015 3:13 pm

To repeat AK Dan's question, do all power mirrors on rear defrost equiped vans have heat?

16CVs Sat Jan 31, 2015 3:26 pm

Yes all power mirrors have heating elements in them. They are powered up when you turn your rear defrost switch on.
As most vans that have Power Mirrors on them , most people do not have them hooked up.
If memory serves me it is a green set of wires. You could grab the wires and just hook them up to a switch.




Stacy

Paulbeard Thu Aug 27, 2015 11:26 am

What did you end up using for glass? I just removed a shattered mirror (I guessed Goo-Gone would work but a. I didn't have any and b. it wasn't salvageable, so a chisel and gloved fingers were fine). I didn't want to stick a new pane over a cracked one: it was irk me everytime I looked at it so I want to find a replacement.

VanaConn Fri Oct 21, 2016 2:56 pm

Use a hair dryer or heat gun on the mirror for a few minutes to soften the glue. Wear Safety glasses ! I used butter knives to help separate the two. Using GW replacement for $29



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