Vanagon ‘floppy mirror syndrome’ CURED!

[?Waldo?]

[DAIZEE]

fortunately for me, I didn't have to do a drill and pin. I kept the mirror in the house (really missed having it on that passenger side tho) and I just kept soaking and scraping over and over again and tried various other fixes but finally got it out and back together correctly and it seems okay but haven't really tested it at high speeds yet.
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'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

[BoneStock67]

I admit that part of my problem here is that I don't have confidence that I won't drill slightly off-center and miss the hexagonal shaft. I'm sure it will look easier once I put the part on the drill press, but if you (Andrew or anybody else) have any further tips, please post.
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1986 Wolfsburg Westfalia Weekender 2.1L stock
1967 Beetle, now becoming my daily driver again, after a long rest in the garage

"There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery.” -Enrico Fermi

[iiigoiii]

i found that it was pretty easy to eyeball where to drill the hole to hit the center shaft. i aimed it so that it would contact one of the flat faces of the hexagon.

and, not having access to a drill press, i did mine with a hand drill...didn't work so well. but, i now have 2 broken drill bits holding my mirror together. didn't even have to use a pin!
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1984 Westfalia Wolfsburg Ed. w/ Subaru EJ22 power

[BoneStock67]

OK, I'm going to have to admit here that yesterday I ordered two new Hagus mirrors from Bus Depot. I figured that my current mirrors were most likely aftermarket anyway, so at $30 per mirror, it just seemed ... well ... easier.

I'm so ashamed.
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1986 Wolfsburg Westfalia Weekender 2.1L stock
1967 Beetle, now becoming my daily driver again, after a long rest in the garage

"There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery.” -Enrico Fermi

[?Waldo?]

Feel no shame. Now that you have replacements and nothing to lose, why not give drilling and pinning a try? Now that the risk is gone it might be a fun learning experience with the potential bonus of a usable spare.

[DAIZEE]

Don't be ashamed. You tried and like Libby says practise on the old, good opportunity cause they all get floppy at some stage
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'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

[BoneStock67]

Here's an update on my new BusDepot Hagus mirrors.

1. Both were floppy out of the box.
2. So, I decided to add the rubber washers to both.
3. When I got the driver's side mirror disassembled, I noticed that the mating surfaces on the ball joint looked pretty rubber washery already (as opposed to the surfaces on the older mirrors that I replaced).
4. After rubber washerizing the driver's side mirror and tightening down the nut, I decided to do a little experiment and tighten the nut on the passenger's side mirror without adding the rubber washer.
5. On the highway yesterday, the passenger's side mirror held firm, while the driver's side flopped.

Tentative conclusion: Newer mirrors don't benefit from rubber washers.

Caution: I'm not sure I torqued the nuts on the two mirrors the same amount, so it's not a very fair experiment.

Additional comment: The more I think about it, the more I believe that the added material should be rough, which a rubber washer surely is not. On a thread on the vanagon mailing list today, someone said something similar, claiming good results by adding emory paper, rather than a rubber washer.

Comments?
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1986 Wolfsburg Westfalia Weekender 2.1L stock
1967 Beetle, now becoming my daily driver again, after a long rest in the garage

"There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery.” -Enrico Fermi

[rcook52459]

thank you for this thread going to ace hardware to get the washers.thought i would have to replace mirrors.
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85 westy tiico conversion.auto trans triumph TR250 1980 Suzuki GS1000l

[purplepeopleeater]

yeah, I would have never searched for this, haha

[rcook52459]

ace hardware washers $.43 each and 10 minutes.thanks again
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85 westy tiico conversion.auto trans triumph TR250 1980 Suzuki GS1000l

[dhaavers]

I finally gave up on the washer fix & just sprung for the new GW
"No Flop" Side-view Mirrors - currently just $32 each ($5 off this month).

LINK: GoWesty "No Flop" Side-view Mirrors

I was an early convert to the washer fix (cheap & effective), but it's gotten to
where I've had to replace them every month all summer & I've decided I'm
done with it. Not a long-term solution for me - sorry, I tried.



I'll report on the GW version - should be here early next week.
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86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[purplepeopleeater]

Awe, bummer.

Ill use this fix till I get my truck mirrors.

[jimeg]

[heidi85ho]

I "modified" my original mirrors on my 85 with emery cloth. I cut butterfly washers so as to fit on the rounded surface out of 320 grit emery cloth. I have to replace about every 3 years. Works great.

[indytriple]

[BoneStock67]

Indytriple's carbon fiber gel solution sounds very promising. I will definitely give that a try. Thanks!
Heidi85Ho's emery cloth idea is also interesting, but I have two questions:
1. Don't you need double-sided emery cloth to make it work as intended?
2. What the heck is a butterfly washer?
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1986 Wolfsburg Westfalia Weekender 2.1L stock
1967 Beetle, now becoming my daily driver again, after a long rest in the garage

"There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery.” -Enrico Fermi

[dhaavers]

I should mench:
Another reason I'm ditching my original mirrors is that one has a cracked
housing & the other a cracked mirror - probably due to all the FREAK-ing
flopping over the years...



I'd love to, but I just can't put the money into LT or power upgrades...so
GoWesty came along with the <next> cheapest option.

We'll see...
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86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[DAIZEE]

Well all my work on the passenger mirror seemed to be for naught! It still flopped. Then at my first meet Ed from Conneticut took it off and ratched it tighter (lots tighter) so the fix was in and now holds really well. I've got to get used to ratchetting as I don't have much strength for regular wrenching it would seem. But I was darn proud of my work in preparing for a tight ratchett. Thanks Ed.
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'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

[rcook52459]

753 miles last week with the washers no floppy mirror.so far so good.would like to hear if those gowesty mirrors work
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85 westy tiico conversion.auto trans triumph TR250 1980 Suzuki GS1000l