DIY: Floppy rearview mirror fix with an eyeglass cleaning cloth

[TXRedDevil]

Tools:

• Plastic flat bladed pry tool
• Picks
• Eyeglass cleaning cloth (3.5" x 1.5" strip)

Since acquiring my ZHP, one thing that had bothered me was how I had to periodically adjust the rear view mirror every time I drove it. When I hit a bump or a traffic calming thing in the road, the mirror would start to sag slowly in a downward motion. Reading various forums, this seems to be a common issue. When I added my Wolfbox G930 rearview mirror / camera system, it started to sag even more due to the new weight placed on it.

I took some time to research various solutions ranging from pouring silicone glue in the ball socket to what I decided would be the best option and that is to use an eyeglass cleaning cloth.

Removing the case around the stem of the mirror was simple enough. Turn the mirror towards the passenger side. Next, take a thin pry tool (preferably plastic) and wedge it between the two halves. Pull the driver’s side off first, then turn the mirror towards the driver’s side, and then pull the other half off. Next, release the male plug from the female end of the harness. Lastly, grab the mirror with both hands and firmly but gently twist counter-clockwise. It should come right off. The most concise YT vid I found without stupid music and prolonged instructions for such an easy thing was here: e46 rearview mirror removal super easy

When I removed my mirror, a little piece of plastic fell out. I knew then that this mirror was not 100%. Here are two of the bits that fell out and later, the metal ring that I cut off:



After removing the mirror, I took it to my work bench and inspected it. Without removing the mirror and the ball socket, I could see that the metal retaining ring was loose because the plastic fingers that it encased had broken off (3 out of the many). Thus, the metal ring was useless at that point and because it was not putting compression via the plastic fingers onto the ball socket, that’s why the mirror itself was loose and saggy.



I cut a 3.5” x ½" strip of eyeglass cleaning cloth as my compression material. At this point (in retrospect), I should’ve cut the metal ring away, but I opted out of caution to leave it be. So I just used painter’s tape to tape it high and out of the way. Next, I remove all the broken plastic fingers. To push the cleaning cloth material into the socket, I used a few different kinds of picks to gently push them into the socket cavity all the while putting a little pressure on it via the ball socket. Note that there’s a cable that runs from the mirror itself and through the back side of the ball socket. I made sure it was perfectly even and then firmly pushed the mirror and ball socket into the socket cavity. And sure enough like the writeup said (apologies, I didn’t bookmark it), it works like a charm. There’s plenty of compressive tension using the cleaning cloth material, while not binding it at the same time. Back to normal, but jury's out on how long this solution will last!

Apologies, I didn't record or take pics of any of this. But these pics should illustrate the concept well enough:

[Oli77]

Thanks for this. I know what to do next when my mirror gets floppy!