Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 10:03:58 -0600
Reply-To: "Jon B. Kanas" <kanas@QUALITY.QADAS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Jon B. Kanas" <kanas@QUALITY.QADAS.COM>
Subject: Fix Your Loose Outside Mirror
In-Reply-To: <39026B5F.54025DCE@internetcds.com>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
John,
In a real feat of engineering horror, the stud coming out of the base of
the mirror is threaded on one end, and is shaped as a hexagon on the
other. The hex end is a press-fit into the base of the mirror. The
normal mode of failure is that when you tighten the nut, in pulls the hex
end out of the base of the mirror rendering your attempts at adjustment
futile. Eventually, the hex pulls totally free of the base, etc....
How you approach the fix will depend on whether or not you broke the stud,
or it pulled out of the opening on the bottom of the mirror. If you broke
the stud flush with the base of the mirror, you may want to drill directly
into the stud. The hole you drill will be slightly larger than the stud,
and the old stud should vanish in a shower of metal shavings during the
drilling process. If there is a piece of your old stud available, see if
you can grab it with Vise Grips or similar, and pull it out of the mirror
base. This stud is pressed, not screwed, into the mirror base, so you
want to pull, not twist to get it out. I would recommend that you try to
get the old stud out because this gives you a very nice pilot hole for the
drilling you will do in the next step.
The stud you need is 6mm, readily available at most better hardware stores
or metric fastener places. You will also need a metric tap which is
appropriate size and pitch for the stud. Again, this should be
inexpensively available at better hardware stores. What you need to do is
pull what's left of your stud out of the mirror base then drill a hole of
the appropriate size to tap the hole with the correct threads (maybe drill
it in place if the stud is difficult to get out??). Carefully tap the
hole you have drilled for the new 6mm stud. Screw two nuts onto one end
of the stud, and jam them tightly against each other. Put a couple of
drops of Locktite on the other end of the stud, and using the 'top' nut,
screw the freshly locktited end into the newly threaded hole. Separate
the two nuts from each other after you get the stud tight, install the
other springs, spacers and washers, and you will now have a mirror that
can be easily adjusted, and will not fall apart or get loose.
I have fixed four Vanagon manual mirrors with this technique, and been
successful in all attempts. If you have any further questions, give me a
call or email at your convenience. This is a simple fix, you should try
it before going after a used mirror, since the one you buy will probably
fail in the same way in the not-too-distant future.
Regards,
Jon Kanas
On Sat, 22 Apr 2000, John McLean wrote:
>
>
> Jon B Kanas wrote:
>
> > John,
> >
> > Overall condition of both of my mirrors are good; The right side one has a 3"
> > convex mirror affixed via double-stick tape in the upper right corner. I have
> > drilled the ball internally in the mirror, threaded the hole, installed a stud,
> > and now the adjusting nut bites firmly on the stud. Are you looking for
> > mirrors because they are loose, and won't properly bind up? The fix I applied
> > to mine is relatively simple, and I would recommend performing the fix before
> > you buy another mirror. If you want some details on the fix, email me at your
> > convenience.
> >
> > Later,
> > Jon
>
> Hi Jon,
>
> Yes, the problem was ( and still is ) the mirror is loose. The theads on the stud
> were rusty so I put some liquid wrench on the stud and the nut and worked them back
> and forth. I thought I had it sufficiently loosened up. When the mirror moved
> one day while I had my bus up to around 70 on the freeway I tried to give the nut
> another turn or so to increase the tension on the spring. Unfortunately I was
> already at the fatigue limit and proceeded to break the end of the stud off with
> the nut attached.
>
> I'm curious to learn more about your fix and if I can still apply it to my mirror
> even though I have broken the stud. Of course I would be interested in your spare
> mirror as an option. The going rate seems to be around $25.00 a mirror for stock
> in good condition as well as German aftermarket from the Bus Depot.
>
> Thanks for the help, John
>
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