Date:         Sun, 13 Jan 2002 15:28:17 -0500
Reply-To:     "Karl M." <thewestyman@MINDSPRING.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "Karl M." <thewestyman@MINDSPRING.COM>
Subject:      Re: Does a broken mirror bring bad luck?
Comments: To: Graham Fitter <grahamfitter@YAHOO.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

I have successfully repaired mirrors with pulled studs by first pushing the
stud back into place (tapping it into place with a soft-faced hammer) then
carefully drilling a small hole through the mirror housing and the stud,
then driving a small screw or piece of metal welding rod or such into the
hole. This will secure it probably better than it was originally!

Karl Mullendore
Westy Ventures
1987 Syncro Westfalia 1.9TD

----- Original Message -----
From: "Graham Fitter" <grahamfitter@YAHOO.COM>


> Hi all,
>
> So I was driving along a while back and the mirror on the driver's door
> went all floppy. Indeed, it was so floppy I had to keep the window open
> and held the mirror in place until the next exit on the interstate. Then
> I removed the mirror, tightened up the nut to increase the friction and
> put the mirror back on the door. The mirror flopped.
>
> Fine, I thought, and tightened up the nut even more, then the whole
> thing came apart in my hands. It turns out that the bolt holding the
> ball joint together isn't really a bolt, but a hexagonal stud hammered
> into a hexagonal hole in the mirror mount, and held in place by
> friction. If the nut is tightened too much to overcome a really floppy
> mirror, the bolt is just pulled out of its hole and the whole thing
> falls apart.
>
> Not having a mirror is a really bad thing on a Massachusetts highway, so
> as a last resort, I took the mirror off the passenger's door and put it
> on the driver's door. The mirror is obviously a different orientation,
> and doesn't fold flat against the door, but does the job just fine.
>
> In fact, I think its better this way round - the overall backwards
> visibility on the highway is much better than before - and I'm not going
> to switch the mirrors over when I fix the broken one :-)
>
> Cheers,
> Graham
>
> p.s. Has anyone had any success securing the hexagonal shaped stud in
> the hexagonal shaped hole? Would glue work?