Electric mirror restoration

[millerguy76]

Has anyone successfully disassembled and reassembled the electric door mirrors for the grand wagoneers?
The only way I can get a company to re-chrome the mirrors is if they are able to tear down. I've had a couple businesses tell me they can tear down but they don't see how they can reassemble.

Any leads or insight would be great....thanks

[SJTD]

Not much help other than to say it can be done. Though I took them apart to lube them it was 20-25 years ago and right now the doors are buried in the shed so I can't even look at them.

[runuover86gw]

Yes, I have a set disassembled right now. And I have taken apart and put back together several sets that I restored the internal motors on. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.

[millerguy76]

Given the scarcity of these mirrors, im scared to experiment.
How did you separate the base from the head of the mirror? Assuming you cut the clip? And then how do you compress the spring so you can reassemble?

[runuover86gw]

I will take some pictures for you today when I am able to take a break that should help you out quite a bit. If it comes down to it and you don't feel comfortable doing it, you can send them to me and I can take care of it for you. You can probably look through the build of user Laredo Matt. His mirror housings were powder coated also and I can't remember off the top of my head if he had to separate the two pieces or not. I have worked with him on quite a few things, so it is hard to keep track of everything. I can ask him if it comes down to it.

viewtopic.php?t=21552

[runuover86gw]

Here are some pictures of the mirror apart. These first couple of pictures I circled where the 3 screws are that you need to remove so you can have access to remove the motor, mirror and plastic piece.

gwpm4 by Joshua Oman, on Flickr

gwpm3 by Joshua Oman, on Flickr

gwpm2 by Joshua Oman, on Flickr

For this piece, if you want to remove it, then you will need to set up a jig of some sort. You will need to push down on this clip and pry the tabs out from under the lip. While doing so, you need to be mindful of the spring pressing up during removal and make sure it doesn't pop up and hit you. I have never had one shoot across the room or anything, but I still remove those parts cautiously if needed.

gwpm1 by Joshua Oman, on Flickr

[millerguy76]

Thank you for this detail. This is very helpful to see behind the scenes before diving in!