Fully dismantling a door mirror

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mrscalex
Joined: Fri 13 Mar, 2015 09:14
Posts: 910

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Fully dismantling a door mirror

Post by mrscalex »

I've had no luck un-seizing a door mirror after a week of being soaked in WD40 followed by a liberal dose of Plus Gas.

I'd like to fully dismantle the stem off the base to do the job properly. At the same time I have a much better base I can fit.

I can see how the stem is held on. I'm not sure what the type of fitting is called but you'll either know what I'm talking about or you won't! It's a circular, springy, clampy, compressiony thing!

I can get the old one off with a Dremmel. But the part is not listed as a separate spare. Any ideas where I can get a replacement from? Or take the old one off in a such a way I can get it back on after? Thanks.
ImageImage
2001 Z3 2.2 Topaz Blue (Trudy) - Keeper rebuilt from a write-off
2002 Z3 2.2 Titan Silver (Cookies) - Keeper rebuilt having been bought with a seized engine
2002 Z3 3.0 Sapphire Black (Peanut) - Keeper awaiting rebuilding having been bought as an abandoned project
Plus Willy, Kodak & Maycee - All 2.2 Sport projects. Yes, 6 is a lot of Z3s :)
Always happy to try and help with spares :)
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colb
Joined: Sat 05 May, 2012 22:46
Posts: 690

  Z3 roadster 1.8 TU
Location: Newport South Wales UK

Re: Fully dismantling a door mirror

Post by colb »

Have a look here for details on a repair
https://zroadster.org/threads/corroded- ... -fix.1578/

Colb
Colb
1999 BMW 1.8 Z3
2003 BMW 2.5 Z4
1998 Honda Deauville NT650V
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Robert T
Site Admin
Joined: Mon 12 Jun, 2006 10:35
Posts: 10170

  Z3 roadster 1.9
Location: Cheshire

Re: Fully dismantling a door mirror

Post by Robert T »

Or better still, look in the knowledgebase on here: http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16269

And for ///M mirrors: http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23387

Cheers R.

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Arctic Silver '99 Z3 1.9 & Black '59 Frogeye 1275cc
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colb
Joined: Sat 05 May, 2012 22:46
Posts: 690

  Z3 roadster 1.8 TU
Location: Newport South Wales UK

Re: Fully dismantling a door mirror

Post by colb »

Colb
1999 BMW 1.8 Z3
2003 BMW 2.5 Z4
1998 Honda Deauville NT650V
gookah
Z Register member
Joined: Thu 07 Aug, 2008 09:51
Posts: 2737

  Z3 roadster 2.8

Re: Fully dismantling a door mirror

Post by gookah »

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Z3 2.8 Progress Journal (Mine)
Z3 1.9 Sport Progress Journal (Wifey's)

I have an element of 'M-styling' on my car, If that's a good enough reason for the manufacturers to adorn a 320 with the M badge, then its certainly a good enough reason for me..
mrscalex
Joined: Fri 13 Mar, 2015 09:14
Posts: 910

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Fully dismantling a door mirror

Post by mrscalex »

Thanks gookah. That's what I was asking about.

I like to restore things as closely as possible to how they left the factory. So getting the Starlock off (and back on) will be the best option for me. That will allow me to free and lubricate the mechanism properly and swap the bases over.

The knowledgebase article is good but just covers getting the mirror off and repainting the base.

I do have a second spare mirror which is broken (the spring seat) and I am going to look into the zroadster.org bolt fix. I might try epoxy welding it first.

The ebay new all plastic mirrors are great and I don't think are that expensive when you could pay £150 for a 2nd-hand mirror which could break soon enough. I just like keeping it factory :)
ImageImage
2001 Z3 2.2 Topaz Blue (Trudy) - Keeper rebuilt from a write-off
2002 Z3 2.2 Titan Silver (Cookies) - Keeper rebuilt having been bought with a seized engine
2002 Z3 3.0 Sapphire Black (Peanut) - Keeper awaiting rebuilding having been bought as an abandoned project
Plus Willy, Kodak & Maycee - All 2.2 Sport projects. Yes, 6 is a lot of Z3s :)
Always happy to try and help with spares :)
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Southernboy
Joined: Thu 07 Oct, 2010 12:39
Posts: 6436

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Johannesburg

Re: Fully dismantling a door mirror

Post by Southernboy »

The best way to remove the starlock washer is to cut it off - cut through on opposite sides so it splits into 2 halves. Then replace it with a new one. A DREMMEL TOOL IS PROBABLY THE BEST TOOL TO USE FOR CUTTING IT.
"Normal is overrated"
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mrscalex
Joined: Fri 13 Mar, 2015 09:14
Posts: 910

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Fully dismantling a door mirror

Post by mrscalex »

Southernboy wrote:The best way to remove the starlock washer is to cut it off - cut through on opposite sides so it splits into 2 halves. Then replace it with a new one. A DREMMEL TOOL IS PROBABLY THE BEST TOOL TO USE FOR CUTTING IT.
Indeed, as the whole point is the part can't be removed without destroying it and that's how the manufacturers of these fittings intend it. So I planned on using the dremmel as per my initial post, just wanted to make sure I could replace the part :)

In the States they are known as push nuts by the looks of it. Pretty mind boggling selection of variations here:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#push-nuts

& in the UK here:

http://www.bakfin.com/

Actually these push nuts look slightly more like the OEM part than the starlocks on ebay as the tangs are closer set. In fact there's barely a gap on the OEM part. I'm not that obsessive about originality, just want to get the correct part to avoid any damage :) I have a scrap mirror to practice on.
ImageImage
2001 Z3 2.2 Topaz Blue (Trudy) - Keeper rebuilt from a write-off
2002 Z3 2.2 Titan Silver (Cookies) - Keeper rebuilt having been bought with a seized engine
2002 Z3 3.0 Sapphire Black (Peanut) - Keeper awaiting rebuilding having been bought as an abandoned project
Plus Willy, Kodak & Maycee - All 2.2 Sport projects. Yes, 6 is a lot of Z3s :)
Always happy to try and help with spares :)
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Southernboy
Joined: Thu 07 Oct, 2010 12:39
Posts: 6436

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Johannesburg

Re: Fully dismantling a door mirror

Post by Southernboy »

Once you've dismantled the mirror, you can use the dremmel to clean and buff the metal alloy parts before re-assembly. Also, be liberal with the grease so it stays dry from water and oxidation in future- sort of job you should do annually over there I'd say - I mean clean and re-grease... :wink:
"Normal is overrated"
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mrscalex
Joined: Fri 13 Mar, 2015 09:14
Posts: 910

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Fully dismantling a door mirror

Post by mrscalex »

Southernboy wrote:Once you've dismantled the mirror, you can use the dremmel to clean and buff the metal alloy parts before re-assembly. Also, be liberal with the grease so it stays dry from water and oxidation in future- sort of job you should do annually over there I'd say - I mean clean and re-grease... :wink:
Absolutely.

The starlock came off a treat with the dremmel and no damage to the rest of the mirror. However the sleeve is seized solid to the base aperture despite spending a week in WD40, additional squirts of Plus Gas and several blows from a hammer. So I'm going to try and drill it out with a 12mm drill bit. I'm going to either try and get a new sleeve/spring assembly from Udo in Germany (plastic mirror man) or improvise with a length of stainless steel 12mm tube and a starlock at both ends.

3 more to renovate after that and hopefully I've got the most difficult one out of the way first :)
ImageImage
2001 Z3 2.2 Topaz Blue (Trudy) - Keeper rebuilt from a write-off
2002 Z3 2.2 Titan Silver (Cookies) - Keeper rebuilt having been bought with a seized engine
2002 Z3 3.0 Sapphire Black (Peanut) - Keeper awaiting rebuilding having been bought as an abandoned project
Plus Willy, Kodak & Maycee - All 2.2 Sport projects. Yes, 6 is a lot of Z3s :)
Always happy to try and help with spares :)
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Southernboy
Joined: Thu 07 Oct, 2010 12:39
Posts: 6436

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Johannesburg

Re: Fully dismantling a door mirror

Post by Southernboy »

Good luck ! :wink:
"Normal is overrated"
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Southernboy
Joined: Thu 07 Oct, 2010 12:39
Posts: 6436

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Johannesburg

Re: Fully dismantling a door mirror

Post by Southernboy »

Have a look at Alan W 's post - he has 2 mirrors in excellent condition with bases for sale... might save you a lot of bother and cost buying from Germany ?? His post is on the list today - "A few bits for sale"...
"Normal is overrated"
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mrscalex
Joined: Fri 13 Mar, 2015 09:14
Posts: 910

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Fully dismantling a door mirror

Post by mrscalex »

Southernboy wrote:Have a look at Alan W 's post - he has 2 mirrors in excellent condition with bases for sale... might save you a lot of bother and cost buying from Germany ?? His post is on the list today - "A few bits for sale"...
Thanks. But I'd prefer to repair. I like keeping as much of the car original as possible (owned from new). Plus I've sunk rather too much money into getting it back on the road and need to be able to sell the spare set to put money back in the pot.

I also like a challenge :)
ImageImage
2001 Z3 2.2 Topaz Blue (Trudy) - Keeper rebuilt from a write-off
2002 Z3 2.2 Titan Silver (Cookies) - Keeper rebuilt having been bought with a seized engine
2002 Z3 3.0 Sapphire Black (Peanut) - Keeper awaiting rebuilding having been bought as an abandoned project
Plus Willy, Kodak & Maycee - All 2.2 Sport projects. Yes, 6 is a lot of Z3s :)
Always happy to try and help with spares :)
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Southernboy
Joined: Thu 07 Oct, 2010 12:39
Posts: 6436

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Johannesburg

Re: Fully dismantling a door mirror

Post by Southernboy »

Good for you ! I'm much the same...prefer to do things myself. :wink:
"Normal is overrated"
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