Driver mirror won't move - w123
 

I damaged my driver mirror recently, so I went and pulled two spares out of my parts shed. They have no doubt been sitting there for at least 7 years.

Unfortunately on both of them the mirror is stuck in place. The adjuster arm won't move, and neither will pressing on the mirror make it budge.

I have tried spraying penetrating oil inside, no change.

Suggestions?

It has been many years since I replaced the control arm but it only took an hour or so. Pop out the mirror pry gently on the putter most sides it is held in by a ball and socket. Everything will be exposed and can be dissambled clean lubricate and readjust tension. There is a good DIY somewhere.

I'd say keep at it with the penetrating fluid. Maybe wash it with dilute CLR

Amazon.com - Calcium, Lime, and Rust Remover - Bathroom Cleaners

Then rinse and respray with penetrating fluid.

I had a mirror that was not very movable and the penetrating fluid alone did the trick.

I'd try that before fussing with mirror removal... unless the backing glue is so dry that it pops off with ease...

Thanks for the input
 

But... had an idea.

Dishwasher.

So far so good. First pass and it now moves.

Going to put it on the lower rack this time... then CLR or penetrating oil mix after.

:D

Very clever !:)

Afterward, test the mirror adhesion a couple of times to make sure the old glue is not giving way.

No problem, just re-glue if needed.

I unfroze/relubed a W123 driver side mirror just this past weekend. My process was this:

1. remove plastic inner mirror handle (pry out holding clip and slide off handle)
2. carefully pry out and remove plasitchrome cover plate
3. support mirror, then remove the 3 screws holding on the mirror and remove mirror from car
4. pry the mirror itself at the outside edge to disengage the mirror glass backing from the ball socket
5. slide the mirror glass backing toward the outside edge to disengage it from the mirror housing (take your time - you may have to fiddle with it a bit)
6. put mirror glass aside for safekeeping
7. Inside housing, remove the two phillips head screws and separate chrome backing from mirror mechanism frame
8. pry off and remove rubber "boot" from handle/mechanism
9. you should now have access to free up and relubricate the mirror
10. once you've done so, reassembly/installation is reverse of removal
11. use penetrating oil of choice and work slowly and carefully

Dishwasher is simpler :smartass:

But seriously, thanks for the excellent writeup on that.

I Hope You Used A Bosch......
 

.......dishwasher that is...the one my wife swears by......if it was I'll have to let her know Bosch dishwashers are good for auto parts too!

Sorry, no metric appliance was available at the time. I went with Kenmore. :P

(Seriously, I do hear that Bosch appliances are way above the rest.)

They used to be but these days the quality has dipped quite a bit in my opinion.

I've recently been very impressed by my Samsung tumble dryer and would probably consider the brand for other things too so long as the products don't connect to the internet and spy on me...

(hear about that? Is your smart TV SPYING on your family? Investigation reveals how much personal data television sets know about viewers | Daily Mail Online)

Samsung likes to promote that image of indestructibility, but a recent expose here in Canada by a consumer affairs program reveals that their refrigerators have serious design defects that result in leaks and expensive repairs, sometimes only six months off warranty. Other makes as well.

Message: buy a fridge with all the goo-hahs (icemaker in particular) and expect trouble. They interview appliance repair techs and the basic message was: "They're all junk now, and pricey junk to fix." Not to mention that in some cases the water leaks resulted in damaged floors.

When you think about it, a one-year warranty on a fridge? Really? People here used to have 40-year old beer fridges in their garages, until the helpful folks at our utilities offered a bounty for junking them.

Back to Sammy: I have a Samsung dehumidifier that looks like a piece of modern art, compared to most, but has an inbuilt defect that results in random shutoff, and this meant that many have been junked (not economically viable to bring for service). I found the answer to the problem completely by accident so mine soldiers on.