The C5 exterior mirrors are designed to turn as a unit, toward and away from the car. The design that GM developed included a soft metal mount, a heavy spring and a clip. Over time, the heavy spring forces the clip to lose it's grip on the soft metal, resulting in droopy mirrors that swing freely. This HOW TO allows you to repair the droopy mirror housing rather than spending approximately $400 for a new mirror and paint!

My source for the parts was Home Depot. I purchased a 2.5" long, fine thread, 3/8" diameter bolt and nut, and several washers. These are used in order to compress the spring. You will also need some parts in order to cut wiring and splice the cuts.

AFTER A MONTH, THIS REPAIR FAILED FOR ME. YOU MIGHT HAVE TO MAKE A DEEPER CUT INTO THE SOFT METAL TO KEEP THE RETAINING CLIP IN PLACE.

An alternative to doing this job yourself is to send the mirrors off to a guy that will repair them for you. After my attempt to repair the mirror, I sent mine off. See the bottom of this web site in order to have your mirror repaired!

Another alternate solution was emailed to me from another C5 owner: I gave up on this method and finally settled on cutting about 1 coil off the spring. This was done with a hacksaw blade and was somewhat time consuming. After cutting, I removed this portion of the coil i had cut. I then compressed the spring again and held with very narrow gage wire. I think that this would work better with a high tensile stength wire, but it must be thin to allow the spring to fit into the molded piece. I only wired one side of the spring, so after installation I could reach in with a set of wire clippers and cut this to release the spring. I also made sure that the groove was cut a little deeper on the post. I use my fingers to start the clip onto the post. I then used a 5/8" open wrench to tap the clip down onto the post. This worked very well and the spring was still tight enough. Since I do not anticipate every moving the mirror for a car wash or anything, I then proceeded to use JB weld around the post and clip to make sure that it does not jump off again.

Another alternate solution was emailed to me from another C5 owner: I have one addition: instead of using a bolt to compress the string and instead of using the push-on nut, consider buying a threaded tube at Home Depot. They are in the ceiling fan and hanging lights section. The one I bought came in a two-pack and were three inches long. Another package provides the nuts, lockwashers, and washers. I fed the wires through this tube and used the nuts to compress the spring. Hopefully, it.s a permanent fix. I also had to buy one fender washer to get enough diameter to cover the spring. One more tip: I had to run 10 wires through the tube. It may make things easier if a small round file is used on the inside ends of the tube because the ends may be crimped slightly as part of the production process. Silicone spray also helps move the wires.

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Start by lowering the window to get it out of the way. Then, using a flat blade screwdriver. Pull on the door handle and insert the screwdriver in the bottom slot. Pull down with the screwdriver to disengage the 2 retaining clips. Do the same on the top.

Remove the plate behind the door handle pull.

Using a T-30 torx bit, remove the two bolts.

Use a putty knife to undo the door skin retaining clips. A rag over the knife will protect the finish. Start in the back as the first clip is approximately 2" above the bottom section of the door. Work counter-clockwise to undo all the clips. The female ends should stay in the door and the knife should be able to squeeze in between the panel and the female retainer.

Once all the clips are unlatched, pull the door skin up to unhook it from the door, while holding the bottom of the skin away from the door so the clips do not catch on the door. Then, unclip the harness from the door

Disconnect the harnesses from the door computer to prevent the window from moving.

Disconnect the white speaker connector. Removing the speakers will provide access to things beneath the back of the door.

Using a 9/32" socket, remove the 6 bolts that hold the speaker assembly to the door. Do not remove the individual speaker retaining bolts.

Remove the two rubber grommets to get access to the mirror nuts. Then, disconnect the mirror harness (black connector).

Push the black harness grommet through the hole and fee the harness through that hole. Inside the door are 3 retaining clips. Looking down through the top of the door and using your hands through the speaker hole, you can find them and open then in order for the harness to be loose. Using a 10mm socket, undo the 3 nuts on the mirror studs using the two access holes that we uncovered earlier.

Remove the mirror and harness. Using your hand, rotate the glass on the mirror so that you can see inside the far, bottom of the mirror. Pull up on the mirror in order to disconnect the 2 jackscrews and the center retainer. Be very careful and use gloves. It's possible to break a weak mirror using this method. Do do at your own risk. Remove the mirror and harness. Using your hand, rotate the glass on the mirror so that you can see inside the far, bottom of the mirror. Pull up on the mirror in order to disconnect the 2 jackscrews and the center retainer. Be very careful and use gloves. It's possible to break a weak mirror using this method. Do do at your own risk.

Once the mirror is removed, unclip the two wires that are there to heat the mirror.

Slide the black rubber insulating material down the harness.

Pull the metal mount along the harness, out of the mirror housing.

Using a T-10 torx bit, remove the 3 mounting screwed in order to remove the mirror motor.

Using a diagonal cutter, cut about 2" down the harness sheath - BE CAREFUL not to clip any wires.

Cut the 4 wires going to the motor (not the black heater wires) about 1.5" from the motor.

You should be left with these parts.

Using a triangular or flat file, file a deep groove into the metal post so that the clip will have a good surface to hold onto. The metal is soft so be very careful. Cut the groove over the existing factory cut.

Using a small pliers, put a little pressure on the tips of the clip so that they will extend inward a little more.

Using your hardware, prepare the bolt, washers, spring, clip and nut. Your first attempt to compress the spring should be used with washers that will fit over the 5/8" metal stud. The washers should be able to clear the stud in order to force the clip over the stud and into the groove.

Use 2 or 3 washers on the bolt end of the bolt so that the threaded end barely touches the inside of the mirror houseing when inserted through the metal post and into the housing.

Put the washers and the nut on the other end of the bolt and finger tighten. Make sure all the washers line up properly so that they will clear the metal stud.

Using a 9/16" wrench and socket, tighten the bolt until resistance is met. This means that the washers or nut bottomed out. This could result in the spring being compressed and the clip set in place, or it could mean that something is not lined up correctly. It may some time to get everything lined up right so that it falls into place.

When it works correctly, you may remove the nut, washers and bolt, and the clip stays in place.

Next, insert the harness into the metal mount and through the mirror assembly. Pull plenty of harness through the hole in order to work on the wiring.

Strip the wires and either use butt connectors (like I had) or solder the wires and tape them.

When complete, pull the wiring harness sheath back over the wires and wrap the cut sheath and wiring with electrical tape.

To aid in preventing water from getting into the harness, use some silicone or gasket glue to seal the end of the harness/tape. Then, reinstall the motor with the three T-10 torx bolts and reconnect the heater wires. The tricky part of mating the mirror to the motor involves lining up the 2 jackscrews and the center connection and pressing firmly. Wear gloves in case you break the mirror (Not My Fault if you do)! The two jackscrews can be connected first and then the mirror can be lined up on the center stud and firmly pushed into place.

Feed the wiring harness through the door and put the mirror back on. Use the 10mm nuts to mount the housing. Revers the disassembly procedure in order to reasssemble the interior. Test the mirror. If there are any problems, remove the parts and check your electrical connections.


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Disclaimer: 97vette.com offers the C5 HOW TO section as a guide.
This HOW TO requires work with finish, interior and glass.
97vette.com will not accept any responsibility if you make a mistake and
damage your Corvette. You assume any and all responsibility to use caution
when performing work on your Corvette to prevent yourself from causing any
damage. --Pat


 
 


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