Porsche Mirror Glass Install
As our cars get old some odd things happen... While driving the old Porsche Boxster I noticed the drivers side
view mirror was wobbling a bit. Then all of a sudden it just flopped off! Lucky for me it had the deluxe heated
mirrors and the wires that attach the mirror kept it from shattering on the ground. Below is my el-cheepo fix on
how I repaired it.
Tools and Supplies Needed
Blue Tape
Rag or paper towels to clean the `goo`
This is a simple project, but you should be careful of scratching your car and getting the cleaners on
your paint. PROTECT YOUR PAINT WITH BLUE TAPE AND OTHER COVERING! If your too worried
about it, take it to the dealer. Otherwise follow below on how to fix it. This also applies to most
Porsche's of the era that use the stickum' approach to holding things together.
Stock Porsche Boxster Mirror
As you can see it's just about to flop off. The glass is in good shape, but the glue that holds it to the mirror adjusting assembly is not. You could just get a new complete part, but hey that's too easy. Again, this might be a common issue with many other Porsche models. Just be careful with your cleaners and the loose glass as both have the potential to scratch your fine paint.
Porsche Mirror Housing Cleaned
Looks cleaner, no sticky glue left. You may want to give it a shot of Windex or other mild cleaner to remove the oily film the Lift off (goo remover) leaves. The surfaces of both the back of the mirror and the housing above should be dry and goo free at this point.
Securing the Mirror for Drying
After you are happy with you glue job, time to hold it in place until it gets dry (3-4 hours on my glue). I found a couple of old spray can tops and used some blue tape to keep the entire thing in tension. One thing to remember is that you want to EVENLY keep the pressure on the mirror glass or it will slide off to one edge. The 2 spray can lids seemed like a good way to go.
And In Conclusion...
Yes, their is a conclusion to this project, it is 3 hours after I glued things up. The glue dried nicely and the mirror is solid again. The electric adjusting mechanism still works (see not too much glue) and other then picking up some silicone glue, it was pretty inexpensive of a fix. If you do need a complete assembly best place you can hit for the part is Pelican Parts!
Happy Motoring!
Porsche Heated Mirror Glass
This is what it looks like when it flopped out. Lucky the wires were holding it on. Note the stickly goo on the back of the mirror element. This should all be removed. Again tape up some paper or cloth to keep the mirror from banging on the car. I would NOT recommend trying to pull the wires off as it seemed like they would rip the element from the mirror. The mirror adjusting assembly also has a layer of the same sticky goo. Both must be clean for the Silicone glue to do it's magic.
Coating the Backing Plate
I coated the backing plate with a thin layer of glue. Their are a few uneven spots in the picture, but I used my finger to smooth things out a bit, but do not over glue as you don't want the silicone to get into the mechanism. A thin nice even coat will do it.
Goo Remover
The goo on the mirror backing and housing can be removed with a few things, some are more damaging to paint. The Lift Off brand is what I had in the garage, so I gave it a try. I soaked a small bit on a rag and began to clean the good off the mirror back. At first it didn't do much, but after a few seconds of soaking in, it starting removing it. I kept the rag liberaly coated with the remover juice often starting at a new clean spot as it absorbed the goo. I did a couple of passes until it was clean. Do the same for the adjusting plate still in the mirror housing. You can tell once it's clean as it will not be sticky. Your last pass of the cleaner should be on a nice clean part of the rag.
Replacing the Mirror Glass
Time to flip the mirror back on. If you did disconnect the wires, would have been a good time to put them back on. Once you have it back on lightly and evenly press the glass on the backing plate. Your pressure should be enough to make it stick but not start ratcheting the mechanism. I moved the mirror around a bit once it started sticking to make sure it spread the glue a bit on the mirror backing. You can feel it start to grab and for the most part will hold on well. Just don't let it fall to the ground if it's not sticking... But that should be obvious.
GE Silicone Glue
I found this online at Amazon, they also have it at Home Depot. I think other brands make a Silicone Gule as well (DAP). I'm not sure if pure silicone caulking would also work, but the smaller tubes are easy to deal with and you don't need a glue gun to dispense.
