Best way to re-hang a rear view mirror ?

[rexav8r]

Isn't this how it goes ???

I picked up my car yesterday after having new bearings put in my tranny. Man, what a BIG difference ! Anyhow, I go to adjust my rear view mirror which they obviously adjusted so they could test drive the car. No big deal, only it CAME OFF IN MY HAND !!!

My fault, I should have been smart enough to hold the base while moving the mirror. (It IS a 37 year old car right..)

I was going to use some JB Weld to put it back on there but I thought I ought to ask you all first. Any better ideas ?

Thanks.

[heirplane]

When I bought my car the windshield had a crack that formed a semi-circle around the rear view mirror. There was speculation that the problem was that it was reattached at some point with epoxy. The epoxy doesn't expand/contract the same rate as the windshield does.

My suggestion, use the adhesive pad made to attach the rear view mirror. I suspect our host sells them. If not, the dealers do for about five bucks.

[Icemaster]

There's a re-mounting kit that you can get pretty much at any store, Pep boys, NAPA, wherever. Just an epoxy kit. Used on two of my other cars, works great.

BTW, who does your wrenching locally?

[Dan in Pasadena]

No! Do NOT use JB Weld. Go down to your local Pep Boys or Autozone or what have you and they will have a little tube of the correct windshield adhesive. It is easy and cheap.........just make sure you totally clean the windshield and the back side of the mount as it will show through the glass. Once it is on it is never coming off so meaure twice, mount once!

[boyt911sc]

Richard,

Use crazy glue or other stuff you usually find in auto supply like Pep Boys. Use colorless glue that are sold for rear view mirrors. Test fit the location before applying the glue and apply some additional tapes to keep the mounting bracket firmly in placed during the curing period. Good luck.

TD

[rexav8r]

ALLLLL-Righty then !! I guess the JB Weld's out.... I haven't mounted a rear view mirror in a VERY long time, so the question was innocent enough, but reading your responses, I felt pretty dumb in hind-sight.

I'll try looking for the mounting tape/sticker.

Thanks !



Icemaster: Steve Mains at the Sports Car Store (in Florence, KY). He used to be located in Cincy. I've been VERY pleased with everything they've done for me. For suspension tuning I go to Bill Braucksick at Performance Alignment.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

I think what's being recommended is not th etape but the dedicated rear-view-mirror mounting cement, which I what I used. (I have a track mount and a road mount for the inside rear-view mirror, due to interference from the rollbar.)

[Icemaster]

Correct. If it were me, I'd go with whats worked for me in the past...the epoxy. You'll probably have to replace the adhesive tape again, the epoxy is a one time fix.

Thanks for the suggestion on the wrench.

[klaucke]

Guys, I have had very little luck w/ the Loctite brand exopy/glue that is specifically for rear view mirrors. A friend of mine works at a glass shop and I have had them put it on 3 times, it just keeps falling off (i.e. when I hit rail road tracks).

Any suggestions? The rear-view specific stuff is just not cutting it.

[rs6er]

I bought the stuff at the car parts store. Follow directions. I got rid of the slight ooze when it dried with a razor blade. Just remove the mirror and glut the button on. As mentioned above, a piece of tape to hold it cant hurt.

[Norm Faustino]

The secret to a good bond with just about anything is the preparation of the surface. make sure you clean the area very well with ammonia and a rubber eraser. Guaranteed to never come off!

[Jim Savage]

Have used the special adhesive from the auto parts store and it works fine. Just make sure it is clean clean clean.

Another little tip.

Hold the mirror in the place where you want on the windshield. Have your better half put a piece of tape on the spot on the outside of the windshield. That way you can see and clean the correct spot to put the mounting plate back.

And don't forget to mount it with the right side pointing up. There is a correct way....

Jim

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

Klaucke, if something made by Loctite isn't working for you, there's something wierd about your glass. Believe me, those people know how to make fixatives.

[Hetmann]

This happened to me a while back. I cleaned all the adhesive off the windshield and the mounting piece. I then went to my local auto glass shop to ask what they use. They glued it for me - gratis. I offered to pay and they told me they just do that for people. So I tipped the guy who did the work a few bucks and its been fine ever since.

[Jay Laifman]

YIKES! You are getting conflicting advice because people don't realize what rear view mirror you have. With an early 911, you have the one with the larger trapezoid shaped base. It is attached by that foam double sticky pad. I tried that countless ways - warm, cold, hot, glass first, base first, you name it. I even bought them straight from Porsche. They never lasted. I finally gave up and bought the newer style that is the typical metal round piece that glues onto the glass - like all the other "normal" mirrors. The rest of the mirror, including the arm, the shape, the material is all the same. I forget the years that they came from. I know the 928 was the same too.

Then as to glue, got to you normal auto supply store. Loctite has a kit with two bottles specifically for rear view mirrors. FORGET all the rest.

Mine has never come off since - and it's been about 15 years now.

Good luck.

[A Quiet Boom]

The loctite has worked for me on other cars in the past. Well with one exception, I dropped the clutch on my dragcar at the starting line 6000rpms, the mirror landed in the hatchback.

Remove all the old glue and clean both the mirror mount and glass with alcohol prior to using the loctite stuff.

[ianc]

If I can ask this question without hijacking the thread:

How does one remove the mirror from the metal piece that is glued onto the windshield?

supposing you wanted to replace the mirror, but the metal piece was still holding firmly and you didn't want to reglue; is there a way to remove the mirror from it? I've taken a look up there, but it's damned hard to see...

ianc

[LeeH]

Originally posted by ianc
How does one remove the mirror from the metal piece that is glued onto the windshield?

Assuming the real rear view mirror glue was used, this may not be possible. I read everything I could and the only thing that seems to work for some is to hold a lighter on the button. I tried this and had no luck.

I even called the company that makes the glue asking for suggestions. Their answer was to learn to live with the second button on the windshield.

[ianc]

I think you're misunderstanding my question (which was not explained very well).

There is a metal piece glued to the windshield. The mirror's plastic stalk connects to this metal piece in some way. I can get some relative motion between the two, but I can't figure out how the mirror stalk is removed from the metal piece, leaving it intact on the windshield.

Anyone?

ianc

[LeeH]

Oops... sorry. Mine is aftermarket and just had a single screw.