Before 1986 is not in Bentley Floppy Mirrors From: Various Year(s): pre 1986 Model/Type: Vanagon Symptom(s): Floppy loose mirrors
Tony Polson -
First remove the mirror assembly from the door by removing the two Philips screws holding the mirror bracket. Make sure you use a large Philips screwdriver as these screws can
often be difficult to remove and you need to avoid damaging the screw heads.
Inside the mirror bracket is a coil spring and nut. The nut needs to be tightened to stiffen up the tension.
If you tighten the nut too much, it will split the mirror arm socket where it locates over the ball in the mirror bracket. This is particularly easy to do if you are using the aftermarket Taiwan-made components; the German OEM mirrors are somewhat sturdier. So tighten it just a little, maybe just half a turn, then refit the mirror bracket to see if you've tightened it enough. If not, remove the bracket again and tighten a little more. It's a pain in the a**, but little by little is the best approach.
Finally, tighten the mirror bracket fixing screws using the same large Philips screwdriver. My own preference is to use a copper-based anti-seize grease on the screws to prevent future problems when removing.
Good luck!
Clint Kolda -
I took mine apart and installed a rubber garden hose washer in the ball socket joint. this seems to work well even with cracked plastc at the base of both mirrors.
Malcolm Stebbins -
Folks: why put on a band-aid when the mirrors can be fixed! I have fixed 3 sets of floppy mirrors
in the past month. In all 3 cases the shaft, on which the adjuster tries to snug up the mirror
adjustment, was RUSTED in place, and that's WHY the mirrors can't be adjusted and why they flop
like Dumbo's ears. I did the following:
1) remove mirrors.
2) unscrew the bottom nut, remove the washers, & the spring.
3) soak the adjustment parts in penetrating oil for a few days.
4) use a rubber hammer to BEAT the bottom of the swivel off the shaft (maybe cleaning up the shaft
with corse sandpaper will help).
5) use sandpaper to clean-up the shaft and sliding part.
6) IMPORTANT: lubricate the assembly prior to re-assembly (I used Krown.com anti-rust oil
7) maybe re-paint the mirrors to match your van :-)
8) re-assemble, re-tighten, re-mount the mirrors.
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