Door mirror glass replacement

[leon263 0]

Both door mirror glasses on my VR6 were starting to show their age so I looked about for replacements. £72 a side from Classic Parts was out of the question and ARZ tuning prices were almost as bad so I decided to try the mirrors advertised on e-bay (link below) at £8.99 a side. Delivery was a very impressive next day job and everything looked good. The glass comes with the heating element already installed and the connections are idential to the original VW part. The rear of the heating element then has a super sticky layer of adhesive with a peel off cover. Also included are a pair of plastic backing plates which clip into place on the mirror motor.

 

Fitting was simplcity itself.

 

There are two points worth noting. When unpacked, the two spade connectors on the rear of he mirror lie flat against the glass and will need to be bent up a right angles to ease fitment of the wiring and you will need to trim about 5mm off one side of the backing plate to allow the mirror to centralise in the mirror housing as the connectors will foul the backing plate if it is not trimmed slightly. Once you have done these two slight mods you simply clip the backing plate onto the motor, connect the wiring, remove the protective sheet from the adhesive, centralise the mirror and press it into place. Job done, it should not take you more than 15 minutes per side.

 

After I completed the fitting I could not resist trying to remove the plastic backing plate from the original mirrors and with a bit of patience I got them both off without damage. They are simply stuck on the same as the e-bay version. Now, if you are really anal, the new mirror could be used with the original backing plate for an OEM result.

 

The photos below show the mirrors installed and also the rear of the original mirror with the plastic backing plate removed. It can be carefully prised away from the mirror with a fine flat blade screwdriver as it is simply stuck on. If you were to go down this route you wuld need to drill two holes in the backing plate to correspond with the connectors on the new mirror as they are not in exactly the same place as on the original mirror.

 

 

At £21 posted I'm well pleased and you really have to wonder where VW get their prices.

 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VOLKSWAGEN-CORRADO-88-95-CONVEX-HEATED-MIRROR-GLASS-BP-/330909704622?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&fits=Model%3ACorrado&hash=item4d0bc161ae

 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2013 by leon263

[Dox 23]

Any pics of them fitted to your car? :)

[lj16v 0]

Useful post there mate : ))

[Supercharged 2]

Nice one, very useful - I didn't realise you could get them with the heater pads on them!

 

Back in the day the VW ones were £60 + vat the pair (one being £25 and one £35 for some reason!)

[BILLCOR 1]

http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?80952-Door-mirror-glass

Thanks guys :shrug:

[KIPVW 0]

Excellent review if ever i read one, thanks & will be purchasing ;)

[leon263 0]

http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?80952-Door-mirror-glass

Thanks guys :shrug:

 

 

Apologies mate, I had intended to mention your input but suffered an all to common senior moment!

[KIPVW 0]

Group hug for Bill :)

[Jamie 1]

That's spooky - have been meaning to replace my offside mirror for a while as its de-laminating and just noticed my nearside has somehow developed a tiny crack, so this is really handy :)

 

Great write up (not keen on the coat though) :lol:

[BILLCOR 1]

Group hug for Bill :)

 

And Ian (glosterox) :fondle:

 

---------- Post added at 3:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 3:40 PM ----------

 

Apologies mate, I had intended to mention your input but suffered an all to common senior moment!

 

No apologies required you old buggar :lol:

 

Oh, nice little write up by the way :thumbleft:

[davidwort 0]

I reviewed these on another thread a while back, I used the old vw backing although they had to be cut out a little for the heater connections iirc, I also found the glass cut a fraction too shallow but you get used to it and it's only a mm or so. They have survived the winter well, heater backing works well and by far the best thing is the slightly convex glass removing most of my driver's side black spot.

[VR6Pete 0]

What's the best way of popping out the old glass?

[guildmage 11]

What's the best way of popping out the old glass?

 

Never done it before, but read somewhere that long ruler is good or as explained here...

http://volkswagen.msk.ru/body/mirror_90-92.pdf

[dragon green 4]

Can be done with a screwdriver,I use a plastic trim remover tool,

Just prise from one end at a time,it's a tight fit,and a little daunting

The first time (lol)

[davidwort 0]

Ideally you want two flat rigid pieces of plastic about 5cm wide and pry from top and bottom at the same time, I would also warm the whole glass and mirror unit with a hairdryer as cold plastic is more brittle and the locating lugs are more likely to snap if everything is cold.

[KIPVW 0]

I like to use the flat wooden spatula out of the kitchen :-) works great and as it's wood doesn't mark anything either.

[J.C 10]

I reviewed these on another thread a while back, I used the old vw backing although they had to be cut out a little for the heater connections iirc, I also found the glass cut a fraction too shallow but you get used to it and it's only a mm or so. They have survived the winter well, heater backing works well and by far the best thing is the slightly convex glass removing most of my driver's side black spot.

 

+1,

the glass is just slightly different shape, not noticeable unless you look very hard

[VR6Pete 0]

Just done my drivers side, re-used my old mounting plate, just had to dremal a bit off around where the terminals are for the heated element but it fits perfect as the mirror sits snug in the plate.

 

Will do passenger side tomorrow :)

[Billzeebub 1]

I've just ordered those blue tinted wide angle jobies from Awesome..£62 with postage!...they had better be nice!..

[clumpy1 11]

I've just ordered those blue tinted wide angle jobies from Awesome..£62 with postage!...they had better be nice!..

Post up how you get on with these matey my passenger side need's doing but if they are good i will do both at the same time :thumbleft:

Just had a look at these mate they come without heating but apparently you can peel off the heat pad from the old mirror and apply to these really interested in how you get on thank's

Edited May 16, 2013 by clumpy1

[Billzeebub 1]

Post up how you get on with these matey my passenger side need's doing but if they are good i will do both at the same time :thumbleft:

 

Certainly will do, though the chap at Awesome phoned me after I placed my online order. Apparently they come form the US (price starts to make more sense) and they will take at least 3 weeks to arrive. I will expect them when I see them tbh!.

[clumpy1 11]

Cheer's matey :thumbleft:

[fla 9]

Just done my drivers side, re-used my old mounting plate, just had to dremal a bit off around where the terminals are for the heated element but it fits perfect as the mirror sits snug in the plate.

 

Will do passenger side tomorrow :)

Pete? How did you remove the mirror glass from the old mounting?

[guildmage 11]

I used a thin long knife and after 15 mins of swearing it worked. Old glass is suprisingly hard to brake an also plastic was quite flexible for me. It looks like an impossible tasks but is doable with a bit of patience and a long knife.

[leon263 0]

I recently replaced my mirror glass with e-bay glass which included the backing plates. I used the included backing plates but subsequently separated the original Corrado glass from the original backing plates. Both plates are undamaged and available for a small consideration should any-one want or need them.