Outside mirror - how to remove the mirror glass (pics included)

[tvjake2]

I found a need to replace the outer trim on my left outside mirror due to an unjustified tree attack (as you can see below). I've always wondered how the mirror came off/out of the box, I thought it was glued. Not. After some research on the Forum I found an instruction that said "...just pull on both sides of the mirror, it will come off." This was not very inspiring so I searched for a picture of the inside of the mirror. None (that I could find). So here are some pics of the inside of the side mirror that shows why they do indeed just "pull off".

The mirror has four clips located around the outer edge of the interior mount. These clips slip over the holes just outside the mounting ring on the inside of the mirror. I got two plastic body panel tools and used the curved parts of those to gently pry the mirror off. The outside trim piece just unscrews. The whole job took 10 minutes. Easy. The trim piece came from Turner Motorsport, $52. It's a decent match, fits nicely, not a perfect match to the original finish (not quite as smooth) but only someone who replaced it would know. To reassemble just line up the bottom clips with the hole mount and push those in gently, then push in the top.

mirror.jpg mirror2.jpg

[72tpik5]

Thanks for the "How to", I have wondered as well.

[TedBobo]

Wrenchfest demo?

[kiwiCSi]

Yes, for the E31 (and later E34), they did away with the fiddly locking ring set-up that the E28, E30, E32 and early E34 mirrors had.

[tvjake2]

Wrenchfest demo?

Sure, Ron...we can practice on your car!

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[TxGR8White]

Yes, for the E31 (and later E34), they did away with the fiddly locking ring set-up that the E28, E30, E32 and early E34 mirrors had.

Well, someone brought it back, because my ALPINA B7 has the exact same setup (I just replaced a non-dimming auto-dimming mirror on mine).

[kiwiCSi]

If it's an E65-based B7, you can blame it on Chris Bangle!

[cartoonz]

getting the glass back on is more of a challenge than you'd think... you'll see

[tvjake2]

getting the glass back on is more of a challenge than you'd think... you'll see

Not, it went on clip-clip....5 seconds. Easy peasy. You have to hold your tongue right.