Can you disassemble side mirrors?

[haux]

I got my Gracia folding side mirrors this week.
They're silver; my car is black. I want to have them repainted along with some bezels for fog lights I will be installing.

Is it possible to disassemble these things? Just as with regular 2000 Camry mirrors, how does the shell of it come apart?
It would be nice to give the guy painting them the plastic pieces rather than the entire mirrors.

[haux]

Any ideas?

[Rattlin_Steele]

Do these aftermarket mirrors have adjustment motors in them?

[rusty9]

if they are anything like the gen3 folding mirrors, yes.

remove the glass, and you should see that the framework is held onto the shell by 4 screws, and 2 underneath on the base section. once you remove those, you can wiggle the frame out from the shell.

i think i had to cut the wiring connector off of mine because the hole in the base was too small. just be sure to leave enough wire to solder them back together (i used a bit of heat shrink tubing, but electrical tape will do in a pinch)

[haux]

Originally Posted by rusty9

remove the glass

How do you do that? Does it just pull out?

Originally Posted by rusty9

i think i had to cut the wiring connector off of mine because the hole in the base was too small.

There's actually a trick to removing the wires from the connector. So I'll do that if it has to be done.

[fenixus]

i'd like to know too how to remove the glass. just pry it out ? won't it break into 1,000 pieces ?

i've got somewhat loose glass in passenger mirror, no risk it falls out, but its shakiness pisses me off hehe.

[Rattlin_Steele]

Generally, the glass is just stuck on with a rubbery adhesive and you just have to pry it off it's pivoting frame. This can be pretty tricky if you have adjustable power mirrors however. On the ones I've seen (albeit, non-Toyota), there are little plastic threaded posts that that are snapped to the back of the mirror frame (like a little ball and socket joint) and then thread into the power window motor (essentially worm-gears), and when you try to pry the glass from the frame, you could easy pull these off instead or even strip the plastic threads.

I might be tempted to try the fishing line trick where you use a piece of 80-lb test line and slip it over the glass and try to work it down the back of the glass.

[fenixus]

hmmm, mine are powered and the removal process seems tricky. i will pass on it for now (it works). thanks for info though!

[rusty9]

to remove the glass, first pry up from the bottom to release the lower clips, then it should hinge up to pop off the top clips