Old and crumbly

[davidrbroder62]

I have to replace my Sideview mirror on my Z3 because BMW did such a bad job designing this car.
When I looked at them there is nothing left for the hex wrench to grab onto (see photo) I thought of drilling them out but that will probably damage the threads they need to screw into. Any suggestions?

 

[John_B]

You can remove the mirror glass and undo 4 torx screws holding the two halves of the plastic mirror housing together. That will give you better access to the two bolts holding the mirror to the door, but ultimately you're going to have to find a way to to remove them to separate the mirror base from the car.

If the problem is just the corrosion on the base, they can be sanded down to bare metal and repaired/repainted. I have done three sets myself in the last year and they come up looking great. I have been able to do them off the car, however I recall somebody on the forum has recently done a set without removing them. I'm sure it makes the job tricker but it will be possible.

 

[the Nefyn cat]

Corrosion on a how-many-year-old car? Damn those pesky Germans. You wanna see what was left of the average 10 year old car when I were a lad?

 

[davidrbroder62]

You can remove the mirror glass and undo 4 torx screws holding the two halves of the plastic mirror housing together. That will give you better access to the two bolts holding the mirror to the door, but ultimately you're going to have to find a way to to remove them to separate the mirror base from the car.

If the problem is just the corrosion on the base, they can be sanded down to bare metal and repaired/repainted. I have done three sets myself in the last year and they come up looking great. I have been able to do them off the car, however I recall somebody on the forum has recently done a set without removing them. I'm sure it makes the job tricker but it will be possible.

Thank you for your response however I have to remove the base from the door to replace the spindle because the whole blasted thing is broken.
I don't want to damage the threads the screws need to secure themselves. So I have no idea as to how to remove this thing. I can destroy the base because I have a new one. But I also don't want to damage the door.

 

[John_B]

Heat & cold & rust penetrant & screw extractors then I reckon

Or replace the door

 

[t-tony]

I would try a cutting disc in a,dremmel type of tool and cut as deep and wide a slot as possible across the screw head then use a big flat screwdriver. Once it moves, work it back and forth to free it.

Tony.