Repairing instead of buying new makes ecological and economic sense. I designed a repair kit to restore the wing mirror to its full function. You need a 3D printer for this.

Causes

If the door stop rubbers are worn, the exterior mirror hits the mudguard and the ring-shaped bracket inside breaks. This is what happened to me. When replacing the door stop rubber, I opened the door as usual out of habit when no rubber was fitted. *CRACK* and the mirror was loose again.

I could have simply screwed it back on, as it had only slipped away, but that’s what bothered me. I decided not to design a counter bearing for the first repair. For good reason, because I had to print 12 designs before the bearing finally fitted perfectly and the wing mirror could fold in without jamming. That is simply roadworthy.

The original steel spring cannot be replaced without special tools. This is replaced by a TPU spring element and an M8 screw. The spring element is given the necessary preload by tightening the screw.

Repair kit

This repair kit contains a TPU spring element, as the steel spring can no longer be used without special tools.

The counter bearing is screwed on, as the outer corner of the ring bearing is usually missing and the wing mirror could fall outwards. Alternatively, it could also be glued (adhesive must be suitable for PBT and PET).

Material required

TPU 95A filament

PETG filament

6 mm metal drill

1 x body disc 8.4 × 30 × 1.5

1 x M8x45screw

1 x nut M8, self-locking

1 x pan-head screw M5x20

1 x nut M5, self-locking

Work steps

1. Print the spring element from TPU 95a
2. Print the matching counter bearing and the PETG drilling aid
3. Drill a hole in the housing base with the drilling aid
4. Press the nuts into the counter bearing
5. Slide the counter bearing into the mirror base and secure with the M5 screw
6. Press the spring element into the opening of the exterior mirror
7. Insert the body disc into the spring element
8. Push the M8 screw through and screw into the counter bearing with the nut

Adjust the contact pressure so that the mirror does not wobble but can still be folded in.

Done!