side mirror replacement

[gonyr]

I hit a branch backing out of my driveway and broke my driver's side mirror. All of the mirror functions and the cover are fine, but the pivot between the arm and head is destroyed so the mirror just flops around loosely and vibrates/shakes above 20mph. As some of you know, the replacement is insanely expensive.

My questions are, does anybody (maybe @Ducati1098) know if the internal structure of the mirror is the same between what I have with two lights and 360 camera versus one of the other models that doesn't have those functions? In other words, is it possible to purchase one of the cheaper mirrors and transfer over the electronics and wiring from my broken one? Are the mounting points for the flood and puddle lights and 360 camera present even in mirrors that don't have them?

Thanks in advance for any insights.

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[Ducati1098]

I’m pretty sure the overall structure of the mirror is identical between all of them.

A good person to ask for a concrete answer would be @Tricky Mike because he dealt with a similar thing where he bought a lower level assembly and just swapped everything over after damaging his mirror.

 

[gonyr]

I’m pretty sure the overall structure of the mirror is identical between all of them.

A good person to ask for a concrete answer would be @Tricky Mike because he dealt with a similar thing where he bought a lower level assembly and just swapped everything over after damaging his mirror.

That’s very promising. I hoped it might be true just because it’s cheaper/easier to only have one type of mirror frame. Thanks.

 

[Tricky Mike]

It sure is. You'll need to salvage all your components and wiring to swap over.

I used the lowest optioned base mirror and fitted back up to the highest optioned.

 

[gonyr]

It sure is. You'll need to salvage all your components and wiring to swap over.

I used the lowest optioned base mirror and fitted back up to the highest optioned.

Awesome! Exactly what I was hoping to hear. It looks like it won't be too difficult. Any tricks or tips to watch out for in swapping things over?

 

[Tricky Mike]

Awesome! Exactly what I was hoping to hear. It looks like it won't be too difficult. Any tricks or tips to watch out for in swapping things over?

Just make sure everything is routed and seated like originally. 10lbs of crap in a 5lb sack.

 

[gonyr]

Just make sure everything is routed and seated like originally. 10lbs of crap in a 5lb sack.

Just finished. Not too bad. Hardest part was either feeding the wires up through the elbow or figuring out that the motor needed to be removed in order to connect its wiring plug. Most frustrating part was finishing then realizing that I forgot to pull the wiring harness through the opening in the arm and the connector wouldn't fit, so I had to disconnect everything, pull all the wires back out, and start over.

 

[BUCKIN6VA]

Same situation - smashed into a tree offroading and broke the driver mirror.

So you just bought a "base" mirror assembly right? Then swapped in your mirror parts?

 

[gonyr]

Same situation - smashed into a tree offroading and broke the driver mirror.

So you just bought a "base" mirror assembly right? Then swapped in your mirror parts?

This is the one I got. All functions are working perfectly. You will need to swap over all the internal components, and also reuse your current mirror cover because the base cover won't have mounting points for the lights or camera:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/276938636180

It wasn't a big deal to move everything over. If I hadn't screwed up the routing for the wiring harness the first time through it probably would have taken about 60-90 minutes total, including the time needed to unmount and reattach the mirror assembly on the vehicle. Take pictures of where the wires go as you disassemble. You'll need to remove the motor to connect its plug.

 

[BUCKIN6VA]

Thanks! I just wrapped up. Took me about two hours start to finish - wasted a lot of time routing/double-checking wires because (of course) I didn't take enough pictures along the way.

I bought a similar one to what you recommended and even though it didn't have the camera cutout, I simply reused my original mirror cover (undamaged) and harness. In my case, I was replacing because it had broken at the elbow (as same you) and this has me back up and running without duct tape on an expensive car.

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