Replace Passenger Door Mirror Unit On Focus 1.6 Style

[Taraxacum]

This is my first proper post so may inadvertently break the odd rule B)

I bought the Haynes manual and went to the section on exterior mirror replacement. True to Haynes tradition there was a brief text bearing only a slight resemblance to what I could see in the car, accompanied by some tiny black and white photographs apparently taken with a 1920s Box Brownie

I'll copy out the Haynes text then post some pics. The Haynes explanation:

Mirror (Removal)

1. Unclip the trim panel from the front of the window opening over the tweeter speaker and remove it.

2. Undo the retaining bolt, then starting at the top, pull the exterior mirror trim panel from the door, and lift it from place. Disconnect the wiring plug as the panel is withdrawn.

3. Unscrew the mirror mounting bolts, then release the clip and withdraw the mirror from the outside of the door. Recover the mirror seal as the wiring/cable is being drawn through the rubber grommet.

No problems with step 1. Here is the trim panel off, exposing the tweeter:

But looking from the side; I think I can see the 'retaining bolt' of step 2 (red arrow), but what about those two white pegs (yellow arrows)? They're not mentioned in Haynes:

Here's the (I think) 'retaining bolt' closer up:

Back to the white pegs: What do I do with them? Only the lower one is accessible as the top one is behind all the black plastic. It has a slot in it:

Is that for a screwdriver?

Hopefully someone can advise. Thanks in advance.

Chris.

[troy45]

Having done this job several times the Haynes instructions aren't quite right.

The part you're stuck at is their step 2 - this is to remove the second trim panel, which the tweeter cover clips into. There is no bolt to be removed before doing this. Basically the trim panel is fixed to the door with the 2 white clips you've spotted, plus has small metal clips attached which clip along the outer edge of the door panel and a locator further down. These can break off the trim panel quite easily, so try and disengage the white clips first then push the trim panel forwards in line with the door before pulling it free. The wiring connector for the mirror also clips into the panel so that needs undoing before you can fully remove the trim. Somewhere in there you need to disconnect the tweeter too but that's pretty straight forward.

Once the trim is removed and electrical plug undone there's then the nut you've seen plus a screw as well. Will help to support the mirror as you do this, there are 2 plastic legs on the mirror which also hook through the door panel but the mirror may drop without you needing to release these - they just need squeezing together if needed. The mirror unit is heavier than you'd think so it's important to get a good hold of it before it's ready to fully come off.

Think I've covered it all there :)

[Taraxacum]

Thanks Troy I'll give that a go next week.

[Taraxacum]

Having done this job several times the Haynes instructions aren't quite right.

The part you're stuck at is their step 2 - this is to remove the second trim panel, which the tweeter cover clips into. There is no bolt to be removed before doing this. Basically the trim panel is fixed to the door with the 2 white clips you've spotted, plus has small metal clips attached which clip along the outer edge of the door panel and a locator further down. These can break off the trim panel quite easily, so try and disengage the white clips first then push the trim panel forwards in line with the door before pulling it free. The wiring connector for the mirror also clips into the panel so that needs undoing before you can fully remove the trim. Somewhere in there you need to disconnect the tweeter too but that's pretty straight forward.

Once the trim is removed and electrical plug undone there's then the nut you've seen plus a screw as well. Will help to support the mirror as you do this, there are 2 plastic legs on the mirror which also hook through the door panel but the mirror may drop without you needing to release these - they just need squeezing together if needed. The mirror unit is heavier than you'd think so it's important to get a good hold of it before it's ready to fully come off.

Think I've covered it all there :)

Getting there slowly Troy...

I managed to prise the cover away from the metal side clips without breaking them:

But I couldn't release the lower edge; the clip felt more or less where the arrow is pointing:

I was afraid of snapping something so I didn't risk forcing it. Can you advise how I should move the panel to release this last clip? Up? Down? Rotate it?

Also, to unplug the tweeter, is it just a matter of pulling the lower part of the black block or do I have press something at the same time?

Thanks

Chris.

[troy45]

The trim panel you're struggling with just pulls away with a bit of force - probably just another of the white clips behind there which pushes into the door panel. Just be careful not to pull the panel too far from the door before you unclip the wiring connector which slides onto a retainer on the trim panel. There's a locator down there too which positions the trim correctly to the door panel.

If you're still unsure dig out the guide on here for fitting door projector/logo lamps as that'll cover it too. For the tweeter there will be a little tab on the wiring connector you'll need to push down as you pull it clear, easy enough to do from what I remember.

Last resort I'll pull one of the panels off mine.

[Taraxacum]

Thanks Troy I'll resume the attempt next week.

[troy45]

Sorry for the delay Chris, had a look while I was washing my Focus on the weekend - the lower section of the plastic trim panel just pulls out, it's retained into the door panel with a plastic arrowhead clip. Mine came away nice and easy when I pulled the bottom edge of the panel away from the door.

Simples :)

[Taraxacum]

Sorry for the delay Chris, had a look while I was washing my Focus on the weekend - the lower section of the plastic trim panel just pulls out, it's retained into the door panel with a plastic arrowhead clip. Mine came away nice and easy when I pulled the bottom edge of the panel away from the door.

Simples :)

Thanks Troy. I have a snake camera I haven't used for years and I spent yesterday evening getting it working on my laptop, idea being to get an inside view of the clip or whatever. Probably won't need it now but it'll come in useful for something else.

What you might call not so simples :P

[Taraxacum]

Sorry for the delay Chris, had a look while I was washing my Focus on the weekend - the lower section of the plastic trim panel just pulls out, it's retained into the door panel with a plastic arrowhead clip. Mine came away nice and easy when I pulled the bottom edge of the panel away from the door.

Simples :)

Troy, this job might be getting a whole lot simpler but I need confirmation.

The reason I have been intending to replace the whole mirror is carparts4less only sells whole mirrors. In fact the mirror motor and control work fine and the only broken bit is the indicator lamp and housing, which I have temporarily glued together and stuck on with sellotape (bulb doesn't work):

The undamaged driver side one:

In carparts4less you key in your registration number so it ought to know exactly what mirror you want. Confusingly, it returns several types with different levels of electrical control. The one I thought I needed was (I think) 'Electric Heated Primed with Indicator'...which was out of stock. So I looked at other sites and came across this in FordPartsUK:

So it looks possible to just buy this part and fit it in....after scraping off all the glue I've used in the repair. I'd appreciate confirmation that it's as easy as this.

The part doesn't come with a bulb but hopefully that won't be hard to find. The handbook calls it an Approach Lamp, specification W5, power 5W

[troy45]

If that is the only part you actually need Chris then the job is a lot simpler for you and cheaper too!

The mirror repeater does come out of the mirror on it's own, has to because you can't replace a blown bulb otherwise.

So, leaving the mirror bolted to the car etc you just need to remove the painted mirror cover then the lamp unclips from the body of the mirror. Same question has been asked, and answered, very recently on here.

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/69007-wing-mirror-cover-removal/

The rubber holder for the bulb just pushes into the lamp, and it's just a standard orange 501 type indicator/repeater bulb you can easily pick up from Halfords or your friendly local car accessory shop. I've got couple of spares ones now I'm using LED's instead if you're anywhere near Warrington/Runcorn.

Simples :)