Pitted Mirrors on 1999 Expy

[Guest]

Any one have problems with the side mirrors on their Expys? I bought a used 1999 a few weeks ago and the metal material on the mirror itself is starting to fall off. My mirrors have the turn signals in them and are heated. The dealer said the previous owner probably used a cleaning chemical on the truck that caused the mirror material to flake off. The problem with this is that images are kind of fuzzy . The dealer said you can't just replace the glass but the whole unit with the turn signal and the heating element. The cost of this is $160 per mirror plus $120 for installation= $440 bucks.......ouch! I took it to a regular auto glass place and they said they couldn't just replace the glass either. Anyone out there have this problem and found a reasonably priced fix?

Thanks

 

[BikeRider]

Try this company, they seemed reasonable. http://www.kwmuth.com/

 

[BikeRider]

By the way, if you want to buy the mirrors from your dealer. The website above has the installation instructions for your vehicle here:

http://www.kwmuth.com/products/kits/200-0002.htm

Try ebay as well. I bought a tail light for $35 the other day after the soccer mom wife backed into a tractor trailer rig.

 

[BikeRider]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33649&item=2441990384

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33649&item=2441990607

I found plenty, just searched for "Expedition Mirror"

 

[rwinch]

Bikerider is correct about Muth. They actually are the suppliers of this product to several car companies. Also, the removal and reinstall is simple, the only tool I needed was a small pry bar, but the instructions on the web site tell you this.

By the way, for all of you that have "shakey" mirrors, this too is a simple fix, for which Ford was going to fix for $440/each (mirror replacement).

Basically, the mirror is held in with one large center mounted plastic snap pin, guided by two opposing corner slide pins, and operated again by two opposing corner actuators.

I found that my slide pin guides were loose, being a simple thin metal clip, and the actuators were loose where they are snapped into place on the mirror mount.

1) Pull mirrors per web site instructions - simple

2) I simply crimped the metal slide guides in a little more so that they were tighter on the slide pins.

3) (Don't laugh) I stuffed a little aluminum foil around the base of the actuators using a small screw driver.

Viola...no more shakey mirrors. All it took was about 1/2 hour per mirror, which if I used Ford's labor rate, would mean that I should be charging folks about $900/hr to do provide this fix...any takers?

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the information. Very helpful.

rwinch- If I buy the replacement mirrors from Muth, is it really necessary to pull the door panel off to replace the mirrors. I would think the existing wiring harnesses (heat and signal) would fit the new mirrors? I just hate taking the door panels off because they never fit as tight as they did before removal.

Thanks

 

[rwinch]

npearman,

Its plug and play. No need to pull anything off except the glass. The wiring connector just slides off the old, and onto the new.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for all the info. The Muth website had the mirrors listed for $265 for 2 mirrors. I called the 800 number and she sold them to me for $189. She also said these mirrors are improved over the 1999 models I have because they use more chrome in the mirror sheathing which makes them less likely to pit and peel away like mine did. She also recommended heating the mirror housing up with a heat gun or blowdryer before pulling the old mirror off to help reduce the chance of breaking the white plastic clips that hold the mirror in. Thanks again for the help.