Removing mirror caps

[lakesidebluexpy]

so how does one remove the mirror cap on a 2010 eb Expedition? Mine currently are textured black and since I like the look of the painted caps on limited, I thought i’d Try my hand at rattle can painting some paintable caps I got off eBay. Advice/pics helpful and appreciated. Thanks in advance

Lakeside

 

[Adieu]

Don't break the glass. "Proper" removal often leads to that

If you have separate paintable mirror caps and have painted them to your 100% satisfaction, consider demolishing the originals to remove them without inolving the glass

 

[lakesidebluexpy]

Well...removing the caps involves much patience, but it can be done without demolishing the existing black textured caps on my 2010 Eddie Bauer.

The caps are held into the mirror housing with 4 push in tabs...sort of like most of the other plastic bits on our fords.
So first, tip the mirror all the way down using your inside door control. By looking carefully, you can see the 2 upper tabs that need to be released inside the upper edge of the mirror housing.
The the next easiest for me was releasing the bottom outside edge tab (yeah, finally broke one edge of the tab off to release it)
Finally, the last one at the window side. A bear as it is tucked way inside the cap. It finally broke an edge and released.

The painted caps just push right on after lining up the tabs. imho the royal red metallic caps are a big improvement over the textured black.

Lakeside

 

[Langer]

Don't break the glass. "Proper" removal often leads to that

If you have separate paintable mirror caps and have painted them to your 100% satisfaction, consider demolishing the originals to remove them without inolving the glass

@Adieu
Do you have the part number for the dorman chrome tow mirror cover/caps you have? Been trying to find them with no luck.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

I managed to pull this off tonight without breaking any of the 4 tabs. I tipped the mirror all the way down to get the first two. The 2 top tabs 2 push up to get over the nub. Then I tipped the mirror all the way up and in to get the outside bottom clip. This clip pushes down. After you get those 3 done, I recommend putting something (e.g. unused trim tools) in between the cap and the body of the mirror. This will prevent them from re-engaging while you wrestle with the last clip. Then I tipped the mirror all the way down and out to get the last clip, which is buried in there pretty good. This clip also pushes down. My Harbor Freight plastic trim tools weren't quite long enough, so I 3D printed a ~10" tool that allowed me to push down on that last tab.