UK PASSENGER SIDE MIRROR INSTALL
I
picked up this UK spec passenger side mirror (that's the drivers side for
us left hand drive people) from Ebay for $30. As funny as it sounds,
I could never locate one of these on the UK Ebay or the German Ebay, I
ended up getting it from the US Ebay. This mirror is power and
heated.
The power plug is the same as our passenger side mirror, three wires for
mirror control and two for the mirror heating element.
The
shell needed to be removed for painting and while the mirror was apart, I
decided to lube all the moving parts and give it a through cleaning. I
also found some areas on the inside of the mirror where the black paint was
flaking, so I decided to paint the outer frame as well (seen in a later picture)
Another
picture of the inner frame and motor assembly.
Between
the door frame and mirror is a rubber gasket and also between the mirror and the
mirror mount is a rubber cover. Both were removed, inspected/cleaned and
soaked in rubber preservative to soften/blacken up these items before their
installation
The
cover frame and surround were then cleaned, de-waxed and sanded down with 400
grit sand paper before being painted.
Here
is the cover as the first couple of coats of paint have been applied. Like
other items, I used paint mixed up by Tower Paint that is a dead on match for my
exterior color (DB256)
I
masked off the innards of the mirror and the frame, sanded down the outer edge
with 400 grit sand paper and painted it using Krylon semi-flat black. This
color very closely matched the original black.
This
is the original non-electric mirror before it was removed.
The
cover pops right off and there are three philips screws that holds the mirror in
place.
Original
mirror removed
Outside
of door pillar with original mirror removed.
UK
mirror installed and bolted into place. Everything match's up just
perfect.
The
local stealership wants $30 for a pillar cover without the hole in it but I
decided to spend 45 cents at Lowes for a plastic plug, even the color/texture is
a dead on match. It did require reaming out the original hole just a
little.
Pretty
good match!
At
this time, I do not have the electric function of the mirror connected. I
need to acquire a wire harness and a dual mirror switch from a later model W124
or W202 as well. I did hook up the heated mirror using some 16 awg wire
and some female spade connectors to plug the original heater wires into the
factory plug.
All
done!
Here
are the before/after pictures. You can see that having matching sized
mirrors on each side of the car adds to overall physical appearance of the W201.
NOTE: Because of the mirror size and design, blind spot visibility is
impaired. I added a 2" round blind spot mirror into the bottom corner of
this mirror (it allows for a better range of vision). Also note, as with
our passenger side mirror, objects in mirror are closer than they appear, this
can be dangerous if you rely on your mirror only and don't take the time to look
over your shoulder before changing lanes. Do this modification at your own
risk.
