side view mirror question

exprof · Post by **exprof** » Sat May 24, 2008 7:48 pm

I replaced the hinge pins in my driver's side door today. I've not done this job before, and I ran into a problem. What do I have to do to make the threaded brass insert fit flush with the top of the hinge pin? Can I bore out the top of the hinge pin with a drill bit, or is there some other method?

fatalifeaten · Post by **fatalifeaten** » Sun May 25, 2008 5:35 pm

That's the insert in the center of the mirror post, correct? I seem to recall someone telling me way back when that it was an interference fit and would compress itself in as you threaded the mirror base down onto the hinge pin. I can't honestly say that's correct though, as it seems to me it would take a lot more force than what you can put on that threaded fitting to get it to seat...

exprof · Post by **exprof** » Sun May 25, 2008 8:11 pm

I tried that initially, and got a split mirror base for my troubles. Fortunately, I had a spare. I also tried tapping it in with a hammer; that didn't work, either. Since brass is soft, I didn't hit it too hard for fear of messing up the threads.

exprof · Post by **exprof** » Tue May 27, 2008 1:13 pm

In case anyone out there is at all curious, the solution to this problem is a bench grinder. I don't have one, and I didn't have access to one this weekend.

What you have to do to get the brass insert to fit is to grind off about 1/8 inch from the non-threaded end, and bevel the end around its entire circumference to fit the recess in the hinge pin. Be sure you measure the hinge pin recess first, to be absolutely certain of the right dimensions.

There's a diagram below. Don't judge the quality too harshly, I'm not a draftsman.

I hope this will save someone else a headache similar to the one that I went through this past weekend.

pira114 · Post by **pira114** » Tue May 27, 2008 10:56 pm

I was watching this waiting for a solution, because I'm about to replace my mirror as well. I figured to replace all components.

My question to your solution is if the parts you are using were designed for your car? Are you trying to put a mirror from a much different model on?

Reason I ask is why would a part be supplied that need more work to fit? Especially that extensive work? I know grinding is not that hard, but it's more than what you'd expect for OEM parts.

exprof · Post by **exprof** » Wed May 28, 2008 7:32 pm

pira114 wrote:I was watching this waiting for a solution, because I'm about to replace my mirror as well. I figured to replace all components.

My question to your solution is if the parts you are using were designed for your car? Are you trying to put a mirror from a much different model on?

Reason I ask is why would a part be supplied that need more work to fit? Especially that extensive work? I know grinding is not that hard, but it's more than what you'd expect for OEM parts.

The variation in the quality of aftermarket parts is greater than one would expect. I have seen duplicate parts for the same application from two suppliers with widely varying dimensions. I once received a Brazilian-made muffler (I won't say where from) that had preheater pipe flanges that were a good 1/4" from mating with the flanges on the manifold. I also replaced my glove compartment latch and had to fiddle quite a bit with the metal tab inside the door to get the latch to mate properly. In a perfect world, there would have been no need to adjust the latch tab because the replacement latch would have been absolutely identical to the original--but we don't live in a perfect world, and there's lots of variation in the measurements used to manufacture replacement VW parts.

In this instance, the hinge pin that I replaced was the original that was installed when the car was manufactured. The replacement pin had a recess that was easily 1/8" shallower than the original. The mirror itself is an aftermarket replacement for '50-'67 Beetles. I lost the original mirror as a result of a close encounter of the unpleasant kind with a deer on a dark two-lane road.

All of the parts that I used in this project (with the exception of the mirror itself) were sourced from the same supplier, and were listed in that supplier's catalog as fitting Beetles through 1967.