W126 (560 SEC) door mirror glass - how to replace?

[br1anstorm]

I suppose door-mirror damage happens to most of us sooner or later... but the mirrors on each model vary so much that it is hard to find specific how-to help.

I have an LHD Euro-spec 1990 W126 coupe (560 SEC), and last week on a country road the passenger door mirror (ie the offside) got whacked by the mirror of a Nissan coming the other way driven by a little old lady who was clearly not good at judging distances. Could have been worse, I suppose.

The mirror-glass is cracked. I need to replace it, and I've found a complete offside door mirror from a W126 in a scrapyard. The mirror-glass is the same shape, with heating-element like mine, BUT...

I can't simply swop the entire mirror unit, because the back-panel is the wrong colour, and because the scrapyard one is of course a driver's side mirror with manual lever-adjustment, whereas (my car being LHD) my broken one is electrically-adjustable. So I need advice on how to remove and replace the mirror-glass only. Is it clipped or bonded on to some sort of backing-plate attached to the motor? And how does the heating-element connect?

Any pics (photos or diagrams) would help. I really don't want to damage the motor when removing the broken glass, and I certainly don't want to crack the replacement glass when trying to remove it from the scrap-housing and fit it on to my car!

br1anstorm

 

[jaymanek]

its clipped on the same as most modern cars.. a clip at the top of the glass holds in onto the adjustment mechanism.. it may have been bonded with double sided tape too... you wont do any harm by simply using a wedge to remove it as its already cracked..

p.s. mirror glass's are quite cheap on these from the dealer...

euromerc also has a few in.

 

[br1anstorm]

Jay, you must tell me which dealer you use!

I checked with one dealer, mainly to get the part number of that mirror glass in case I needed it. They told me that MBUK only had one in stock in the warehouse .... and so it would have to be ordered and would cost £84 plus VAT!

That's why I went to the scrapyard - and reckoned I was lucky to find a W126 in the yard with a complete and intact mirror unit. 15 minutes and three Philips screws later, I was £20 poorer, but thought I was doing well...

br1anstorm

 

[nick mercedes]

Jay, you must tell me which dealer you use!

I checked with one dealer, mainly to get the part number of that mirror glass in case I needed it. They told me that MBUK only had one in stock in the warehouse .... and so it would have to be ordered and would cost £84 plus VAT!

That's why I went to the scrapyard - and reckoned I was lucky to find a W126 in the yard with a complete and intact mirror unit. 15 minutes and three Philips screws later, I was £20 poorer, but thought I was doing well...

br1anstorm

The manual ones differ quite a lot from the electically adjustable glasses so you will need to find a LHD mirror from somewhere.

 

[br1anstorm]

The manual ones differ quite a lot from the electically adjustable glasses so you will need to find a LHD mirror from somewhere.

Nick - your comment has got me puzzled and confused. The mirrors are 'handed', so the left one differs from the right one. And of course the mechanisms behind the glass will be different depending on whether it is manual (levers) or electric (motor). But surely the glass-mirror itself on each side is the same, however it is adjusted. In either case the piece of mirrored glass fixes on to a movable "plate" or base.

And unless both I and the dealer misread the online catalogue, there is only one part-number for the mirror-glass (or rather one number for the one on the left side, and one for the right). Or do you know differently?

 

[nick mercedes]

Nick - your comment has got me puzzled and confused. The mirrors are 'handed', so the left one differs from the right one. And of course the mechanisms behind the glass will be different depending on whether it is manual (levers) or electric (motor). But surely the glass-mirror itself on each side is the same, however it is adjusted. In either case the piece of mirrored glass fixes on to a movable "plate" or base.

And unless both I and the dealer misread the online catalogue, there is only one part-number for the mirror-glass (or rather one number for the one on the left side, and one for the right). Or do you know differently?

Rightside electrical adjustment A1268101621
Rightside manual adjustment A1268101421

So given you have a LHD car you need 1621.

The glasses differ in the way they mount, so you have to have the correct type.

 

[grober]

this is what the innards of an electrically adjusted w124 driver mirror look like. If you mentally turn the heated mirror assembly over so the square heated plug is on the left of the picture and the mirror reflective surface is facing you you will see all the "bits" line up with the motor unit. there's a central circular pivot point, a tongue and spring slot and 2 ball and sockets( with little springs around them) ---To remove adjust the broken mirror so that its outer edge is tilted back as far as it can go. You then have to lever the heated mirror assembly gently out of its assembly till it pops out of the ball sockets. then unplug the heater supply rectangular plug. replacement is the reverse of removal. Don't know if the w126 is the same or not but probably will be similar.

 

[grober]

OOPS would appear the W126 mirror may be different internally.
hope this helps a bit--- http://www.detali.ru/cat/oem_mb2.as...&L=765.706&CT=F&cat=569&SID=72&SGR=090&SGN=06

 

[jaymanek]

yep the w126 one has a long clip like the later W203, W211 etc etc

 

[219]

Not only may the fixings of the glass differ , but , of course , a LHD mirror differs from a RHD mirror on each side because it is angled differently to be viewed from different sides of the car ie a LHD mirror on the right side of a car will be angled in more steeply than a RHD one ( the RHD one will not adjust in far enough to be used from the left front seat ) .

 

[br1anstorm]

Rightside electrical adjustment A1268101621
Rightside manual adjustment A1268101421

So given you have a LHD car you need 1621.

The glasses differ in the way they mount, so you have to have the correct type.

Nick - you are absolutely right! I haven't yet removed my original cracked mirror, but I have looked quite carefully at my scrapyard find (which is lever-operated).

The lever-operated one appears to be clipped or stuck on to a central mounting plate... BUT it also has plastic mountings on the back which are the fixings for the linkages to the lever.

Thanks to a US forum, I have some pics of the back of the electrically operated one - which still seems to have the plastic mountings, but they are simply not used. Pics attached (I hope).

So it may be a bit tricky to fit a "manual" mirror-glass on to my electric passenger-door housing. Ho hum, looks as if I may be in the market for that correct part (....1621, as Nick says).

But meanwhile - can anyone explain how to disassemble the mirror housing? I'd still like to try to remove the mirror-glass from my scrapyard unit, but in order to get at the lever-linkages, I need decent access to the back of it. How does one separate the (coloured) shell or casing from the rubber moulding and the 'frame' of the unit? They seem to be a push-fit, but I'm struggling to prise them apart.

Looks as if one needs the combined skills of a brain surgeon and a dental technician to deal with this....!

br1anstorm

 

[Arthur Daley]

Not sure if I could have a similar problem here. Mine has manual adjustment on both sides but in all honesty I can't see hardly anything out of the passenger side mirror no matter how it is adjusted. The drivers side is a bit better but does have blind spots.

Looking at my cars history there is a German Disabled Badge of all things in there suggesting the car may have spent some time in Germany. Is it possible while over there there could have been replacement mirrors fitted for a German spec car on my Uk spec one............hence the terrible vision??!!

 

[nick mercedes]

Not sure if I could have a similar problem here. Mine has manual adjustment on both sides but in all honesty I can't see hardly anything out of the passenger side mirror no matter how it is adjusted. The drivers side is a bit better but does have blind spots.

Looking at my cars history there is a German Disabled Badge of all things in there suggesting the car may have spent some time in Germany. Is it possible while over there there could have been replacement mirrors fitted for a German spec car on my Uk spec one............hence the terrible vision??!!

That could be because it has LHD mirrors on a RHD car or visaversa, the angles are different.

 

[br1anstorm]

Nick - follow-up to earlier discussions above - I've sent you a PM.

rgds

br1anstorm

 

[219]

Bra1nstorm ,

another option rather than an expensive genuine glass might be a trip down to Halfords - they have a range of replacement mirror glasses which just stick on over the top of the cracked glass - you would lose the heating facility but they are a heck of a lot cheaper than original Merc ones ( I remember being asked for £60 odd plus vat for a 190E non heated one ) . Eurocarparts sometimes have cheaper alternatives but they can also be pricey too .

German eBay might be your best bet for a complete mirror unit .

Just a thought - would the passenger side mirror glass from a left hand drive car ( right mirror ) not just be a passenger side glass from a right hand drive car (left mirror) turned upside down ? Maybe not ?

 

[br1anstorm]

Thanks for the thought, Derek. The left and right side mirror-glasses can't be swopped over and fitted upside down, as they are asymmetrical.

But the fallback option of Halfords is, I suppose, a possibility - even though I'm not keen on "bodged" repairs, and I do quite appreciate the heated mirrors when it gets frosty up here in Scotland. But I wonder whether they will have any replacement mirror-glass for a W126 - the cars were never exactly numerous on UK roads!

br1anstorm

 

[219]

Where about in Scotland are you ?

Shewalton auto parts in Irvine have a 126 300SE breaking just now - I've had quite a few parts off it , including the n/s mirror for my pal's 420SE , but the o/s one was still there last weekend .

There were a few other 126's breaking around Glasgow , but I think the rest have gone now . Need to do another tour of the yards .

 

[br1anstorm]

Ha - Derek - hadn't spotted you are also based north of the border!

I'm a few hundred miles even further north (near Inverness). In fact the damage to my mirror was done by an errant driver on Tayside just last week, and as I was in Edinburgh later on, I did manage to track down a spare right-side W126 mirror unit at SCB auto-salvage near Edinburgh airport.

Problem is, the one I found is a mechanical lever-operated one, as the right-side is the driver's side on UK cars - and I'm having trouble in prising the mirror-glass off because it's connected to the lever. My car is LHD, so the right-side mirror (the cracked one) is on the passenger door and is electrically-operated.

So ideally what I need is a scrap W126 which just happens to have an electrically-controlled mirror on the right side (offside/drivers's side). But in fact it would be nice to have a second spare, in case I break the one I have when trying to dismantle it. So if by chance your tour of the yards unearths any kind of W126 offside door-mirror, then I'll be happy to claim it and to reimburse you the cost plus postage! Or if you have contact details for Shewalton, maybe I could check with them direct...

Rgds

br1anstorm

 

[219]

PM sent .

BTW , I'm up in Aberdeen quite regularly , though not many Mercs in the yards , other than Overton which you never get into .

Further info in PM .

 

[br1anstorm]

An update... my 560SEC has been in the garage and Sorn-ed over the winter, so I haven't fixed the mirror yet.

But I have a choice now. I have managed to prise the mirror-glass (with its plastic "base") out of a salvaged RH door mirror. But it's the unheated one, with no electrical element; and curiously, it was mounted by ball-and-socket joint on to the lever-adjustable plate in the housing - not held on by an adhesive pad like the pic I posted earlier off a US website.

I have no idea whether the cracked mirror on my car - which is LHD, so we're talking about the electrically-controlled passenger (RH) door - is mounted with ball-and-socket or adhesive pad.

Meanwhile, I have found on a well-known auction site a new replacement heated, convex, mirror-glass for the W126. Just the glass, without its plastic backing plate. So the question now is, how does this fix into the backing plate and how does the element (which has two flat "tabs" as contacts) connect to the heating circuit? By chipping-out the old broken glass from the mirror on my car, I guess I'll see what lies behind it, and how it is secured. If I remember to take pics, I'll post them up if anyone is interested!