W140 Wing Mirror chassis / frame

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Doobs too

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Aug 10, 2011
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3
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W140 S500
Hello all, my first post here as I've only recently bought a Mercedes.

My car recently had it's wing mirror broken. The metal frame that forms the fold-in hinge has snapped at the top hinge location. New mirror prices seem to change dramatically depending on the electrical content. Does anyone know if the metal frame / chassis part is the same for all late model W140 (same as W210 I belive)?

Thanks for any advice, much appreciated.
 
Sadly I don't think you can buy the frame /mount assembly alone. The wing mirror comes as an assembled unit. What can be sometimes renewed is the colour coded cover and some of the internals motor and mirror glass heater. Varies a bit between models so the w140 might be different? It may be possible for example to convert a manually operated frame to an electric one if you know what you are doing. Breakers yard is a possibility but most have been snapped up long ago.
 
Gents, thanks. I saw the bottom link but they're a bit more expensive then I can get a low level (ie few features, 7 pin I think) mirror from my local motor factors.

I took the mirror appart when it was broken and it looked reasonably simple to strip it back to the metal frame but I was just wondering if the metal frames were the same. If so I'd get a cheap mirror, take out the frame and put it in mine.
 
Hello and welcome

Mic
 
@ Doobs too, I had the same problem with one of the mirrors on my W140 and was quoted 412 gbp form the dealer, so understand where what you're going through!

Is it the section of the frame that protrudes slightly to engage the motor mech and enable the folding action that as snapped? this would leave the mirror flopping around between the folded and operational positions?

If it is, I managed to fix mine by taking the mirror apart and re-creating the section of the frame that had snapped by drilling a hole through the frame and using a nut and bolt in place of the snapped metal. The bolt needed to be shortened to fit, but if you have a dremel with cutting discs it's very easy to do. The mirror now works perfectly.

Alternatively, try scrap yards etc as the main issue with W140 wing mirrors is the degrading of the wiring looms (even on the later cars, after MB sorted the main engine looms, the mirrors still used soy bean wiring), consequently there should be plenty of mirros knocking around that useless due to fried wiring.

Carl at W140.co.uk is worth trying. He does charge more than typical ebay sellers, but at least everything I've bought from him works.

Either way, check the wiring on both your mirrors if you get the chance, as they can be fixed it caught early.
 
hi,

i recently had a 140 mirror for sale, but i think it may be broken i will need to check.

the mirror was the same as a w202 if its the same i have both sides for a w202 in 744 silver which im selling.

hope this helps

Raj
 
Thanks everyone for the advice, much appreciated and good to know there is the back-up of an active forum to support these cars (essential these days as cars get more complicated and Haynes don't do a manual!).

I sorted the mirror in the end but in a way I'm not proud of. It does work and wasn't expensive though. I ended up using my local motor factors who got me a 7 pin mirror for £58. As that was less then a 2nd hand one from eBay I thought I'd go for it. The intention was to swap the gubbins from my 11 pin mirror to the new 7 pin. However the internals have changed and as I was doing the job in the rain the morning before my mates wedding I just rushed it and lobbed the new mirror on. The glass now seems to be clipped all the way around not held in with a wire as on the old mirror. I didn't want to snap a clip on the new one by rushing it so it's a job for another day.

@ millo777, it wasn't the bit you mention, it was the top 'ear' that has a hole to take the pin that forms the hinge, unfortunately not enough meat to bolt through.

One word of warning, the connectors are different between the 7 pin and 11 pin, I expect it's a poka-yoke feature. The housings for the connectors will need swapping if you replace an 11 with a 7 pin. With a very small jewellers screwdriver it's not too hard to pry the blades from the connectors. If anyone needs more detail on this let me know.

A final note, the reason I'm not proud of this fix is I've lost the memory function on the mirror (memory seems to be what the extra 4 pins are for, but the 11 pin mirror is really really expensive), and there's some anomaly in the wiring that reverses the action of the switch. It's not a big problem for me, I'm the only person who drives the car and I expect it'll be mine until either it or I expire, but it's not an elegant fix. It works though and is cheap.

Thanks again everyone. :thumb:
 
Using the 7 pin version you'll also lose the auto dimming function, which probably isn't a great concern.

If you've got an after market mirror, it would probably be easier to swap out the piece of the frame that is broken than mess with the electrics. But as long as it works, I guess thats all that matters!

Good luck with the W140, they are superb cars when everything is working properly.
 
hi,

i recently had a 140 mirror for sale, but i think it may be broken i will need to check.

the mirror was the same as a w202 if its the same i have both sides for a w202 in 744 silver which im selling.

hope this helps

Raj

Hey Raj, do you still have these for sale? pls let me know.. cheers.
 

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