Side mirrors are supposed to be the easiest replacement in the book. I'm trying to put in my new APR mirrors but I can't get the stock mirrors off. The screws are completely stuck in there. I've stripped 3/4 of them with screwdrivers, and the other one I can't even get to because the mirror is covering it (WTF is that?!?!?)). I tried drilling out one of the screws with a left-handed drill bit, and that still didn't get it to move. Of course they've all been coated with PB blaster (is this stuff bad for the paint, by the way?). What the hell do I do to get these screws out?!?!?!

 

drill them and wash the pb of the paint asap

 

Mask a big area around them and pad it out,then drill them with a 4mm drill bit and re tap them with a 5mm tap,i had to do this.be care full dont press to hard and slip into your paint.

 

Turn the mirror the other direction and you should get better access to that other screw.

 

I think they can only pivot one way.

 

You need an impact driver. They are $10 at auto zone. Procedure: spray some blaster on the screw. Put the proper phillips bit in the driver and set it on reverse. Insert the driver bit into the screw head square and apply downward pressure. LIGHTLY tap the impact driver with a ball peen hammer. Then remove and set on tighten, repeat. Reverse again and repeat. Repeat this procedure three times and then remove screw.

It's that easy !


Later

 

No, it's not. I bought two screw extractors. Long story short, part of a bit/extractor broke off in all 4 holes, and I also now have a dent/scratch from a broken drill bit in my door. I'm thinking I'm going to have to call a mobile welder to get the screws out, as well as adding about $500 worth of bodywork to my tab with this door problem. All for a pair of ******* mirrors.

 

i drilled mine out. actually it kind of helped because i shaved them so i just ground the leftover bolt down and it made it way easier to fill the holes

 

That's because if you used the proper tools and technique from the start, you would not be in this shape. It isn't that things just break, casue they do, but so many times do I hear of DP nuts won't come off, exhaust nuts won't budge, E-shaft nut won't come off and the person ends up getting frustrated and screwing it up royal. In most cases the proper tool or experience is not in hand


Later

 

Thats the way it works...

I learned this, too when I replaced the RE_Amemiya Carbon ones with the originals!!

 

Thanks for the tip on turning them the other way, I thought they only came inward.
As soon as one screw started stripping, I hit them all with PB blaster, let them sit for a few, then went at it again, and they were all stripping. From there, I used a left-handed drill bit (which I've used to remove a snapped bolt before), and that wasn't getting enough friction to turn it.

Threw on another coat of PB blaster and headed to Home Depot. I got two different sizes of screw extractors. Drilled each screw out a little, got the extractors in, and on two of the screws, the extractor twisted off before the screw budged. I used the remaining portion of the screw extractors to try to other screws. Those two budged for a couple turns, then did the same thing, cutting down the extractors even more.

Of course the screw extractors are made of adamantium, so dril bits won't touch them. I'm not sure what else I should have done differently. I don't see how the impact driver would have worked since the screw heads were just shredding apart.

From here I plan on having a body shop take care of it, whether by welding a bolt on top of the screw or just wrecking the mirrors off and starting from scratch. I have a handful of body work to get done, anyways.

 

Should have used an impact driver.

 

It sounds like you weren't using the proper driver bit in the first place, which 90% of the time leads to the heads getting stripped out. With the proper bit and an impact driver you apply far more force in an instant than you could ever apply with a screw driver, and since the bit is fit to the screw/bolt it is grabbing on the maximum amount of surface and therefore is FAR less likely to distort the head of the fastener.

The correct way to do it would have been apply PB blaster in the first place and use the proper tools.

At this point it sounds like the best solution is to drill out the remaining bolts and hopefully don't fubar the threads. After that if needed you can re tap them.

 

The first one was definitely the wrong bit. I wasn't being picky because I wasn't expecting the screws to be in there so solid. From there I got a proper bit and it fit snugly before tearing it up. Oh well, live and learn.

 

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00952151000P

 

Troux - The next time you get into a task and you have the slightest inclination that you may need some help, contact us here and we'll give you some straight up pointers to assist you. If that car were here in my garage I would bet 10 Happy Meals that I could of gotten those out for you - unharmed. Believe me when I say, been there, done that. Essentially you have to be smarter than the fastener. I'm 51 years old and have worked mechanics since I was 15, do ALL of my own repair work and then some. I hate it when I see a task gone bad. Anyway, good luck and don't hesitate to holler out.


Later

 

I came here pretty much as soon as I saw the left-handed bit not working, and took RIX-7's advice. Thanks, Tom.

 

Hope it worked out,I used the right tools in my friends body shop and the heads still stripped,as for an impact driver id rather drill the ******* than dent my door.