MotoIQ Pro Tip: If you replace your gears and the mirror has a bunch of free play and shakes, the housing that the gears sit in has gotten worn out allowing the gears to have excessive lash. You can fix this by shimming the pinion shaft with some sort of plastic thrust washer to prevent fore and aft play. We got these washers from McMaster Carr and they fit perfectly, part number 90089A300. The washers are pretty thin so you can stack them up till you get the tension you’re looking for. The trick is not to let the pinion move back and forth, but let it still spin freely without binding.
The washers go right here on the nose of the gear, the washers act like a thrust bearing and take up the space that developed on the worn gear housing. Getting rid of the lash also improves the mesh of the gears making them less likely to strip as well. A little trial and error will give you a nice tight fit with no mirror freeplay.
Now you can go and fix the mirrors on your favorite older BMW for very little money. The mirror is a little complicated, but it is nothing that can’t easily be figured out with just a little bit of mechanical inclination. Fixing something annoying for little money is sure a feel-good DIY project! Good Luck!
3 comments
This is way beyond the capacity of a BMW owner, but it was a great read.
Why is that?
Great article. I’m having problems with both sides on my M5 and thought I’d have to learn to live with it. The process looks a bit tedious but not difficult at all. Thanks for sharing a reasonable solution to the absurd replacement cost.