Side door mirrors

97 Blazer LT 4 door. Need to replace both driver and pass side mirrors, soon. Do I need need to remove the door panels? Any other tips would be appreciated too. Also.....the mirror on the passanger side has seem to have lost some sort of spring. It is very loose and I can lift it off of it's mount. Is there a spring replacement for that I can get or do I need to get the whole mirror? Thanks.

Yes the door panel needs to be removed to access the mirror mounting bolts. there is actually a thread on this that specifically covers 95-97 outside mirror removal:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=581511
I don't know of a spring in the mirror on 95-97 models so you will probably have to replace the entire mirror (someone feel free to correct me on this if I'm wrong). Brand new replacements are about $20 on ebay but if both of your stock mirrors are faded, you might want to buy a pair of new ones so they both match.

I just did this last night. The automatic car wash took out my driver's side mirror. Basically, everything ZL1 said is right on. You have to take out the door panels (see ZL1's link).

You'll most likely need to buy a new mirror because it's the plastic that holds the bolts that usually cracks and breaks.

When you buy a new one, it will come with the mounting bolts but not the nuts. If you're lucky, you'll have the nuts still hanging from the old mirror. If not, you'll need to buy new nuts.

oh yeah ... there's no spring inside -- it's just the three bolts that hold it flush to the door. there's some weatherproofing inside that helps it seal too.


97 Blazer LT 4 door. Need to replace both driver and pass side mirrors, soon. Do I need need to remove the door panels? Any other tips would be appreciated too. Also.....the mirror on the passanger side has seem to have lost some sort of spring. It is very loose and I can lift it off of it's mount. Is there a spring replacement for that I can get or do I need to get the whole mirror? Thanks.

well, I got to looking at my old mirror that I just replaced and -- low and behold --- there IS a spring inside. I don't think it is accessible though. You'd have to break the plastic to get to it. I can only see it with a flashlight with the mirror pivoted to the right all the way. The spring is most likely for the pivoting feature of the rear-view mirror -- it must be what makes it return to the original position.

question:

Anyone know if there's a way to get just the mirror off? just the mirror out of the plastic housing? don't people buy just the mirror if it breaks or is that for another year truck ??




I just did this last night. The automatic car wash took out my driver's side mirror. Basically, everything ZL1 said is right on. You have to take out the door panels (see ZL1's link).

You'll most likely need to buy a new mirror because it's the plastic that holds the bolts that usually cracks and breaks.

When you buy a new one, it will come with the mounting bolts but not the nuts. If you're lucky, you'll have the nuts still hanging from the old mirror. If not, you'll need to buy new nuts.

oh yeah ... there's no spring inside -- it's just the three bolts that hold it flush to the door. there's some weatherproofing inside that helps it seal too.

Check ebay for replacement mirrors, about $30.00 apiece.
I just replaced my driver's side, and I didn't remove the door panel, just loosened the top to get at the wires. Took the mirror plastic plate off above the door panel, and wedged the panel out down the inside of the door/fender frame.
To take the panel completely off, remove two bolts holding arm rest on. The rest is push on plastic holders.

The spring is nearly impossible to replace. If you look at it, you'll see two hooks. In actuality, two two hooks are the ends of 1 long spring that wraps around the inside of the housing.

It's better to go the ebay route.

That spring must have busted some how then on mine. My mirror is just dangling with no spring back action.......beautiful. Thanks for all the help and ideas.