Anybody knows the steps on how to take the mirror glass out of the assembly to swap? Image Unavailable, Please Login
There is a trick to it, do not force anything. You should adjust the mirror to one side, so you can look behind it, and then you will need to remove a metal clip, but I forgot how to...
Leave it in Just buy a Kia mirror and stick it on top with some two sided sticky tape. Nobody can tell and now you have a convex mirror you can see something with. Kia Sephia mirror, part # SPO OK2AC69123 A Was under $30, you do have to remove the plastic frame from the mirror. I would send a pic but car is in the shop for an annual. Found the picture of it installed. Image Unavailable, Please Login
It may be similar to the 348 mirror. Im not sure. Anyway, There is a circular clip which I had to release. I had to carefully lever the mirror up with a coated screwdriver and then unhook the clip with the tool shown. I could just see enough to do this. Get some light. Look at the pics. You will get the idea. May help you if its the same.. Be careful with the electrical connectors as they are delicate. To replace you I had to reinstall the clip first and push the mirror glass in to engage. Smear of light grease will help. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
wow, Kia mirror is brilliant! Thanks i need a new drivers side replacement. How did you come up with that?
Actually a fellow F chatter posted it, so not even my idea. He posted 10 things you need to do, or have when you own a 355. I have the list somewhere, hopefully someone else remembers and can find it on here. If you are in the 355 thread you can click on "search this thread" Type in .....tangospell.....which will give you a couple of threads to scroll thru. Lots of links with handy ideas/items for 355 owners.
Sorry, I just realised that the removal procedure is for a 348 mirror.... even though the title of the thread is 355...
Kia mirror is a worthwhile addition. If like mine it will come with 2 double sided adhesive disks. The disk adhesive is very strong making installation a 'one shot' adventure. Once it's on, it's ON. No peeling off for a second try. I cut the disks in half so there would be 4 semi circle points of contact (one for each corner). Then duck taped flat toothpick 'shims' around the interior perimeter of the bezel to guide the Kia mirror onto place onto the existing Ferrari glass. This was necessary because the Kia mirror, while close, is not an exact match to the Ferrari mirror shape. A slight misalignment can result in the Kia mirror contacting and binding against the bezel. You don't want this as it will hang up your mirrors' operation. Go slow. Make dry runs. Insure your mirror is adjusted precisely where you want it (not up or down, left or right) prior to sticking on the Kia mirror. Should things go awry and Kia glass contacts the bezel, judicious applications of hair dryer heat and a popsicle 'jimmy' stick can reposition but it's a pain. Much better to get it right the first time. The improved visibility is worth the rigmarole.
Can anyone confirm that the attachment method for the 355 is the same as for the 348 described above? By way of comparison the help file for the same on the Fiat Coupé shows the exact same method as above, but on my y2000 car they had changed the design to not include the long clips. Ferrari could have done the same. The internals of the Fiat mirror look identical to those above, which as both were provided by Pininfarina is no suprise. I think it is a deplorable situation that Ferrari do not list a replacement glass. Given that this is one of the more likely things to need replacing and just as likely for us to have to replace as any Kia driver might need to. Even more so give how much profit Ferrari make on each car they sell.
It turns out that glass can be cut by waterjet cutting. I have spoken to my local waterjet cutters, who I have used before, and they can cut them, and they would then need the edges polishing, which is also doable, so the question is, as no one at all is making them at the moment, would there be a market for reproduction (flat) glass? If I had a batch made up, what would be a sensible price to ask? If it turns out that the mechanism is the same as on Fiat Coupés (of which there are loads going for scrap) as I suspect, then I might even be able to get the plastic backs to stick to them.
I've just returned from the Paint shop. Horah! I have removed the mirrors. I can confirm that they are held on just as shown above for the 348 with the exception that the clip ends are to be found beneath the outer end of the mirror as opposed to the inner (car) end as above. I made a special tool (I bent the end of a stiff bit of wire into a small hook) and it was a doddle. I would go so far as to say that when you know how it fixes and how to release it, and have a suitable hook to release it, that you can remove it practically without any risk of breaking it (as long as you don't drop it!). I anticipate that putting it back will go just as well, but I'll update on that when I have done it. With regards to making new ones, I see that the passenger mirror is flat and the driver's is convex, so the driver's could not be reproduced just by cutting mirror to shape. Looks like the Kia replacement is the way to go if needed (or hound your favourite parts supplier into commissioning an after-market replacement to be produced). However if I did do that (the Kia glass), I would first release the mirror (as described) so as to place the new one more accurately onto it, but also to grind the Kia one down where is just a little proud with diamond glass polishing discs.
355 wing mirror glass on ebay - very cheap https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/For-Ferrari-F355-1994-1999-right-hand-side-wide-angle-wing-door-mirror-glass/132135713778?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649
So I was able to remove my driver side mirror by ever so slightly clipping the mirror housing on a plastic garbage can at about 50 km/h on my last drive! Probably not something I want to do again and it's not a method I would recommend. Putting it back in is turning out to be a huge pain in the a*s. Were you able to put yours back in? Could you please send photos of the 'tools' you made? Any advice would be much appreciated.
Just the glass that is attached by that circular-ish metal clip. I barely grazed the garbage can...there was hardly even a mark on the housing from it!
Wow that must been an awkward tap. The glass was probably already loose since that clip holds it pretty tight. You will need to prep the metal clip around the motor inside the housing where you position it in the grove but do not clip the both ends in. Place the mirror into the hole where it is suppose to sit in the motor, then get a metal tool to squeeze the clips and slide it into the lock. If you see the motor and match it to the mirror clip you will know what I mean. The most difficult part is clipping that metal while the mirror is sitting in place. Another tip is to clip the bottom part so you you're only focused on clipping the top end when the mirror is placed inside.