Long arm 2016 Ducato mirror casing removal

[Sandie]

I have recently purchased (privately) a 2016 Adria. On giving it a thorough clean I found that the passenger side mirror casing is cracked. I had not noticed it on purchase. I can effect a pretty good repair from the inside using a plastic repair kit that I've had good results with previously. However, I can't get the casing off. I've removed the glass and indicator and all the visible screws that hold the mirror mounting plate to the casing. Gentle prising has separated the two parts at the outer edge but it doesn't want to separate where it meets the arm. I don't want to damage it any further. Am I missing something? Does something else hold the parts together, and if so, what do I need to remove (and how) to get at it? I can't find a youtube video, diagram or description that is applicable to my unit.
Any help gratefully received!

 

[Speve]

They are very fiddly to get apart and be aware there is a built in aerial in the casing for your radio.
I gently prised the sections apart and managed it without breaking anything but it does take a bit of patience. good luck

 

[andy63]

If its anything like the ford setup you may have to break it to remove it... certainly from memory you had to remove the mirror and casing from the van to get part of the plastic trim off....and that couldnt be done because the fixings were security bolts which sheared off when tightened...
Hope it not but just a warning of what a pain it can be..
Andy..

 

[wizza]

Fit mirror protectors over the top cover up the cracks probably cheaper than a new mirror

 

[Sandie]

Thanks

Fit mirror protectors over the top cover up the cracks probably cheaper than a new mirror

Thanks. I wasn't planning to buy a new mirror. It's only the casing cracked and I can repair it if I can get it off.

Protectors may be the way to go if it's a major undertaking.

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[Sandie]

If its anything like the ford setup you may have to break it to remove it... certainly from memory you had to remove the mirror and casing from the van to get part of the plastic trim off....and that couldnt be done because the fixings were security bolts which sheared off when tightened...
Hope it not but just a warning of what a pain it can be..
Andy..

Oh dear.... I hope not.

 

[Christoph]

Might be worth just getting some Mirror Guards (£120) I had a mirror replaced it was a pig of a job and cost £250!

 

[Sandie]

They are very fiddly to get apart and be aware there is a built in aerial in the casing for your radio.
I gently prised the sections apart and managed it without breaking anything but it does take a bit of patience. good luck

Thanks Alan. Yours is a long-arm version, yes?
Is there anything visible on the outside of the casing to indicate that there's an aerial? I ask because i have a small round protrusion on the underneath of the driver's side mirror? What is that?

 

[Bill_OR]

@Sandie - it's probably a temperature sensor. If there is one then the aerial is going to be in the near side mirror- it's pretty poor and you might want to get a proper aerial installed!

 

[Speve]

Thanks Alan. Yours is a long-arm version, yes?
Is there anything visible on the outside of the casing to indicate that there's an aerial? I ask because i have a small round protrusion on the underneath of the driver's side mirror? What is that?

As @Bill_OR Says nothing to show the aerial yes mine was long arm on an Autotrail but I don’t have it now.

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[TheBig1]

cheapest and quickest solution at £35

 

[Steadycam]

cheapest and quickest solution at £35

I had a pair of the cheaper ones. Worked great. They got scuffed and marked on our travels particularly in the lakes , but that what they were there for. Keep them on and when they are ragged buy another set and away you go. Mirror housing underneath never changes , result

 

[Ridgeway]

I found them very easy to remove, i just drive past wide vans on narrow Cornish lanes, typically they fall off after that

Both my casings are cracked and i could glue them reasonably but not perfectly, some Milenco covers over the top made them look nice and new again, as well as protecting them much more.

 

[Gerby]

I have just been wrestling with the same problem on my Peugeot (same mirrors as yours I think), you need to remove the front cover (they are called this though curiously they are the actually the back bits) from the 2 arms first as the mirror cover is connected to the other half of each of the arm covers. once half of the arm covers are removed there are 2 further screws that need to be undone (one on each of the arms) allowing the complete wing mirror cover and arm covers to be removed.

Sounds complicated but I will try to get some photos uploaded later (when I get home) as I am in the middle of the same operation after some friendly passerby decided to break mine whilst it was on my drive.

 

[Gerby]

Forgot to mention, make sure you get the right casing as you can get just the mirror case without the arms but if it is like mine the arms and mirror cover are heat welded together and once separated the arms are just about impossible to reconnect to the new cover. the cover preconnected to the arms (though not including the half of the arm covers you first remove) is available on Ebay for £24.99, needless to say I did order just the cover hence why I am only half way through the job waiting for the one with arms to be delivered in the next 2 days

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[Gerby]

OK, Hope I got this right (and that its the same Mirror) as couldn't remember how to do photo upload

First one shows the full removed wing cover including 5 cover screws, two indicator lens screws and the 2 screws that hold the arm parts of the mirror cover assembly on.

Second one shows how one half of the arm cover is heat welded to the mirror cover (I did try to "gently" split them so I could use the cover I had already purchased but needless to say there was just enough damage caused when I did this to make sure I had to buy another one)

Third photo shows (sort of) the holes on the half of the arm cover that you need to remove, these clip it to the mirror/arm cover assembly. if you slightly pry the two halves apart you should see these holes and insert thin blade to release the plastic catch pieces.

Any more questions let me know and I may attempt a video (you never know I may even succeed!)

 

[vin0114]

Fit mirror protectors over the top cover up the cracks probably cheaper than a new mirror

top marks

 

[Sandie]

Many thanks @Gerby and everyone else who has replied.
You have answered my question in identifying that there are further two screws in the arm covers and how to separate the front and back arm covers.
I won't need to separate the heat-welded sections as I am repairing the existing cover, not replacing it. I will be using a plastic repair kit that I successfully used to repair the thin plastic rear bumper on my previous m/h (saving me around £450)
I can highly recommend it - Plastex Plastic and Acrylic Repair Kit. It takes patience and care, but is way better than any glue or epoxy.
I'll probably buy some mirror guards anyway. In 12 years of ownership of my last m/h I had two mirror collisions that resulted in damage - both in the same year. It was a 2002 Ducato based Chausson. So much easier to fix than the new ones!

 

[Gerby]

No worries, as you can see from the first photo a repair wasn't really an option for me, luckily the mirror cover with half arms attached was only £24.99 so could have been a lot worse I suppose.