rossko Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Just returned from a great trip to the peak district in our Swift Bolero where we managed to "kiss" a white van mans mirror. No damage done to either but as novices it set us wondering what best practice is as regards these very expensive to replace all singing & dancing mirror ensembles. Does anyone carry any sort of spare? If so what please or are we just stranded if the mirror is smashed until we can get rescued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 I always carry a spare mirror glass and sticky pads to fix it in place. Not an expensive Fiat one tailored for the van - just a smaller 'el cheapo' that will fit within either casing as it is not 'handed'. Just have to hope the casing and sprung return gubbins does not break - specially in those new complex X250 mirrors with lights etc as they are bloomin expensive to replace. Like many things these days, progress brings it's own hazzards and the extra width of these new vans does not make narrow lane exploring any easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Hello, you don't say what make or year your van is, but if it is within their range I have found Allparts Soutwest to have the best stock and cheapest new mirrors and assemblies, see http://www.allpartssouthwest.com/index.html Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 We had a similar "kiss" with a parked white van last year which broke the smaller of the two mirrors on the nearside. The price of a replacement from Peugeot was horrendous but, following a tip on a forum, I was able to buy the same part much cheaper through the local Fiat dealership. Whilst I was checking prices I found that the place recommended by Bas was about the cheapest for new complete units by mail order but even cheaper was a local commercial motor factor I found in Yellow Pages (again following a forum tip). Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Cole Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Hi I usually carry a stick on replacement mirror glass they are cheap enough at halfords, but it was not ,much use when we saw a large camper coming round a left hand bend towards us in France last year. There was a large bang and the results you can see below (if I can manage to post the photo) totally distroyed the mirror I had nearly stopped when we got hit the other driver did not stop. I taped the bits to the frame and put a spare bulb in to the repeater lamp so that the flashers would work OK and carried on to our destination.There are lots of bits as these units contain heaters, radio arials,repeater flasher, motors etc other than some small scratches on the window there was no further damage so taking into account the policy excess it did not seem worth claiming under the insurance I took the broken one off and put all the bits in a bag to order a new mirror unit from the local Fiat agent, he was most helpful smiled and said "anglais" put the details into the computer price 380 euros and two day delivery. Just had to grin and bear it took me about 1 1/2 hrs to fit with all the wiring connection etc I always have a comprhensive tool box with me just as well! Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twooks Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 we used to have a Laika Aclass - ended up carrying 2 spares - either side - bought 'em cheap n cheerful from an Iveco dealer near Preston, think we lost a total of 2 offside and 1 nearside in 5 years >:-( B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Usinmyknaus Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 In case of use to any Master owners. The latest incarnation of this vehicle often has the "long arm" mirrors to cope with the width of the coachbuilt body. They are very vulnerable simply because they stick out so far. When my nearside mirrror glass was broken, even the main dealer did not know how to replace it. Here goes: The mirror unit is in fact, from the Renault Mascott range so don't be surprised if your supplier is a little confused at first. The part number of mine is 7701063509 and is not "handed". A car dealer can get the part for you at £38.46 but if you can get it from a Renault truck dealer it is about 10% cheaper. (Incidentally, no one I tried on the internet could/would supply me direct by mail order.) The instructions in the box are only in French. The procedure is: DO NOT TRY TO LEVER OUT THE OLD UNIT. Using high quality eye and hand protection, break out and remove all of the old glass and the heater element backing. Being very careful not to damage the interior parts. The official instructions then say to pop out the empty carrier with a screwdriver. I found this damaged the mounting plate so instead used a Dremel hand drill diamond cutter disc to gently cut the carrier away until I could remove it. Disconnect the heating wires and plugs, noting their position. Clean out the carrier and housing. Offer up the new unit and connect the wires and plugs as noted earlier. Heat the new unit's circular mounting bracket using a hair drier or similar, but do not exceed 50 degrees C. Carefully position the new glass unit over the centre of the mounting plate and (now the scary bit) wearing thick protective gloves, push the centre of the new unit until it pops onto the carrier. I applied a little silicone lubricant from my plumbing kit to the carrier and that helped a lot. Test for security by gently pulling the top and bottom of the new unit. The instructions give a maximum force in Nm to be applied but how you are supposed to measure it I don't know. Test for movement and heating. Clearly this is not a roadside repair so I am going to buy a generic spare glass which can be taped over temporarily should a mirror break in future. NB Do not underestimate the danger to your eyes during step one of the process, bits of glass fly everywhere at considerable speed. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingpete Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 The latest Fiat version costs £248 to buy and have fitted :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 What a palaver Bob. I'm glad our van is based on a Boxer - much simpler. The procedure (given to me by Bas) is: The standard Peugeot fixing for mirrors is a large circlip behind the mirror and is very difficult to see normally. The mirror itself is normally attatched to a plastic holder by sticky pad/ glue and the circlip fits to ridges around that. To remove you have to tilt the mirror up so that you can see the ends of the wire circlip and unhook it from the backplate, it is actually quite easy once you have sussed it like most things. You then have to refit the clip to the new mirror and it then is pushed back into place until the circlip re engages. I would echo Bob's warning not to underestimate the danger to your eyes during the process. I had no problems but it's always sensible to waer eye (and hand) protection when dealing with glass. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossko Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 Thank you all v much for all the useful info. Will definitely be buying some stick on mirrors this weekend & keep the replacement instructions & hope we never need them!!! Thanks again - this forum is so helpful to us newbies!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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