By Greg on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 09:34 am: Edit

I need a rearview mirror for a 97 disco. Would prefer a geniune LR, but would be open to any offer or suggestion.
Thanks!

By gp (Garrett) on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 09:58 am: Edit

jc whitney sells some less expensive ones than the connelly ones that the truck comes with. try aaron auto supply as well. they sell used stuff and have a good amount of rover parts. mine went to shit on me as well.......been about a year or so and have not gotten around to getting a new one. you could always just go with a non auto dimming version. about $20-30 at the most in that case.

By Tate Crumbley (Tate) on Wednesday, November 07, 2001 - 01:36 pm: Edit

Also, when mine died, I got a new Donnelly from their website, with a compass in it. The new ones use a solid film (instead of the nasty goo in the old style) so it should last longer. LR used a bunch of different widnshield "buttons" on the windshields, none of which is standard, so you might have to have this removed/replaced with a standard one. I had a standard button attached to the window, as the mount is slightly different, but you might be able to use your current mount (the rear plastic piece, not the button itself) with the new mirror head (the part with the glass). I should have investigated this a bit more before having the mirror button changed (paid a glass guy to do it as it involves a propane torch and risks breaking the glass). I have much more faith in the new style mirror than the old one. My friend's new Acura has a Donnelly in it, so evidently even Honda was impressed by the new ones. www.donnelly.com Just another option. Contact me if you want more info.

By Greg on Wednesday, November 07, 2001 - 04:36 pm: Edit

Thanks for the info both of you. I have looked at all possibilities, now the only thing holding me up is the actual installation. I'd hate to crack the windshield. Any suggestions once I get it, LR won't put it on since it's not a geniune product. Once again, thanks for your help.

By Tate Crumbley (Tate) on Wednesday, November 07, 2001 - 05:04 pm: Edit

When you remove the old mirror, you'll need to snip the power wires. Make sure the power's off, or you could short them. After you get the old mirror off (mine was secured with a Torx screw), see if you can remove the plastic mount, the one with the ball joint that the mirror itself rotates around--on mine, that part came out after you remove a little retaining ring. See if that ball joint is compatible with your new mirror. If it is, just use it, and don't worry about the mirror button.
There are at least two ways LR attached the mirrors, and one involved a little double-sided rubber pad. I don't know what the 97s had, but if yours has this rubber pad, you might be able to scrape the button off. Mine (98) was secured directly to the windshield. It was worth it to me to have a glass guy pull off and reattach the other mirror button for $40. That way it would be on his head if the $800 windshield cracked. I watched him as he did it--just attached some needle nose grips to the old button and heated it with a propane torch. After a little bit, it came right off. If you do it yourself, KEEP THE FLAME OFF THE GLASS ITSELF! He then used a locktite rearview mirror adhesive, saying that the two part ones weren't as good. The wedge type button is mounted right at the bottom of the black area on the windshield--it's slightly visible from the outside, but not too bad. It has to be mounted that far down so that the mirror mount can slide down onto it.

Once the mirror is in place, connect the new mirror's power wires to the wiring harness. You have to cut the wires, but I used some nice butt connectors from radio shack--it makes for a clean installation.

Shouldn't this be in the tech section? :-) Email me if you want to discuss this further. tcrumbley@cambridge.com

By Scott Bowden (Scott_Bowden) on Friday, November 09, 2001 - 02:14 pm: Edit

Greg,
Just drill some holes in the front fenders and put on some real big trailer towing mirrors. That would be sylish and functional.

Just Kidding,
Scott
The post above is the same place I told you about earlier today (donnelly).