Wobbly Tex Mirrors?

[Wheelz]

I bought a pair of the usual Stag door/wing mirrors and the stem is too wobbly. I know that others have had similar problems and have tried to fettle them.

I contacted Tex and they are going to look into it, but they said that they haven't heard of the problem before! Anyone else on here found them too wobbly?

Hopefully Tex will be able to supply me a decent pair!

[APS]

Phil S had a good solution to this, see thread from earlier this year
https://www.socforum.com/forum/forum/stag-owners-club/soc-forum/852026-play-in-door-mirror-mounts

[trunt]

Tell them to read this forum! Yes they are loose in the base so tend to shift around, the chrome plating between the two parts doesn’t help, plus sometimes the pin contacts the plastic base and takes some tension off, I have wondered if that is due to the curvature of the door where we usually mount them.

[Philip Wardle]

I previously returned a pair of defective mirrors to Peter at LD Part for him to look at. Peter couldn't see any problem with them but offered a full refund. I declined his offer in the hope I might be able to find a solution, the logic being that another pair of mirrors might not be any better than the ones I've got already.

As discussed in the previous thread I reckon Phil S has the solution I need, but I haven't yet found a way to apply enough enough pressure on the spring retaining washer whilst also being able to rotate it by 1/4 turn. So, not having any new ideas about how to move forward, I've left the mirrors on a corner of the bench while I get on with other work on the project. However, Wheelz rightly points out that more of us need to complain to Tex and have done this evening using their online contact form, including giving them the link to the video I posted earlier https://ln5.sync.com/dl/0cbdb37c0/9u...4pbqk-h4ftxqdp

The wobble is the same whether the mirrors are on or off the car, it is nothing to do with needing different gaskets between the mirror base and door skin.

[Lingen]

Tex have heard about it before as I had a long conversation with them years ago, having found what was causing the problem but they were not interested. I have not heard of them being loose off the car as Phil W has, but only when they are finally tightened down, and the driver's door was worse than the passenger one. I found that this was because the tubular housings that the screws fit in do not meet with the raised screw holes in the gasket. So, when the screws are fully tightened they pull the gasket up till the tube and gasket do meet. This makes the flat part of the gasket foul the spring loaded washer. and destroys the tension between the two parts of the mirror making it loose on its base. Putting packing washers of appropriate thickness on the screws between the mirror and the gasket cured the problem, as did the modified gaskets that were made by one of the suppliers.
Mike.

[Philip Wardle]

Mike, thanks for the update on past conversations with Tex.

In summary: -

There are three distinct failure modes on currently available mirrors. First, the wobble which can be resolved with packing washers and/or the modified gaskets bavailable from SOC Spares and other suppliers. Second, a different wobble which is nothing to do with interference between the base of the mirror and the door skin. Third, the holes for the retaining screws on both left and right mirror stems may be carelessly machined such that it is impossible to install the heads - I can't see a way to fettle this, and my examples are scrap.

There are three additional issues - it is worth checking for sharp edges on the return lip of the mirror head where it meets the black plastic gasket - I have cut my fingers on these edges; the mirror glass can rattle during driving as demonstrated by 'Arry the Stag https://youtu.be/0iUYC_cRGAI, I have similar examples; the quality and durability of the chrome plating on the stem and/or base is sometimes poor for an item at this price point, this has been reported by several members.

My suggestion is that owners do not buy Tex mirrors without first visiting the retailer's parts counter to inspect for these problems, and if present, decide whether you are willing and able to fettle them before buying. If you buy online retailers should take the the mirrors back if you reject them and give a full refund.

In my experience Tex is not interested in discussing quality issues with retail customers directly. They are apparently unwillling to acknowledge that multiple end-users have found the same issues, and will not accept that they have a quality control problem in production.

[richardthestag]

Same issue with tex mirrors on early range rovers. I get around it by installing riv-nuts into the door skin and using machine screws to secure the mirror base to the door. This does mean that I need to cut off the useless plastic pegs that are designed to hold them steady

Anyway, this method gets them pretty solid and useable when driving

[Philip Wardle]

Hi Richard, yes I can see that riv-nuts would provide a good means of fixing a mirror base to the door skin though I've not had that particular problem with this in the case of the Stag. Very handy fixings, though, I have used them for all sorts of things on my project car - the two brake pipes that traverse the firewall on my car will not be springing-off anytime soon, the the centre console is firmly attached to the transmission tunnel where the weld nuts are stripped, and the brackets at the bottom of the cubby panels are attached to the floor without praying for the the daft plastic pins to hold tight.

[coatham]

i have the same problem with the tex mirrors working loose would you know the correct size riv nuts to fit the door are stainless steel the best material for the job ?

[Philip Wardle]

i have the same problem with the tex mirrors working loose would you know the correct size riv nuts to fit the door are stainless steel the best material for the job ?

Just been out to the workshop, a 10-32 UNF bolt sits nicely in the mirror base, so a riv-nut with this thread would work. My riv-nuts in this size would need a hole 19/64 inch in the door skin ( or 7.6mm ). I get mine from MEMfast https://memfast.co.uk/, part no AK LM IF 10-32 cost GBP 12.00 inc VAT (on 16 July 2023). These have a flange thinkness of 0.75 mm which needs to be accomodated withing the thickness of the gasket between the mirror and door skin. The flange diameter is 10.6 mm.

If you're ok with using metric parts rather than staying loyal to imperial ( I admit to being an anorak ) I would follow the same process of identifying a suitable size bolt and looking for a matching riv-nut. This would probably give you a wider choice of riv-nut specifications to choose from, including stainless perhaps?

[coatham]

thank you Philip that's very helpfull

[NeilR]

My mirrors are held on with M5 Alloy Rivnuts, if they end up stripping or get damaged then simply drill them out & put new ones in.
Bolts are narrow head stainless M5, I machined the heads down to fit in mirror base castings.

They have been on for about 15 years & have not worked loose or fell off yet.

[Wheelz]

In my experience Tex is not interested in discussing quality issues with retail customers directly. They are apparently unwillling to acknowledge that multiple end-users have found the same issues, and will not accept that they have a quality control problem in production.

I have just spoken with their rep and suprisingly I found him quite open and honest. Suffice to say they have no solution for me/us at the moment so I will have to fettle the stem as I have already drilled the doors and fitted the pad. The wobble is between the two parts of the stem, so I will have to see what I can do about that. I am sure something will soon ping off into the workshop never to be found!

PS: All their stock has the same problem so I would not recommend these mirrors until the problem is solved.

[NeilR]

Was thinking about changing one of mine that has started to pit (they're about 17years old).
In light of what you have said, and others, I don't think I'll bother now.

[Philip Wardle]

Was thinking about changing one of mine that has started to pit (they're about 17years old).
In light of what you have said, and others, I don't think I'll bother now.

Yes, I think that's a good decision for now - Tex are not really interested in solving the problem and I'm rather afraid it's a take it or leave it situation. Several of us have now complained, so they can't really say they don't know about the problem.