Guest BANKS Posted August 4, 2002 Share Posted August 4, 2002 The interior rearview mirror on my 95 Legacy lsi wgn is loose, just going over bumps makes it get out of sync. Can these be adjusted or should I look for a replacement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Commuter Posted August 4, 2002 Share Posted August 4, 2002 I don't know if you have the same set up as my 97 OB, but my mirror has a "clamshell" affair for the ball socket at the back of the mirror. There is a Torx headed fastener that holds things together. T120 size IIRC. Try tightening that up. Worked for me. Commuter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RuDrew Posted August 4, 2002 Share Posted August 4, 2002 Our 1995 also has the torx fastener, but tightening it didn't solve the loose mirror problem. I found that dissassembling the clamshell and inserting several layers of paper into the socket stopped the mirror from jiggling out of position. I don't know how long it will hold up, but it has worked for the past few months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jayhawk Posted August 4, 2002 Share Posted August 4, 2002 same problem with my 95 Legacy LS-sounds like a recall! I just keep the torx set in the glovebox and tighten it up when it gets loose. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SmashPDX Posted August 4, 2002 Share Posted August 4, 2002 Mine starts to droop whenever it gets hot in the car. RECALL!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BANKS Posted August 5, 2002 Share Posted August 5, 2002 Thanks guys, the torx wrench worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest troywinter Posted August 12, 2002 Share Posted August 12, 2002 I have the same problem with my girlfriends 95 Legacy L wagon. I can't seem to get it tight enough. But I don't want to break it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SmashPDX Posted August 12, 2002 Share Posted August 12, 2002 May be worth trying the paper-stuffing plus torx-tighten trick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest newsooby Posted August 12, 2002 Share Posted August 12, 2002 Have you ever taken the clamshell/ball and socket assembly apart? If you have, you may have lost the thin, black circular metal disk that mounts inside the back of the ball. It controls the mirror tension -- particularly important when switching the mirror from "day" to "night" setting. I had the same loosening problem in my 99 OBW, so I thought I'd fix it this past weekend. I took the assembly out -- in the dark -- brought it inside, and couldn't find anything wrong with it. Took the assembly out to the car the next morning, and found this little disk on the floormat. It popped neatly into place in the socket. I put the assembly together, and now the mirror functions perfectly -- and stays in place. Apparently, with use and age, this little metal disk can become dislodged from its correct position, causing the mirror to come loose. If you bought your car used, I'll bet the previous owner had taken the mirror apart, lost the disk, and just reassembled it. Also, the ball (attached to the back of the mirror) should have a thin plastic cover over it. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Commuter Posted August 13, 2002 Share Posted August 13, 2002 Thanks newsooby... I had taken mine apart a couple weekends back. I thought I heard something fall, but the screw was in my hand, so I shrugged it off. I definitely didn't have a disk when I put it together. And once I read your post, I vaguely recalled seeing something, but thought it was just a washer (I was doing some other stuff on the car at the time.) Long story short, I took my mirror off again tonight. No disk. I went scratching around in the car, figuring "this is a needle in a haystack" search. I guess Murphy smiled on me this time. I found the disk! Put it in and things are really tight now. In my attempt to tighten my clamshell (not realizing that I had lost the disk), I had taken a file to the tiny little nub on the clamshell. It's about 1mm x 1.5mm, on the "interface" surface. When the mirror is together, it would be towards the windshied. I had observed that it kept the two halves of the clamshell slightly spaced and reasoned that if I filed it down a bit, it would help. It did, but now I've got an especially tight mirror ball socket with the disk back in there! I didn't even take it all off, just ran the file over it a couple of times. One "might" try this if things are still loose, but do so at your own risk. Easy to remove metal, but not easy to put it back on. I was able to loosen my mirror a little by backing the screw off just a hint. The screw shouldn't really move around and loosen as a rule. It's one of those interference locking thread style fasteners. Tidbit - Years ago, I mounted a couple of aftermarket exterior mirrors on my car. The ball socket was just metal on metal, no plastic or disks etc. They kept drooping no matter how much I tried to tighten the screw. I finally took the socket apart and grabbed my hammer and center punch. I put the ball on some wood (something soft) and proceeded to "dimple" the ball with the center punch. It worked. The dimples provided just enough additional resistance to prevent the mirror from drooping. IIRC, the one was proving to be particulary stubborn even after dimpling it a few times. I finally grabbed my vice grip and gently squeezed the ball in the jaws a few times to roughen it up. That did the trick. Necessity is the mother of invention. I wouldn't really recommend this on the Subaru mirror since it has that plastic "cap" in the ball joint. Just thought I'd throw it out there since it might help someone, somewhere. Commuter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest newsooby Posted August 13, 2002 Share Posted August 13, 2002 Commuter: You're welcome. Glad it worked out for you. I figured someone, somewhere must have had the same/similar experience. Lucky you found the "washer." Who would think something as simple as a mirror would have so many little parts?! Also, I need to stop working on the car in the dark!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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