dcubed

Update: Job is done, but not without some pain. old door: I bought a manual impact driver, but its Philips head tips were too large for the screw head.I decided to buy a used mirror off eBay for $35 and try to get the mirror off later (and sell it on eBay to recoup some of the cost). new door: I decided to try to grind out the EZ-Out and screw head. I discovered that I had several Alumina grinding tips in my various Dremel kits (yard sale acquisitions). I had two conical stones (think Christmas tree profile) that would allow me to get into the root of the Philips heads where the EZ-Out had broken out. I also had 2-3 other stones that were a bit larger. I went through the two conical stones and one of the larger stones to grind away the head of the screw. It took some time, but it was relatively easy, even in the tight space. The car is now re-assembled with a 'new' (junkyard) door and 'new' (eBay junkyard) functional heated/power mirror. Total part cost is $135. I have the unheated/power mirror with a screw body stuck in one hole and the old heated/power mirror still stuck on the old door. I expect to get maybe $50 back by selling the two mirrors on eBay, when I have time to get to them (this Spring). Lesson learned: Don't use an EZ-Out; drill/grind instead and re-tap as necessary

mirror on old door: the bit (#1, I presume) of the powered impact driver broke when trying to remove the screw. The manual impact driver tool has a #2 and #3 bit, I think I need #1. I think I will drill out the screw, trying to preserve the threads in the hole. If I can find one, I will look for a left-hand bit for the final plunge to try to work out the remnants of the screw. mirror on new door: The small EZ-Out (#1) has only the tip left in the screw which is at the bottom of a recessed hole in the plastic cavity of the car mirror. There is no way to grab the EZ-Out or apply heat. I think I will try an alumina (aluminum oxide) grinding stone attachment in a Dremel tool to grind out the EZ-Out then drill out the screw like I will on the old mirror.

New developments. mirror on new door: I tried a Craftsman tool that is basically a broad-tipped reversible drill that tries to grab any remnants of the Philips features. I tried three different sizes unsuccsessfully; all they did was create a nice smooth-walled crater in the screw head. This crater, however, was useful for guding the drill bit for the pilot hole that I drilled for the EZ-Out. Unfortunately, the Ez-Out broke off inside the pilot hole when I tried to unscrew the screw. Now I have the hardened tip of the EZ-Out stuck in the screw. Am I now screwed? mirror on old door: Using a Bosch powered impact driver I was unable to loosen the screw. I bought a hand (hammer) impact driver set, but the smallest bit is too large. It doesn't accept the standard bits that my other drive tools take, it's a bit larger. I am no closer to removing either mirror and I now have a piece of hardened steel stuck in one screw head. Any suggestions?

1999 Legacy Outback To avoid having to do body work on the rotted lower rear corner of the front passenger door of my gf's car ( i hate body work, I don't have good tools to do it and I am very bad at it), I decided to buy a junkyard door and replace the entire door. My gf picked up the door and brought it home - only for me to find that it was taken from a Legacy, not a Legacy Outback. As such, it did not have a heated mirror and the mirror itself was smaller. No problem, I thought, I will simply change the mirror. Well, the first thing I realized was that there was a different door wiring harness. No problem, I spent an hour swapping the door harness. When I went to remove the 'new' mirror, I found a stripped out Philips head in the recessed screw. Almost as bad, I can't remove the same screw from the 'old' mirror, even when using a large screwdriver to get maximum torque. I plan to drill out the screw head of the 'new' mirror to remove the mirror from the 'new' door. However, that will still leave me with the 'old' mirror stuck on the old door. Can anyone offer any tips?