Folding Mirror Problem

[thesalboy]

Since I got my used X5 at 65K (65K miles ago), the mirrors have been a little floppy, but until recently they still folded in and out fine. Things started going south on the drivers side when the motor kept running and made clicking noises after opening. It started with just 3 clicks, but then became many more. Then the mirror wouldn’t open or close at all – the motor didn’t run at all, and the mirror was just a floppy mess that had to be kept in place with duct tape.

I got the most complete kit I could find on ebay from VIP KROM. I assumed the worst in terms of parts damage, and didn’t want to take things apart until I had the new parts to compare. When I took the mirror apart, the 2 pins on the motor housing were snapped, and the motor gear was badly worn, but the rest of the parts were in decent shape. The motor came with the gear installed, though I had to press it further onto the motor shaft because it kept the motor housing from fully seating. (The upright, outer gear also would not fit into the motor housing, so I had to drill the housing out a bit). But it all went back together fine. Before installing the outer housing, I could rotate the black plastic housing just a bit, just enough to make the end of the gear that lays flat slide in and out, which I think is to facilitate disassembly (otherwise that gear binds with the motor gear, and you can’t easily remove motor housing).

The mirror is now firm and not floppy at all. But on hitting the button, the mirror doesn’t move. You can hear the motor trying to spin, it just can’t. I thought maybe giving it a little help would work, but no luck. I can manually move the mirror throughout its correct range (and no further) without it making horrible noises – it’s just firm. Maybe the new motor is crap/insufficient torque? I hooked my old motor up and it spins, but I can’t get the gear off the new motor to install it onto the old motor to see if it still has the oomph or not. I removed the outer housing and hit the button with just my hand pressure holding down the black plastic housing, and as I eased up things started to spin (but sound pretty terrible/gnashing).

I’m 100% sure that everything is oriented correctly – took lots of pics and marked things. It’s not the limit switch – I fixed that a long time ago, and if I move the drivers mirror manually while hitting the button, the passenger mirror will fold (otherwise it folds in, then right back out, like it should if there is a limit switch problem on either side). I have the metal ring that rides on top of the spring that goes inside the outer housing clocked correctly – it is notched and can only go on one way. But it’s like that spring is pushing things down too firmly…? I greased the crap out of everything.

Any input welcome. Thanks.