replacing door mirrors on an 89

[captainmorgan]

Hello. My first post. Newb here.

I just purchased tonight my first ranger! It's a 1989 2wd, 2.3. a/c, 5spd with 77K original miles and 1 owner. Farmer down the road won it at plot tour back in 89. Zero rust except for the rear bumper. Farmer drove it occasionally off and on over the years.

I purchased the truck for my father and myself to have an extra vehicle around. He just turned 79 a few weeks ago. We took the truck out for a test drive and he loved it.

OK. 1st question. Passenger black paddle mirror folds in once you get over 55mph. I was looking online and I want to just go ahead and buy new paddle mirrors for driver and passenger side so they match.

What do I have to do to take mirrors off and install new ones? Just remove the 2 tox bolts that hold the mirror on???? Or do I have take the inside door panel off and go through a bunch of hoops to replace the mirrors. Thought I woud ask before removing the bolts in the mirrors an hear the sound of a nut falling in between door and inside panel. I did a search and couldn't find and answer.

Appreciate input. I will have several more I'm sure..

 

[Mark_88]

Howdy and welcome to TRS~!

The 89 would be a second generation Ranger but they are very similar to the first generation and many parts interchange.

Removing the "flag" mirrors is easy and you just need to take out the two torx screws as you mentioned. The backing plate is held on by another screw or two so no need to remove panels.

Good idea to soak them a bit with penetrating oil but they usually come out easily enough...just put good pressure inwards to try to avoid shredding the head of the screw.

I managed to actually fix my mirrors from flopping and moviing around by fastening a zip tie just at the base of the mirror where it meets the stem. Works best if you put the knot of the zip tie on the outside directly under the joint...

Buying these mirrors the first time proved to be an expensive endeavor as they used to cost $30 each...but I'm sure they have come down in price...and I actually have a spare set now from another truck I bought for parts...

Post some pics of your truck if/when you have time...

 

[scotts90ranger]

Yep, like Mark said it's just the 2 screws and is easy. But don't toss the mirrors as they are fixable even better than Mark's fix . Mine I drilled out the rivets that hold the spring plate on the back side once you take them off, then drilled and tapped them for some screws after grinding the posts a little shorter than they are originally. They work great and even if they loosen up down the road it's easy to tighten them back up.

 

[adsm08]

Yeah, the mirror isn't supposed to be hard to remove. The nuts are welded to the inside of the door, and should stay put when you take the bolts out.

There is always the possibility of a spun nut though, so be careful and use hand tools to remove the bolts that first time.

 

[captainmorgan]

Appreciate the info. Will try the zip tie method first. Ranger had a stumble/miss went to change the plugs and wires and found out there is no compression in cylinder 3.

Had the head taken off friday. From what the mechanic said the valves looked ok. Head is at the machine shop. Don't know if it was a head gasket or if it will come back with a burnt valve. Hope to have more answers monday or tuesday. With 77K original miles I was hoping the engine was cherry and issues would be minimum... this is the first hiccup.