1969 (inside) Rear View Mirror: How to tighten?

[XS29L9Bxxxxxx]

on acceleration, the inside rear view mirror moves around a bit and seems loose in its socket. I think most of the play is in the upper mount, at the headliner. Has a little play at the mirror, itself.

How to cure?

Thanks in advance! 

[b5blue]

Mine started doing that every time I punched the gas, found a hunk of beer can jammed in the ball socket when I replaced it. It must have worked for years. 

[y3chargerrt]

What brand?

Mine started doing that every time I punched the gas, found a hunk of beer can jammed in the ball socket when I replaced it. It must have worked for years. 

[b5blue]

Pabst Blue Ribbon! 

[UFO]

Remove from roof,tighten three screws inside of base.
Don't think you can get rid of sloppiness at the mirror head.At least with the glass in place.

[Dino]

Remove from roof,tighten three screws inside of base.
Don't think you can get rid of sloppiness at the mirror head.At least with the glass in place.

I think you are correct.  Removing the glass would not be something I would be willing to try.  My mirror is fairly loose at the mirror head.  It won't move when driving but I can flick the night time switch as the whole thing will move.  I haven't looked into it much but I think I can make the ball a bit bigger and more snug by dipping it into superglue.

[XS29L9Bxxxxxx]

Thanks for the suggestions, as I will try them out 

[myk]

Necro-posting because I've got this issue as well.  I've already tried tightening the screws down as far as they can go, but I've still got a very loose mirror.  Any suggestions?  Did someone really stuff part of a beer can into the mirror?  Lol...

[Bob T]

Just the screws need a turn maybe...mine gets a weird vibration on at 107km to about 116km/h ( 75 mph) so hard it makes viewing a problem, then the vibration just disappears when the speed comes up. Just some quirk I guess, it must be the wheels because it got less when I swapped the rears across

[Dino]

I ended up fixing this on mine and if I recall I only had to tighten something in there.  Used a drop of loctite to keep it in place.  For the life of me I can't remember exactly what I did but whatever it is, it's still holding.

[John L]

Just took care of this problem with mine yesterday. Remove the mirror and you will find 3 screws, in a triangle pattern, holding a small metal plate that goes over the ball end of the mirror stem. Check the tightness of the screws. I tightened the 2 screws on one side all the way down and used the single screw on the other side to set the tension. Worked well and now the mirror stays in place. If that is not enough I would think you could put a very slight bend upward in the plate and then reassemble. Once you drop the mirror it will be very easy to figure out how to tighten the whole thing up. HTH

[myk]

Thank you guys, I'll give it another shot with the screws...

[Dino]

That's it!  I can't believe I forgot that...scary!   

I put a drop of Loctite on each screw and did exactly the same as John did.  It's been over a year now I think and I can flick it from day to night without moving the housing at all.  I did make the movement a little tighter than stock.  My wife has her own toy car and rarely drives mine due to the fuel smell so it was set for my driving position.  And once set there is no reason to adjust unless you miraculously shrink or grow overnight...which is not out of the question...but highly unlikely.

[myk]

Took the base off, and what I found is that the ball in the ball/socket assembly that holds the mirror is actually "grinding" down in the socket itself, thus allowing movement of the mirror.  I tightened the screws even further, but I wonder if I'm just going to end up stripping the screws or their holes at some point.  Thanks anyways guys, you set me in the proper direction...

[XS29L9Bxxxxxx]

Took the base off, and what I found is that the ball in the ball/socket assembly that holds the mirror is actually "grinding" down in the socket itself, thus allowing movement of the mirror.  I tightened the screws even further, but I wonder if I'm just going to end up stripping the screws or their holes at some point.  Thanks anyways guys, you set me in the proper direction...

I wound up taking some aluminum foil and layering it in there, then tightening the screws, now it holds like a champ! 

Good thread, great solution 

[myk]

Sounds good to me-I'll keep that foil trick ready to go...

[John L]

Don't be afraid to clean the end and add a dab of grease to it. If you need a bit more tension take the retainer plate out and put a slight upward bend on it, just a slight bend though.

[TexasStroker]

It has been a LONG time since I did this, but I remember the mirror would literally drop down under acceleration and on bad streets.  At the time I was dating a girl that lived on a brick street...(The Charger did not approve of her).

I finally got tired of the mirror constantly having to be adjusted (or held), pulled it apart, and realized the ball was just too loose in the socket...Literally took some black electrical tape and wrapped it, reassembled, and it has been perfect ever since.

I was prob 17 at the time, but it is holding up to this day so I can't really critique the decision too much, haha.  I did spend that extra 2-3 minutes to make sure no one could see the tape upon reassembly.