Passenger mirror hanging by the drive cable


See how the metal support has been severely corroded.
I own a 2004 XJ8 with 127k miles. The other day when I was cleaning the car the passenger side outside mirror fell off from the body of the car and is now hanging by the cable that drives the mirror. Does anyone have any experience repairing this type of mirror or have a diagram on how to repair? The metal support for the mirror completely destroyed from corrosion. Can this support be replaced and then reattached to the car? I would appreciate any help on this. Thank you.

 

I JUST completed replacing a passenger side mirror on a 2007 VDP. It was broken inside, similar to your but had not fallen - All I did was bump it with the recycling bin when passing by and checked: no scratch, yay! Next day I noticed it hanging at a slight angle and when I felt it I knew it was gonna go. I wanted to avoid it doing so while driving and swinging like a pendulum repeatedly into the door, Kind like what you have,

Your best recourse is a used mirror off eBay. I see them for $100 and up, most around 150. Make sure to get a power folding if thats what you have now - mine was a power folding. Don't be confused by descriptions that say "Power" right side mirror - they mean its a power adjustable, lol.

You will have to take a chance that the used mirror is not badly corroded, I did this by buying from a southern location in the US. The first one I got was bad. Sent it back when I got a look inside. The second w=one was nearly new inside. Depends on what they were exposed to I guess. The Mezak Alloy is a joke. Jaguar should have fixed these as a running change, but never did all the way through at least 2007 - not sure about 2008-09 X351.

Good luck. Also don't worry about color. The shell is removable. You have to pull the inside door panels (upholstered and plastic under panel). three bolts under a plastic cover and a wire connection is it. You will be all set

 

Thanks John for the additional information, I will search for a replacement on Ebay. I had read that the Mezak Alloy is a joke from other forum members. I'll let everyone know the outcome on my repair.

 

I took my car to the local auto body shop who removed the mirror and ordered a new replacement, about $400 total cost. They kept the old mirror so the outside shell could be installed on the new mirror. That way the color and fading will exactly match the car. They removed the old mirror in about 5 minutes, by pulling back the inside door panel, unplugging the electrical connection and removing 3 bolts that hold the mirror to the door. The cost of the replacement mirror from Jaguar was about $300. We were worried that a used mirror may have the same corrosion problems and perhaps would not fit properly. Waiting for the part to arrive.

 

Good move and not too bad at $300. I assume that is a non power folding mirror, as I priced them at about $429./Hope your door didnt take a ding in when it dropped off! You may want to ask the body shop to vacuum out the bottom inside of the door. Mine was dropping what looked like kitty litter on the doorsills through the drain holes and I suspect might have clogged them and caused water retention issues if I hadnt noticed and cleaned it up.

It was bits of the corroded old mirror frame when it broke, I guess. These cars have drain holes that pass through the rubber seal under the door and clog over time. My previous car sounded odd with water in the door swishing back and forth until I made this discovery!