Many months ago while trying to squeeze past my driver’s side with a shopping cart, I, thinking (wrongly?) that the side view mirrors on the XJS fold backwards (i.e. towards the doors) like they do on the X-300s and X-308s, tried to push my driver’s side mirror backward out of the way. It did move a bit, with difficulty and a loud grinding CREAKKKKK sound. Later on when I tried to pull it back in place it made the same sound but didn’t seem to go all the way back where it originally was. As a result of the movement, the mirror also now seemed to shake somewhat whenever the vehicle was in motion, although the pair of mounting screws and base were still firmly in place on the door. This drove me batty.

Yesterday, I decided to remove the mirror assembly mounting screws and see if there was anything I could do to get the mirror to stay firmly in place like it was supposed to… I discovered there is a small coil spring and a “cam” washer (my name for it, I think Jag has their own nickname for it) underneath the base of the mirror assembly, but no other parts. Not seeing any way to correct the issue, I put the assembly back on the door, but now it just flops all over the place like a broken chicken wing.

How to fix anyone - or am I going to have to buy a new mirror assembly?

 

I don't know what year your car is, but on my 1992 they definitely do fold in. Manually, of course, but they do fold in.

 

'94 4.0 coupe. One thing i noticed on the Jag Classic Part site is that for some reason Jag had side view mirrors that are particular only to the '92 MY. They changed them somehow for some reason in '93 and kept them that way until the last year of XJS production (i.e. different part #). So, I guess it's possible they could be different (?)

 

New mirror is an option.

OR

Remove from car, place in the correct position and JB Weld the innards in place, and refit to said car 24 hours after it has cured.

The LH (we are RHD) on the 1985 Red Beast had the shakes, and that is the fix I used 20 years ago.

Granted, it will no longer fold, so what.

 

I know that they went to body-coloured towards the end, and either concurrently or before that, added heated mirrors, so those might be the different part numbers. I did notice, however, that JCP shows that different markets had different mirrors. While I would be surprised if the basic assembly, rather than the mirror surface itself, varied much, it is possible that, say, Japan got folding mirrors while Garland, Texas, did not ('coz of all that elbow room ya'll got down there...).

 

V12 has body colored side mirrors.

You either do what Grant says and JBWeld them back in place, or buy replacements.

My manually folding mirror went, and the replacement I bought was also rusted in place.

They are not repairable. Just get used to non-folding side mirrors.

 

Only later cars. My 89 has the bog standard chrome mirros, as used from like 1978ish...

 

I think that's the route I'll go (first), so I c an hopefully avoid having to pull the entire door panel in order to disconnect the wiring to r/r with another mirror assembly. Instead of JB Quik Weld, though, I'd like to go with that Kwik-Steel epoxy putty, if I can find some still. That's amazing stuff and I have used it in the past on my Jags. Only problem is I haven't seen it at Walmart or Lowe's in a long time, so maybe it's no longer even made.

 

FYI, if you undo the two Pozidrive screws that hold on the mirrors (they have captive nuts) you can ease the loom out and disconnect the loom at a plug, very easily. Just make sure the door end of the loom does not fall back into the door while you change the mirrors!

 

Thanks for the info., Greg. When I had originally tried to pull the assembly out of the hole, it seems like only a few inches of wire came out and then it stopped firmly.. I was afraid to try to pull harder, for fear of tearing something loose or damaging the connector, and THEN I would definitely have to take the door panel apart to fix that issue.

 

By way of update: I went ahead and tried using the Kwik-Steel putty (or whatever it’s called) but, dumb me, I was trying to work mostly in the dark and with the mirror assembly only unscrewed from the car door but not un-wired. I worked the putty into the slight gap between the base of the stem and the base of the assembly itself, and also fashioned a narrow “collar” of the stuff all the way around the gap (I pressed it down flat and trimmed it. It’s dark grey when dry, but not unsightly on the stem, as fashioned). Unfortunately, BECAUSE I was working in the dark, and in the heat, and with the mirror assembly only detached from the door but still connected by the wire, I somehow goofed big time and managed to putty it so that, after I screwed the assembly back in place on the door, the mirror was folded back against the window in THAT position, instead of at the proper 45-degree angle.

Although an hour (i.e. K.S.’'s “cure” time) had passed at the time of my unpleasant discovery, VERY fortunately the Kwik-Steel did not adhere the two parts of the assembly together for some reason, and I easily pushed the mirror back into the 45-degree position. Yet, despite my goof, I do seem to have made the issue a LOT better than it was before : the “collar” I fashioned supports the upper part of the mirror assembly firmly in place vertically and, with just the slightest pressure with my hand, I can fold the assembly backwards to the door window for car washes and the like. It pretty much stays in the correct position unless I slam the door hard or a strong jet of water hits it. Amazingly, the mirror glass also no longer vibrates/shakes even while going down the road.