Tried to sign up, never got an email yet. 240 Wagon 1990

Having trouble figuring out how to get the old mirror stalk off to replace a broken mirror. On other forums or posts they simply to grab the stalk and pull, but seems like I could do some damage doing that. What direction do I pull, away from the windshield or toward the windshield? I have a replacement mirror assembly from salvage. Anyone know how I can post a pic? Thanks!

Hi,

You are right, it can be rather tough to get it to move.
The stalk of the rear viewing mirror is held in by an expanding spring loaded set of bars.

As I Remember, the stalk itself has a tulip looking tip that spreads the bars and the groove behind the head is designed to be hard to loosen.

As I Remember, you just have to pull it towards you but rock it backwards with a curved motion downward. It takes one swift motion and it all metal up there, so it hard to break I think!

The trickiest thing is getting the plastic cover off first without breaking the tabs that hold it in little tiny square holes. The cover gets brittle and always goes off color from the white head liner.
They do come in tan and black on older cars. That one item that has stayed standard over the years, as far as I know.

I hope you are you replacing the whole mirror, as a unit?
I think the ball inside the mirrors plastic housing base is something you can’t deal with.
As I Remember, because it is built as unit with the reflective part sealing the box.

Hope this helps!

Phil

The replacement has a silver screw in the middle of the flat part that fits into the roof fitting. It has little raised bumps on the sides. If I could post pics I could show you the entire thing. I tried to register but never got an email to set up a password.

Here are the pics

https://ibb.co/VYPrRrq
https://ibb.co/0ftfYYT
https://ibb.co/4fQPSMc

Hi

Thanks for the pictures! Thats a 1990 240 car?
They made me go look at my 1991 to see if I had lost my mind!
I feel better now that my mirror does have the plastic cover that I spoke about. These cover go all the way back to my 1978 GT.
I will have to make a mental note to look twice at my 1992 &1993 cars to see what they have.
They are under a COVID rest period for the last nine months in a garage of my South house. The spread is too hot, for us at our ages, to be with them there!

We all know that Volvo makes product changes and they can be very subtle, this must be another one!
Yours looks to be a flat black plate that covers the whole mount up in the roof. Actually looks neater or newer and I wonder if it out of a Seven or Nine series car?

I gather you didn’t pull that used mirror from the car or you would remember how hard you yanked it.
Like Dave said, it does seem brutal!

One has to remember that Volvo made their design for that mirror to be removable for safety reasons. It’s going to be tight but I assume it is supposed to break away in an accident.
I’m not sure what is likely to hit it, since the car doesn’t come with bench seats, but the sudden stop of a impact, front or rear, might dislodge it. If it knocks that mirror loose I cannot imagine how loud the impact would be!
So in any case, I like Dave’s description of it being “brutal.”

Just make sure you grab the stalk to leverage it in and out.

Phil

Which way do you yank it toward the rear of the car I assume, or toward the front? Thanks, still haven't got the courage to do it yet. I had it in a shop recently and they would not touch it.

Hi,

I see you haven’t gotten brutal yet!

As far as direction and strength you just have to strong arm it downward and back towards you.

The part about using your “butts mass” might be a bit of over kill, but, it’s still a fair statement!

The last post about the wires is correct, as the pin or Nub on the mirror itself, is held by a hearty spring in a plate mounted to the roof.
The spring spreads apart up in the mounting plate! I want to say, it grips the outer sides of the nub. So the pull will straight back and down in relation to the sides of the car.
The arm itself does not rotate any until it clears the mounting plate.
That’s why it needs a “hefty jerk” to rock it out of there.

Grab and grip it only by the black metal stem and not by the housing of the mirror or you will break that for sure. All of the mirrors adjustment is done with the socket ball inside the plastic housing.

When you jerk it hard enough, you will be surprised at how easy it was and why it took you so long to get with it in a manly manner! (:-)

Just keep in mind you are getting rid of it as you have a replacement in hand!
Going back keep your grippers on the black stem and only thump it back up in there like the others suggested.

Phil

It does take a bit of guts the first time you do it. To give you some idea of the force that may be required, it's designed to be a breakaway mirror in an accident without the stalk breaking to become a sharp weapon. Pulling it toward you when it pops out helps keep you from pushing the mirror and your hands into the windshield, but if it happens to pop out going the other way then it's still mission accomplished. Grab it solidly near the end of the stalk with both hands so you've got a good firm grip. Increasingly attempt to rock it back and forth a bit until you get the feeling it's about to start moving then give it one extra good yank towards you and it will pop out. As long as you're holding it by the whole stalk, it's hard to imagine breaking it.

Getting it back in requires a bit more finesse. Have the pin centered and more or less push it straight back in. Using your fist may be a bit hard on your hands, but you can certainly start by trying that way. Art's suggestion of using a honking good solid rubber mallet is a good idea. Next best suggestion is perhaps using a block of wood as a protector with a heavy hammer. A few light taps to make sure you're on target then one good solid tap in the right spot and it should pop right back in. Make sure the little alignment studs are in place when you're done.
--
Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now

I see you've had this issue since January. It does take a bit of faith that nothing will break but you just have to grit your teeth. I'd suggest this -- sitting in the front seat use two hands as has been suggested and use a pulling motion back toward you and down (so you use your mass sitting there to get the most force). Do you have the replacement in hand? You'll note that the "latch" on the mirror consists of two parallel steel wires. On the anchor part is a round solid ball which must get forced between the two wires. Those wires are stiff and that's what makes the job difficult to DO and UNDO (owners of British sports cars with wire wheels will get the reference). You haven't been steered wrong so it's time to get to it. - Dave

You do not do anything with that screw. After yanking the old mirror down you have to snap the new one in its place. It seems brutal but that's how it's done. - Dave

After 20 years of snapping those in with the heel of my hand, I avoid the abuse now and use a heavy rubber mallet. Busted my share of the plastic trim.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Why don't you ever see the headline 'Psychic Wins Lottery'?