Every old car has issues. Rufus is no different. It's just part of the journey. My PPI looked for accident damage, serious engine issues, and other major show stoppers. So part of "onboarding" the car was doing my own inspection - pushing all the buttons, driving around, and doing a deep cleaning underneath to look for damage.
The two most immediate items that stuck out on the drive were a bad steering bushing (which was caught in the PPI) and the drivers side mirror being loose. Both are fairly common issues. I had my friend's garage fix the steering bush and I took on the mirror. There was a bit of a learning curve to it so I thought I'd write it up in case it helps anyone else.
So what happens with the flag mirrors is there is a spring loaded screw ("guide tube" is what they call it. But it's a hollow screw. Fight me) that connects the "flag" (mirror housing) to the base that screws to the door. This allows the mirror to pivot if hit. That screw, (sorry, "guide tube") can back out over time and then mirror flops around and can fall off. I had that problem, and also my mirror motor assembly was not working properly. If you are lucky you can just re-tighten the guide tube. If you are less lucky you may need to disassemble the mirror, fish the wires back through the base and perform some repairs/replacement. Which is just what I needed to do.
For you lucky stiffs:
You remove the base from the door with a hex key. The wiring harness runs up the middle of the big guide tube and the middle of it has a star pattern. You can get a flathead screwdriver in there and try and push the screw in and re-tighten it, being careful not to mangle the wiring. Get a buddy to help; you have to push pretty hard against the spring. You'll want towels & painters tape etc to protect the paint. Hopefully this is all you need. I was not this lucky.
My additional steps: (to replace the guide tube)
Remove the glass by angling it down as far as it will go and then use a dental pick or fine screwdriver to rotate the locking ring. It only moves about a cm. The glass will pull out and then you can disconnect the two heater wires and remove the glass. My thumb is on the locking ring in the pic below.
Once the glass is out, you can unscrew the 3 screws on the mirror motor housing and unplug the VAG connector to remove it. (hey, I didn't name it)
To fish the wires back through the base you need to push the molex connector pins back out. Finding the right tool is not as easy as I would have liked. Pins can get mangled in the process but fortunately are standard items. If you crumple one, just cut it off, strip the wire and crimp or solder on a new one. They are $0.074 each. Live it up.
I labelled all the wires and took lots of pictures to make sure I could get all 6 pins back to the right locations afterwards. Some have 1 lead, some have 2. and I am color blind. (It makes this more fun) Fish them back through the base of the mirror and now you can remove the whole assembly and work on it on a bench to resolve whatever is wrong. And then put it all back together.
Finding Parts
The electric flag mirrors appeared on the 911 from 1987 to 1991 and also appear on the 944. Some of the part numbers are 944 if I recall correctly.
The parts I wound up finding online were:
Full metal housing: PN: 911 731 927 01 Mid America PN 404335 (if you have real damage)
Guide Tube: 911 731 257 03
Mirror housing with motors: Ebay. (these can be $$. Shop around!) I paid a bit over $300, today I am seeing $748 on ebay. Ouch.
Replacement pins for connector: DIGIKEY PN: WM1271-ND MFR Molex 0002081002
Molex pin removal tool: Lisle 56500 (available at most auto parts houses) Other tools I tried were all a little off unfortunately or didn't fit into the VAG connector.
No, that never gets old.
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