Britax mirror heads

[HughF]

My Master t35d has Britax mirror heads, the same type as fitted to defenders and LDV 200/400 vans. They have a ball and socket mounting arrangement with the ball on the end of the aluminium arm.

Does anyone with experience of these on landrovers have a fix for when the mirror simply won't tighten up 'enough' - mine are floppy and passing trucks will cause the mirror to flop downwards, requiring continuous adjustment.

Also, I'm in need of a replacement mirror glass - does anyone know how easy these are to fit?

 

[stuvy]

It’s a new mirror casing as the head in the captive nut/thread is gone

done hundreds of these

 

[Wildefalcon]

Try a tek screw, or a self tapper, as a replacement for the original set screw. And clamp sandpaper between the ball and the tightening plate.

 

[HughF]

Thanks for the input folks... will have a look tomorrow.

 

[Ton-up]

I seem to remember you just have to bend the clamp a bit. Its like a U shape around the ball and if its done up too much or had a clout then they just bend.

 

[roofman]

Have a similar thing on my Nissan cabstars... I Drill and tap a 6mm thread in the outer socket and tighten a 6mm bolt into the ball,it tightens the party up enough to stop it moving about

 

[stuvy]

I seem to remember you just have to bend the clamp a bit. Its like a U shape around the ball and if its done up too much or had a clout then they just bend.

they are indeed

 

[owas]

Idea while youre at it, I added a heated element to mine..

 

[Ton-up]

Those heated replacements are a good upgrade, the ones I fitted to my Defender are superb. Best with a timer relay and momentary switch.

 

[pcwizme]

Those heated replacements are a good upgrade, the ones I fitted to my Defender are superb. Best with a timer relay and momentary switch.

One of my jobs for mine for next week, going to add it to the heated windscreen switch

 

[HughF]

Balls, just ordered a pair of cheap, regular pattern ones.... Is the heated upgrade difficult?

*French electrics, van may catch fire

 

[owas]

I just bought some elements off ebay and stuck it on the back of the mirror , mine are permanently on with the ignition (and I can turn them on from bed, but that's a whole different system)

 

[HughF]

I might look at that - I use the van in all weathers. Heated mirrors would be handy

 

[sako243]

The most difficult bit is routing the cable if you want to do it neatly, but not that difficult.

The best use I get out of them is on rainy days by keeping them on it keeps the rain off them because they're not very shrouded like most modern mirrors.

 

[Wildefalcon]

Can be done, but you might need to get creative.

 

[sako243]

You can do it even neater. There's a write up on LR4x4 I think where one of the members dismantled the hinge mechanism and got the cable to run through the centre of the spring so it wasn't visible at all.

I cheated because I couldn't be bothered to drill through stuff at the time (wanted them installed before a trip) so routed them into the bonnet and wired them up to the rear heated windscreen. I can't see out the back with my seats so the heater is pointless as well as not working.

 

[Wildefalcon]

You can for genuine brittax, but mine were copies: the interior spring is different and would have required a new insert in other to make it work.
This was a good compromise.

 

[HughF]

I haven't had a whole lot of success routing cable through into the doors... There isn't much space in between the door and the door frame. Will have a look though.

Skintop gland drilled into the door would work for external cable routing

 

[HughF]

New mirror heads arrived, but I still can't get them to tighten up. It turns out that the old heads had a plastic curved washer/cup thingy between the ball surface and the inside of the clamp plate. This has fallen out in at least five pieces, into the mud and leaves of the drive.

Are these inserts common land rover parts? Before I get all creative on the lathe and make some.

 

[Wildefalcon]

I expect not available separately. You might need to get creative with old bottle caps, or something.