sidecar paul wrote:I've used Charlie's cable tie method for removing the mirror glasses from their pods in the past but when I had a particularly tight one I actually smashed a glass when tugging so hard.
Dang Paul I feel your pain..
since the Charlie - cable tie method was proposed I have had some experience now with the rs type mirrors rather than rt- lt alone
the rt - lt glass has a ridge of plastic support across the back of the glass orientated vertically
but I seem to recall the rs type mirrors have a plastic support oriented horizontally ....
so far that technique has worked successfully for me quite a few times .
sad to hear that the process hasn't worked for you .
in all honesty there are some that are hard to remove in any circumstance
but if extreme resistance if felt before popping out .. I suggest that anybody attempting the cable tie method first squirts the rear retaining ball with some form of lubricant to the ball area behind the glass ...with one of those small extension tubes off the lubricant to get in there , followed by a good push and shove movement of the mirror in all directions so that the plastic retainer and ball with the glass move fluidly ...before attempting the pull method ...or the slam the face down method ..
I fear that some pods have been repainted , which could add to the resistance of the pop out characteristic of the plastic retainer off the ball , (not counting the hardening of the plastic backing ant retainer ,,,over the years)
perhaps this could help some one
like your solution also , again great " out of the box solution " mate
cheers