My 1983 stock sun visors move all around the place when I am driving, and they will not stay up and in place any more. Are my stock sun visors simply worn out from being 30 years old, or are the 1980-1986 design without the end clips a bad design that doesn't last very long? How long do these sun visors supposed to last before they typically start sagging? I suppose I can drill holes in my roof and get the later 1987+ ones with the end clips, but I would rather not do that. LMC sells new visors and rods for the 1980-1986 models, but are these going to last for very long?

Does anyone in here have a stock set of sun visors that are not sagging?

 

I have a tan pair. I went to a modern set except I ran into a problem. I got the visors mounted good but I am assuming under the newer model headliner there is a standoff to screw the clip into. My roof doesn't have this and I didn't like the idea of drilling through my roof with a sheet metal screw on accident.

 

I converted to the later model. The roof is double walled up front where the visors mount. That's how trucks can have cab lights, but the screws don't poke through the inside. Unless you use 1" or longer screws, your not going to go through the outer sheet metal.

 

The roofs on these trucks are double walled, so if you use discretion while drilling your pilot hole you'll be ok. I'd imagine they get floppy depending on how often they're used. I've pulled a few visors from the JY that were still good and most (4/5) of my trucks OE visors are still fine. I swapped over my '84 to the 87+ visors because they would hit me in the head when turning, but yeah, the rest are running OE visors.

 

Thanks, dohc_chump! If the new visor rods will actually last and hold the visor up for a few years, I would rather skip the drilling in the roof and stick with the 1980-1986 visors. But if they are just going to flop in a couple of years, I will go with the later design.

That's good information about the screw size! I was afraid I would drill into the roof. How do you go through the headliner to drill the hole without tearing the fabric up?

 

The best way I've found is the same way I make holes in carpet for the dimmer switch and seat bolts. I take my soldering gun, heat it up and punch a hole in the fabric. That way it doesn't tear and it's a near perfect hole. The heat also melts the point of entry so no loose strings or fabric appears later. If it wont poke through the backing board then I just drill the board after I've poked through the fabric.

You can also use a hand held propane torch and heat the tip of a phillips screw driver and do the same, just don't set anything on fire. You also may be able to just take a knife and make a very small "X" in the fabric, then drill the back board.

 

The arm and bracket needs replacing. VERY comon problem, infact why they were redesigned slightly in 1987.

E0TZ-1004144-A: Fits 1980-1996 F-series and Bronco, either side. Remove the old bracket from your visor and install the new one. This is if you can get the old arm and bracket out of the old visor without damaging the visor.

Be warned without the center clip, the bracket will get damaged again.

Your best bet, and I recommend, getting a visor set out of a 1987-1996.

I've done the 1987-1996 visor conversion myself, and will not regret it one bit. Get the all vinyl one as this will be the best match, and dye it to your interior color. You can use the fabric ones, but they usually look out of place.

 

What do you use to dye the 1987-1996 vinyl sun visors? SEM paint, or something else? And how well will the dye or paint hold up, with the visor snapping in and out of a clip?

 

I used SEM on mine. I also pulled used a vinyl pair instead of fabric. If you follow the directions and use the SEM adhesion promoter, they seem to hold up fine. Below is a couple pics of mine. The visors were originally a tan color and I changed them to Caramel.

 

Those look good, thunderguns71! Did you just use the screws that came with the center clip, to screw into the roof? Is it really that simple?

 

It's pretty simple. Once I decided where I wanted to put the center clips, I drilled the holes and used the factory screws. I'm sure a self tapping screw would work as well. Just make sure the head isn't too large for the plastic pieces.

 

I Used sem products, and it has held up very well. With it snapping out of the clip, it will wear off. Nothing can really be done about that, but it is hidden with the visor in place for the most part. Getting a color that is close is optimal.

 

thunderguns71, what is the trick to painting around the mirror on the passenger's side?

 

Masking tape. Covered the whole mirror in tape. Let it overhang some, then took a razor blade and trimmed the inside edge. Works every time. I also done the same thing with the sticker on the drivers side, just had to be a lot more careful.

 

If you don't want to change visors you can do what I did. I bought some good velcro and stuck it to the roof and visor. I don't have a head liner so it stuck real well to the metal ceiling. It's held up now for 10 years! Mine were sloppy too. Works like a charm now and it cost virtually nothing.