I did a heck of a lot of reading on various forums last fall and finally finished my install project. Figured the majority of it out using a thread here and another on a different forum. Hopefully this is an acceptable first post as I tend to lurk & read for the most part. This project all started because of a broken bottom glass in my factory towing mirrors and what the charge for a replacement..then snowballed when the idea of defrost mirrors came about. Overkill is underrated anyway!

A friend helped me with the bulk work of the wiring which was a major pain, we fashioned the switch bezels out of the OE bracket the switches came in & mounted the radar detectors mute button where the original switch was. Because of the location of the new switches we had to delicately massage the door support to allow the door panel to sit flush again. Done again I think you could push them a little farther to the right in the panel and avoid this but we didn't account for the pig tails in mock up.

Overall it was a big headache but worth the time. It has made driving around town a lot more enjoyable with the bigger glass, defrost in foul weather, & fold for wonderful folks in parking lots. Biggest irk of the whole project was how much that dang relay from Ford costs that allows the fold to function.

 

Very nice! Two thumbs up!

 

Damn nice work!

 

Looks really nice!!

 

is that a memory switch under the mirror switch?

 

Thanks!

Much appreciated!

Thank you!

It is. Luck of the draw as to whether you get the power fold mirrors with that feature if buying used like I did, not all of them have them and I couldn't find an OE mirror number for the ones with that feature.

 

I must be nice to have spot mirrors that aren't useless. I'd change my mirrors just for that.

 

I have them, just didn't think of using that function. Never saw the switch before, but I know it requires a drivers seat module if you use the feature. where did you find the driver seat module and switch? I put my 08+ mirror switch in my old mirror switch hole, and put the extend right below it as I don't have a crew cab and have more room in the bezel. Was gonna wire them tomorrow.

 

Wow- looks great and I bet the heated/auto-fold has helped make all of the effort fade away.
Any tips you could share? (I have a '02 and have been on the lookout for a set of mirrors on c-list)
Thanks.

 

Where did you get the mirror heat switch? I put 05 mirrors on mine and have yet to hook up the heat. I like the look of that switch, very clean.

 

You can move up to the non power fold mirrors for a much more reasonable amount. I knew after putting a good amount of seat time in our '09 350 hauling I had to have me a pair. It makes a huge difference in driving for me!

I haven't gotten that far in the interior swap yet, the wiring was run so I didn't have to fish through the door/door jam again and when I pull everything out that will be addressed (hopefully). Your set up looks nice! Mine would have been way to crowded to try and stuff onto that panel.

Honestly its a dig in and get your hands dirty project. We pulled a good portion of the dash apart to make wire running easier - you'll use/pull a lot of wire from one side of the truck to another. It's obvious but leave extra wire and function test everything before assembly - I had gotten a bad switch and it would have made me cry to find out after install. Hardest part of the swap for us was figuring out exactly where to place the switches. If you were able to get a junkyard truck and cut the wiring harness with the mirror related switches it would have made life MUCH easier

That switch is an OE part from a similar year Taurus. The OE springs are pitiful and mushy so I went to the hardware store and swapped the top spring for something more robust for a positive 'click.' The spring required a little trimming to not be completely overkill.

As a side note the '09+ mirrors have heated top AND bottom glass. I found that out searching and decided if I were spending the money that is what my truck was getting.

 

Nice job. I too have an '02 that I installed '08 mirrors on a few years back and have never looked back (pun intended). A couple questions on the heat switch; 1) similar year as the mirrors or truck? 2) is it a timed switch or straight on/off? I currently run a on/off rocker switch and want a timed switch.

Thanks and again very nice job.

P.S. Thanks for the info on '09 having heated spots I may have to upgrade to them.

 

Hey Dave,

No problem at all. I would hate for someone to go out and buy a set of mirrors not knowing, when either one typically costs the same.

I looked up the part number I bought for the rocker switch and it is from a '95 Mercury Cougar or Ford Thunderbird so my original post was mistaken. The switch is timed, somewhere in the 10-15 minute range I have never timed it.

Far as looking back goes I got scolded at a young age for not using my mirrors buy an old cowboy at a horse show. One of those things that sticks with you for whatever reason

Also have a '51 F1 with a hopped up flat head lurking about

 

Thanks for the info, I will look for the switch. I have also seen one, I think it was in an Expedition at work, that used a round push button that was nice but yours matches the other factory switches better.

Do you visit the other side of the forum for the F-1?

 

Nice looking truck. Now you need to put cab lights on.
Back to the mirrors, you can hook up the heat wire direct so they stay on. Just like on older models.