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I agree, mine will be here on Thursday and I will post how the quality turns out. If anything I may return and get the ones from 1A Auto since mine aren't the same ones that sous recommended
I've never returned anything from ebay....I suppose you just pay return shipping?
I've never returned anything from ebay....I suppose you just pay return shipping?
I think so, different companys have different return polices on ebay. if they seem like they are good quality i will just keep them, i am pretty sure they are all made in china anyways. The ones i ordered are very similar to what sous recommended but they are manual adjusting mirrors.
I have exactly the same mirrors as Paul (AllAboutMPG) and we both have the same or very similar mirrors as afmedic who turned us onto them. The ones afmedic received were wrapped differently than the ones Paul and I received, but they appear to be the same mirror. They did require a bit of modification in the way of removing or shortening plastic placement pegs. But, after 5 minutes of figuring out the first one, the second one went on very quickly. They fit well, look good and are 10x better than the OEM towing mirrors. I can now see the entire lane on either side of the trailer all the way to the end.
I am sure they are made in China, but sometimes things like this are just not worth paying 4x more.
Mine arrived today and I installed them. Mixed feelings. Will they do the job? Yes, no question. Are they a good fit? Not really. I removed the studs and held each one between the socket and another nut driver and ground them down on the bench grinder so they would fit thru the outer door skin holes. (Be careful when you do this as one got away from me and buggared the threads pretty good, but luckily I had a metric die to re-thread it with). I cut off the plastic cross as recommended. When I went to fit them up the top would just not pull in tight. I looked up Sous thread about how he shaved the square protrusion from around the top stud, did that, still wouldn't pull up tight. Next I shaved a tiny bit off the plastic loop at the top that loops onto the die cast metal piece, I removed the top stud and shaved off the ridge where it screws in and I ground down the shoulder on the stud so it would seat all the way into the mirror. The top still would not pull in all the way, just like SRB150 reported in his post. Maybe I am just too picky. I do wish I had ordered the ones from 1A, but I will run these for now. Leaving for Mexico Wed, these should be a big help backing down the very narrow boat ramp down there as I can easily see the back wheels now. I will connect the turn signal later, but I don't need the heated mirrors in Tucson.
unscrew studs with a socket
they look and feel sturdy
Small gap at top, the OEM mirrors hugged tightly here.
how I held the studs for grinding on the bench grinder
So, there is something strange going on here. Either the molds for the mirrors being used are not the same or the door holes and mounting surfaces are not the same. We know afmedic had to modify the metal stud a bit, I did not. We know that I had to remove/cut some of the plastic off the back, not sure if others did. I cannot remember for sure what AllAboutMPG did, if anything to mount his mirrors successfully.
I do know that the mirrors I installed are tight and secured against the door and weather barrier, not like bigb56. I apologize for the troubles you may be having and feel bad for recommending a product that is not holding up to our expectations.
From here on out, I would recommend that anyone considering these mirrors be warned about possible fitment issues, or go with the 1A Auto mirrors as Stewart recommended above.
bigb56, yours fit exactly like mine do. I removed the DR side this weekend to fiddle around with it some more performing the same steps you did but these efforts made no change to the fitment. I gave up and will run them. I do hope they do not leak water and if they do, probably will add some foam gasket on the top edge. Comparing to the OEM take off, there is a big difference in build quality. You get what you pay for as we all know! I think they are worth the $120. Better versions are almost 2x so all in all, not terribly disappointing. Buyers be advised!
So, there is something strange going on here. Either the molds for the mirrors being used are not the same or the door holes and mounting surfaces are not the same. We know afmedic had to modify the metal stud a bit, I did not. We know that I had to remove/cut some of the plastic off the back, not sure if others did. I cannot remember for sure what AllAboutMPG did, if anything to mount his mirrors successfully.
I do know that the mirrors I installed are tight and secured against the door and weather barrier, not like bigb56. I apologize for the troubles you may be having and feel bad for recommending a product that is not holding up to our expectations.
From here on out, I would recommend that anyone considering these mirrors be warned about possible fitment issues, or go with the 1A Auto mirrors as Stewart recommended above.
Sous , i got mine in today and they do look exactly like yours. They came very well wrapped and seem to be decent quality. i just bolted mine up without any modification, but they don't completely seal on the top edge( although its pretty close, i can still see a little of the insulation on the back of the mirror). what exactly are you guys modifying to make them fit better? i saw bigb56 was milling down the washer on the bolts but i don't see how that would help me as it seemed like there was a big enough hole on the outside doorskin
I am watching this thread with great interest. From what I am seeing the ebay ones are hit or miss on quality and fit.
Right now I am leaning towards the 1A recommendations.
I had to trim down the same plastic piece on both mirrors in order for them to fit tight against the door. They do fit tight, just as close as the OEM mirrors did. It took me a few moments to figure out where they needed to be trimmed on the first one, but the second one went on within a few seconds. I did NOT have to trim down the lug as afmedic and bigb56 did. The holes in the door frame were more than large enough to fit the lug.
Below is a crude drawing of the only piece I trimmed down. I cut about 1/2" off the plastic piece indicated in red, which I cut with dykes or diagonal cutters.
Once this piece was trimmed, the mirrors fit very well.
Just be aware that if your truck did not come with a feature on your newly purchased mirrors from 1AAuto and you run NEW wiring to activate those features (power adjustment, heat, light, folding, telescoping, or blinkers), doing so will VOID YOUR WARRANTY on the mirrors. There was a thread recently where a member went through this issue and was denied warranty coverage for an otherwise warrantable situation, and it was because he ran wiring for something in the new mirrors which was not part of his original equipment supply.
Understand that I'm not dissing on 1AAuto (although I do not agree with their stated position), I'm just trying to make sure that members are aware of the "fine print" before they invest into powered upgrades with the new mirrors.
...although I do not agree with their stated position....
I dunno Pete, I don't have a problem with a company not wanting to warranty a product they sold, that the end user modified. Cutting into the wires and modifying the mirrors to get them to work on a rig would disallow any warranty coverage on any product sold by any company, not just 1A Auto.
Just be aware that if your truck did not come with a feature on your newly purchased mirrors from 1AAuto and you run NEW wiring to activate those features (power adjustment, heat, light, folding, telescoping, or blinkers), doing so will VOID YOUR WARRANTY on the mirrors. There was a thread recently where a member went through this issue and was denied warranty coverage for an otherwise warrantable situation, and it was because he ran wiring for something in the new mirrors which was not part of his original equipment supply.
Understand that I'm not dissing on 1AAuto (although I do not agree with their stated position), I'm just trying to make sure that members are aware of the "fine print" before they invest into powered upgrades with the new mirrors.
Originally Posted by Stewart_H
I dunno Pete, I don't have a problem with a company not wanting to warranty a product they sold, that the end user modified. Cutting into the wires and modifying the mirrors to get them to work on a rig would disallow any warranty coverage on any product sold by any company, not just 1A Auto.
Stewart
Was the mirror wiring modified or the truck wiring modified? I thought it was adding wires and switched on the truck side. As in to make the mirrors fold or telescope.
Was the mirror wiring modified or the truck wiring modified? I thought it was adding wires and switched on the truck side. As in to make the mirrors fold or telescope.
Oh, now here I thought the wiring in the mirror was cut.
We are slightly digressing from the OP's intent. My understanding was that the mirror wiring was left intact and the truck was modified to supply power where it had never done so before -- I may not be remembering the situation accurately, though.. That said, I can understand the vendor's concern. Regardless, if the warranty specifications are written such that the required voltages, resistances, etc. are met, then they (vendor) should not have a problem limiting the customer's creativity. Regardless, I was just trying to do a "public service announcement" so that the "buyer can be aware".
