I moved my drivers side mirror in towards the truck body and the mirror glass popped out into my hand. I have all the parts that came out of the mirror assembly. How do i re-insert the glass back into the housing? I thought that i could pull the motors out and slide them onto the white threaded tabs and then reinstall back into mirror housing but i just cant get the motors out. i took out the 3 screws out of the inside of the mirror head. Not on the door panel, i thought that it would allow me to get my hand into guide the tabs back into posidtion, that didnt work either. Whats the trick? Do i need to remove the entire mirror assembly and install the mirror glass on a work bench, or can i just replace the glass on the truck.

Thanks

 

Thought that they essentially snapped in place. You can easily move the mirrors by hand against the mechanism that drives them. Kinda sounds like a zipper. Try to figure out if anything is broken & why it fell out in the 1st place or expect it to fall out again.

 

It was about -10 air temp, with 25 -30 mph wind. = colder then my ex's va-jj. I moved the mirror in towards the truck and the glass popped out. Something coulda broke (its plastic) but it sure dont look like anything did. Whats the technique for installing mirror glass? There are springs inside the plastic tabs that put outward pressure on the screw motors. You cannot get your hand in the housing to push them together while pushing the glass into position. What am i missing?

 

I don't know if I did mine the right way, but here's what I did... Removed the glass completely (sounds like this is already done for you). Then I removed the motors from the housing. There are black tabs that need to be depressed around the perimeter to do this. Start on one end and work your way around the motor, it'll eventually give it up. Then I unplugged the motors and went into the warmth of the shop and re-installed the motors onto their ball studs. (You can also disassemble the motor and re-install it around the ball stud if the rubber boot gives you any hassle.) Then go back outside into the cold and plug the motors back in and route the wires through the retainer clips. Hold the motor into position and index the motors to match up to their seats in the plastic housing, then push the glass into position (make sure the motors start into their recesses and the plastic ball in the center of the glass seats). Then you can push on each side of the glass to seat the motors fully. I had to reach in behind the glass with a screwdriver to seat one of the motors, but it worked. Be extra careful with the ball studs- if you break one you're screwed. I'm sure there has to be an easier way, but somebody smarter than me will have to guide you thru it......good luck!

 

Pop the white plastic pieces out of the mirror glass backing plate and insert them back into the motors. Then you can pop the glass back onto them.
Edit:
From FORD manual:
Remove the friction pins from the mirror backing plate.

Installation

Install the friction pins into the mirror backing plate by using the special tool (heat gun/hair dryer) to warm the mirror backing plate sockets at the top and outboard positions.

NOTE: Rotate the power mirror jackscrews in the mirror housing with the locator tabs facing the center of the housing.

Push the power mirror jackscrews into the mirror housing until they bottom out.

Using the special tool, warm the power mirror motor jackscrew and center mirror backing plate sockets.

WARNING: Place a shop towel between the mirror glass and the hand to avoid personal injury in the instance of glass breakage.

NOTE: If equipped, connect the electrical connector.

Align the friction pins and install the mirror glass by applying sufficient force to the mirror glass until the mirror backing plate snaps into the center pivot of the mirror housing.

WARNING: Place a shop towel between the mirror glass and the hand to avoid personal injury in the instance of glass breakage.

Engage the power mirror jackscrews into the mirror backing plate.
Apply sufficient force to the mirror glass until the two main pivots and the power mirror jackscrews snap into the mirror backing plate.

Test the mirror for normal operation.I can provide illustrations if needed.