How do you remove a passenger side mirror on a 1996 Tahoe?

Answer 1

This is for a 1996 Tahoe. Let me first tell you that I got most of this from a previous answer for a 1999 Tahoe and most of this applies so I give full credit to the guy who wrote most of this, whomever he/she is. I'll use quotes for the previous answer stuff.

"First off, I imagine that you are talking about the mirror housing and not just the plate of mirror glass. If you are talking about the mirror glass itself, that is a simple remove and replace with an after-market piece of mirror glass. Auto Zone or Advance Auto Parts, or the generic equivalent, should have the plates. I would advise staying away from the GM store - they are EXPENSIVE to buy there."

If you are replacing the whole mirror assembly,it is a bit more involved. First, the tools you will need include a 1/4" drive ratchet" with a 10mm socket, a wobbler/universal socket, and a 6" extension. I also recommend a small 10mm wrench to help loosen/tighten the nuts.

"Some electrical tape will come in handy to hold the nuts so you don't drop them into the door, never to be seen again. Also, a piece of flexible wire - a thin piece, is nice for holding back the power cords. The outside element is fits through the door with three projecting studs, and is retained by three nuts. You will also have to contend with the power cable for the motor, and possibly heat, if so equipped." Power only is a 4 head pin.

"A large flat-bladed screwdriver is necessary to pop the triangular shaped trim piece that covers the interior-access nuts." For 1996, this trim piece only moves up. You cannot pop it out, so pry it straight up.

"Next, using the wire or tape, grab hold of the power cable on the inside the truck side. Anchor it to the door or tie it off so that the cable cannot drop into the door panel. Separate the two sections of cable - one to the truck side, the other to the soon-to-be-gone mirror side."

For 1996, you may not have sufficient wire slack to do the above. If not, gently but firmly pull the rubber cable housing out of the forward inside door frame and see if you can pull more wire out the forward car body. It's alittle hard to pull out but I did get enough out to get to the car/mirror wire connector at the top. Disconnect the mirror from the cable wire and plug the new mirror wire in and check that it works, i.e. the mirror moves when you adjust it using the conrtrols on the left door panel. This way you won't go through the following just to find out that the new mirror doesn't work.

Use 10mm wrench or ratchet to slightly loosen all three nuts. Next, apply a 1/4" wide/6" long piece of Duct Tape to the nuts and remove the bottom two first with one hand while securely holding onto the duct tape. You could also use the ratchet backed up with a piece of tape. BTW, put duct tape on every single thing you put inside the panel opening. Make sure that the outside mirror is duct taped into position. Now you can remove the third/upper nut. The mirror is ready to spring free. Give it a tug-n-jiggle and out it should come.

The new mirror probably won't fit correctly with the existing rubber gasket so just remove it if that's the case.

"That's the "remove" part, now for the "replace". Guess what, it's the opposite of "removal", but with some warnings. First, Remember to connect the power cable! Also, use tape to seal the nuts into the socket before you try to spin them onto the studs. These are small nuts, on the end of a wobbly extension or flex-drive, and it is easy for them to pop off the stud and down into the door. A bit of tape or putty in the socket will keep them in there until you have them on the studs and snugged. When you are removing the socket from the nut, be extra careful that the socket does not come off the extension and drop into the door." Again, duct tape the sockets to the wobbley/extension and the wobbley to the ratchet, etc.

"Finally, check out the operation of the mirror and pop (slide) that trim piece back into place. I've done three of these mirror swaps and it seems to take about an hour to gather the tools and do the work. It's nice to be able to do it without interruption, too, so try to find some quiet time to knock this out in. " Took about 1 1/2 hours for 1996.