Aha!  That is the step I have been missing in all my attempts....cleaning up
the hex-shaped post to allow the second hemisphere to move freely against
the part that is bonded into the mirror.   I have pulled the post right out
through the integral mirror-seated hemisphere....Hence the drilling and the
pins...to re-fasten that post that I pulled out by over winding the spring
tension....Pictures are such a help sometimes for a dullard like me.

   Next time I take it off, I shall clean that up real good and put some
lube on it to allow the 'spring-fed' part to slide up tight to the
mirror-mounted matching part...For now, an o-ring has done the job....

On Wed, Sep 7, 2011 at 1:58 PM, David Beierl <dbeierl@attglobal.net> wrote:

> At 06:15 PM 9/6/2011, Malcolm Stebbins wrote:
>
>> Here is my post to the list:
>> http://gerry.vanagon.com/cgi-**bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0611A&L=**vanagon&P=R4385<http://gerry.vanagon.com/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0611A&L=vanagon&P=R4385>
>>  M2CW.  malcolm
>>
>
> Bingo!
>
> I've mentioned this fix in past years as well, and also not too long
> ago, even put some photos up; but it never seems to be received
> enthusiastically.  But once you find that you have to tighten to
> where the coils of the spring bind together, the reason is as Malcolm
> stated, as is the cure.  Anything else leads to madness like having
> to pin the shaft because you yanked it out of the mirror head.*  Pix
> here:
>
> https://picasaweb.google.com/**117189706757545167023/**
> VanagonSideMirrorRepair<https://picasaweb.google.com/117189706757545167023/VanagonSideMirrorRepair>
>
> *Which I did myself once, and also bought a pair of aftermarket
> floppy mirrors before understanding what actually went wrong with the
> original ones and putting them back on Dutiful Passage where they
> served perfectly for many years.
>
> Yours,
> David
>