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IAMICHABOD's avatar
IAMICHABOD
Explorer II
Sep 29, 2013

VELVAC MIRROR EXPLODES

I came home to THIS 7 days before a planed trip....



Sitting in my driveway parked beside my house. The Mirror arm has exploded at the pivot point to the door.

Just as it did on This Thread by golfknut.

On looking at the inside of the arm I could see that it had evidence of water intrusion, thus I suspect, lead to the corrosion of the cheap pot metal and it's failure.

Thanks to old fossil and the PDF that Bobbo put up I could see what had happened. With that info that I printed out just in case. I was able to get ahold of Ryder @ 1-800-759-6479 and order another one, but you have to know the part #.

They will tell you that "No how No way" are they able to tell you which one to buy!

The guy at the order desk was helpful and connected me to Velvac, and with them both on the line we did find my correct one. Which was a bit difficult because my part # was missing on my mirror.

Luckily for me they had it in stock and could Fed Ex it to me on a 2 day delivery for a few $$ more. It is now installed and I can get on with my trip. If anyone has the same mirror and a 102 inch body on a Chevy Chassis THIS IS THE ONE
That is why I like this forum. Great info and the links that others put up. That is why I try to do the same. I hope that it helps someone else.
Class C
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    Sep 30, 2013
    That 0.67" is almost exactly the Outside Diameter of a 3/8" pipe nipple. I read where an OP (might've been Cloud Driver) posted that Velvac uses a hydraulic press to compress that spring down to get the retainer clip on.
    Wait! I think I've got it:

    1. Select a Pipe Nipple to fit inside the broken Velvac part. Ream out the Velvac side or file/grind the nipple to fit inside.

    2. This nipple must be long enough to extend past the Spring in its uncompressed state. THREAD the nipple far enough to reach where the retainer was.

    3. Grind/file the Velvac part to where a nut and washer on the nipple will compress the spring to were it was when originally assembled.

    4. Epoxy this "long" nipple (with extended threads) into the broken Velvac piece.

    5. Assemble Arm, Spring, etc. with Washer and Nut.

    6. Draw spring into compression and till the washer/nut shoulder down onto the dressed-down Velvac part.

    7. Add RED Assembly Grade LocTite to the last few threads as the nut approaches bottom.

    8. Saw off the part of the nipple used to compress the spring, flush with the nut. Might even be able to get that little black trim piece back in place.

    NOTE: Using Pipe Nipple should accommodate those with powered mirrors. Otherwise, a piece of 5/8" threaded rod or a cut-off bolt with long enough thread. Maybe even a 1/2" bolt or rod.

    Opinions?
  • IAMICHABOD's avatar
    IAMICHABOD
    Explorer II
    Sep 30, 2013
    j-d wrote:
    There's gotta be a way to repair these things...
    What's the Inside Diameter of the piece the wire comes down through, and that has the retaining groove that breaks off?


    Here it is and you can see the broken part of the shaft, the lip is not very big.


    Any ideas on a fix and how to compress that spring?
    It is very stiff.
  • csp_et2's avatar
    csp_et2
    Explorer
    Sep 29, 2013
    Same thing happened to me 3 days befor heading to Pocono for the races. Had to have it FedEx.
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    Sep 29, 2013
    A Winnie Class C on E350 stopped next to me in traffic yesterday. The exploded joint was wrapped in what looked like black duct tape. There's gotta be a way to repair these things...
    What's the Inside Diameter of the piece the wire comes down through, and that has the retaining groove that breaks off?

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