This is a DIY to replace the side view black rubber mirror seals, but this only applies to the 2nd generation mirrors with black rubber seal between the mirror, and the body of the car.
Just so everyone knows. The mirror seals are available from the dealer to the tune of about $700.00 USD EACH. Yea, a little cheap !!! It includes the whole mirror mechanism for free! Meaning one has to buy the whole mirror mechanism to get the side mirror seal. The seal are not sold separately. If the seal lasted like a fender, I’d justify the purchase, but it is made from rubber that deteriorates over time.
In the case of my S320, the seal has just cracked-up like saltine cracker. Consequently, it just looked awful. It was an eye sore, but $1400 is just not an answer, so I’ve strived for a real solution. I went to the junk yard to tinker with mirrors form other Mercedes vehicles, and I found that late 90’s C-Class cars have the same external mirror seal features, yet internally how the wires channeled inside is completely different from the W140 and W202.
A company in the Orient makes a new seal, yet I wanted a solution now, and did not want to wait to order a part, so for every S-Class in the junk yard five or six C-Class models are in the junk yard, so plenty of cars to choose from, and I happen to find two C-Class cars with the mirror seals in excellent shape. The seals are very easy to remove from the C-Class. The side mirrors spring forward and backwards.
To process remove the seals from the C-Class:
A – Bend the mirror backwards
B – Remove the bottom Philips screw
C – Remove the remaining screws, yet move the mirror forward to access the screws
D- Cut the wires from the base
E-Pull the seal from the mirror
I found the C-Class seals from the junk yard at several dollars each.. Much better than $700
The process to transplant the C-Class mirror seal to the S-Class mirror takes a handful of hours per mirror, but the process may make some of you cringe. I cannot be responsible if you goof-up your mirrors. I have detailed the process with fifty-photos to show every little step. I performed the seal swap on a 1996 S320 and 1998 S500. The mirrors are mechanically the same, but electrically the mirrors are different. The S500 has two extra wires, and the connector in the mirror is different, but the connector on the outside of the mirror is the same on both models.
I have about ten posts to post, so please wait for your comments and questions.
Thank you,
Martin
PS. Here is how the mirror assembly is removed from the car-See the first post of the link below:
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w140-s-class/1406221-diy-smoke-mirrors-revisited.html
Just so everyone knows. The mirror seals are available from the dealer to the tune of about $700.00 USD EACH. Yea, a little cheap !!! It includes the whole mirror mechanism for free! Meaning one has to buy the whole mirror mechanism to get the side mirror seal. The seal are not sold separately. If the seal lasted like a fender, I’d justify the purchase, but it is made from rubber that deteriorates over time.
In the case of my S320, the seal has just cracked-up like saltine cracker. Consequently, it just looked awful. It was an eye sore, but $1400 is just not an answer, so I’ve strived for a real solution. I went to the junk yard to tinker with mirrors form other Mercedes vehicles, and I found that late 90’s C-Class cars have the same external mirror seal features, yet internally how the wires channeled inside is completely different from the W140 and W202.
A company in the Orient makes a new seal, yet I wanted a solution now, and did not want to wait to order a part, so for every S-Class in the junk yard five or six C-Class models are in the junk yard, so plenty of cars to choose from, and I happen to find two C-Class cars with the mirror seals in excellent shape. The seals are very easy to remove from the C-Class. The side mirrors spring forward and backwards.
To process remove the seals from the C-Class:
A – Bend the mirror backwards
B – Remove the bottom Philips screw
C – Remove the remaining screws, yet move the mirror forward to access the screws
D- Cut the wires from the base
E-Pull the seal from the mirror
I found the C-Class seals from the junk yard at several dollars each.. Much better than $700
The process to transplant the C-Class mirror seal to the S-Class mirror takes a handful of hours per mirror, but the process may make some of you cringe. I cannot be responsible if you goof-up your mirrors. I have detailed the process with fifty-photos to show every little step. I performed the seal swap on a 1996 S320 and 1998 S500. The mirrors are mechanically the same, but electrically the mirrors are different. The S500 has two extra wires, and the connector in the mirror is different, but the connector on the outside of the mirror is the same on both models.
I have about ten posts to post, so please wait for your comments and questions.
Thank you,
Martin
PS. Here is how the mirror assembly is removed from the car-See the first post of the link below:
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w140-s-class/1406221-diy-smoke-mirrors-revisited.html
