rattling OEM FJ mirror temporary fix?

[FjLee]

Well, it finally caught up with me!!!

The "rattling OEM mirror"........on my 84  FJ.

I  used the "search" feature that we have here, but didn't come up with a fix that was along the lines of what I want to do.  I'm looking for a quick Band-Aid type temporary fix.  Some way to treat the offending mirror so it doesn't rattle and beat itself to death....and drive me crazy in the process.

A better permanent fix will come later.  I've heard of an attempted  fix that involved drilling a hole and squirting in some expanding foam.  I don't think that ever worked for anyone, did it?

It's my understanding that there is a small flat steel plate that is now vibrating and whacking against the glass backside of the mirror.  That rattle is very irritating!!

Anyone know of a quickie temporary fix that  _DID_ work?  I already tried "hot glue" around the perimeter of the glass, on the EXTERIOR of the mirror. .   Didn't help.  Anyone tried drilling a  ¼  inch hole and  stuffing yarn or something in there?  Stuffing little styrofoam peanuts? 

Seems like there is bound to be something that could be inserted  thru a hole to capture that plate, and/or dampen it's movement.

Tnx, folks........

FjLee           1984 FJ1100           Denver CO

[Capn Ron]

You're on the right track...

When my OEM mirrors had this same issue after my low-side, I initially tried to pry the mirror glass out of the housing.  After I broke the first one, I tried again on the other mirror, but took even more care.  Busted that glass as well.  Somewhere between breaking glass and throwing them away, I had full access to what's inside.  Yep...a flat steel plate about 3/8" thick and I'd put it at 1" x 1 1/2".  there was also some adhesive stuck to the back of it and a bunch of decomposed orange looking foam matter in there.  Best I could figure, there was a foam double-sided tape used to stick that plate to the inside.  I imagine the foam allowed for a certain amount of dampening of vibrations in conjunction with the weight of that plate.

To solve my mirror issue, I bought a set of OEM mirrors off Ebay.  By the time they got through UPS to my door, they both had their weights loose inside and one of them had shattered the mirror.  At about the same time, I was buying ALL the plastics off a parts bike to use as future spares.  I was assured the mirrors were solid.  By the time they got to me...both weights were loose inside.  There's just no getting around the failure of the OEM foam tape this many years after they were manufactured.

In my case, I did the CBR mirror mod and I've never looked back.  Who am I kidding?  I always look back, because now I can see past my elbows!!!   

Back to your issue.  If you want to keep the stock look and just secure the steel plate, I *think* expanding foam would work...trouble is...if you squirt too much in there, it can expand enough to shatter your mirror.  If I were to solve this, I would drill a hole on the underside where it won't be seen...ohhh...at least 3/8".  I would then prop the mirror up the way you want it in a vice so that hole is upright.  Then I would back-fill the entire air-void (and capture that steel plate) with something that doesn't expand.  I'm thinking like Shore 40A pourable urethane.  If you get it in black, you won't even have to plug the hole when you're done.   

[Pat Conlon]

Hey Bro Lee...I cut a rectangular hole at the center bottom edge with my Dremel, then filled the mirror with silicone.
Put a small piece of black tape over the hole and all is well. A round hole would not give me a good fill of silicone, the rectangular hole worked best allowing air to escape as the silicone filled the cavity.

Don't use expanding foam too sticky. I tried that and I could not get the foam down to the top of the mirror.
The silicone slipped in smooth as snot.

[Flynt]

I *think* expanding foam would work...

I've done it twice and worked perfectly both times...  Two holes in bottom, about 2" apart and ~3/8 in size (drilled to fit the foam can nozzle).  Get the non-expanding version of the insulating foam, usually yellow I've noticed.  With the mirror face down on the bench in front of you, put the foam into one of the holes until you see it in the other.  Then fill the other a bit to top off.  Put tape over the holes and mount the mirror to the bike (important so the weight is trapped securely).  After the foam cures, pull the tape and clean up the holes.  Then touch up the foam with a black sharpie to blend into the housing.

Frank

[X-Ray]

Hey Bro Lee...I cut a rectangular hole at the center bottom edge with my Dremel, then filled the mirror with silicone.

This is the way I was going to fix my rattlers as well. Although I think I will be doing the CBR mirror mod now as both mirrors have a lot of that green/brown "corrosion" showing through the edge of the mirror. What exactly is that anyway? 

[FjLee]

Hey Bro Lee...I cut a rectangular hole at the center bottom edge with my Dremel, then filled the mirror with silicone.
Put a small piece of black tape over the hole and all is well. A round hole would not give me a good fill of silicone, the rectangular hole worked best allowing air to escape as the silicone filled the cavity.
Don't use expanding foam too sticky. I tried that and I could not get the foam down to the top of the mirror.
The silicone slipped in smooth as snot.

Tnx for the response, guys.   As I hoped, it's making me think.

Pat my friend.......Some questions:

Approx size of cutout you made?
This silicone you used.....are you speaking of silicone caulking goop?  The kind that's rubbery, not hard,  after it cures?

Did you fill the whole cavity with this silicone, or just partially?

Did you mess around with an exact positioning of the steel piece prior to inserting silicone?

The big question......I'm sure it cured the noise, but after the fix, did your mirror have as clear an image as "before rattle" , or was it  a bit blurry from non-damped vibration?

Thank you all again.  I'm luvin' the responses!

FjLee         Carkenord                     1984 FJ1100          Denver CO

[ribbert]

I cut a rectangular hole in the bottom, glued the weight back on then intended to repair the hole.  I quickly realised the hole couldn't be seen once refitted to the bike and just left it. 

That lasted for years until I did the Honda fix.

Repairing the standard mirrors takes 20 times longer the elongating one hole in the base to fit the Honda ones. 

I would wonder about the weight of a silicone filled one and can't see any reason why expanding foam wouldn't work except it's expensive and you can't store the unused contents for long.

Haha, my Honda mirrors only cost $6 more than a can of foam!

Lee, I'm not sure why you're concerned about vibration and the quality of the image, just how good does the view of your elbows need to be.

[Pat Conlon]

Tnx for the response, guys.   As I hoped, it's making me think.

Pat my friend.......Some questions:

Approx size of cutout you made? Aprox. 1/4" wide x 1/2" long
This silicone you used.....are you speaking of silicone caulking goop?  The kind that's rubbery, not hard,  after it cures?
Correct, I used the flexable clear silicone
Did you fill the whole cavity with this silicone, or just partially?
I filled the entire cavity up to the hole

Did you mess around with an exact positioning of the steel piece prior to inserting silicone?
In my case the weight was still attached but the glass was rattling...if the weight came loose I would have filled it and not worried. The glass is held in place by the flexible silicone

The big question......I'm sure it cured the noise, but after the fix, did your mirror have as clear an image as "before rattle" , or was it  a bit blurry from non-damped vibration?
I recall that it stabilized the glass just fine. I did this fix a decade ago. I have since gone to the sexy Italian Rizoma mirrors which are placed lower and further out board than the oem Mickey Mouse ear mirrors. Better visibility. Much less wind noise. No more tumbling wind buffeting my helmet

I want to remind folks that the 84/85 FJ mirrors are the handlebar mounted type (not fairing mounted) so the CBR mirror is not a option.

Lee, after I get back from the WCR and Central Rally, let me check my parts bin to see if I still have my old mirrors. If I do, you're welcome to them...unless you're planning on coming to South Dakota....then I'll just bring them to you.
Let me know ASAP, I'm leaving the desert 0 dark thirty Tuesday morning

[Pat Conlon]

Hey Bro Lee...I cut a rectangular hole at the center bottom edge with my Dremel, then filled the mirror with silicone.

This is the way I was going to fix my rattlers as well. Although I think I will be doing the CBR mirror mod now as both mirrors have a lot of that green/brown "corrosion" showing through the edge of the mirror. What exactly is that anyway?  

Ray, as the mirrors rattle the silver plating rubs off the back of the glass, then all you get is clear glass.
That's the dust and gunk from inside the mirror showing thru the clear glass edges.

Absolutely do the CBR mod. Get oem Honda mirrors. Bite the bullet, buy them new.
The Honda glass optics are far superior than the aftermarket FleaBay shit like Emgo.

I can not understand why Yamaha designed those mirrors like they did...you can't see behind you.

[Goody]

[Goody]

Hole in bottom of mirrir out of sight two squirts of expanding foam . Sorted

[Horse]

Yep, done the x-pandin foam trick, got a few weeks down the road & here we go again !!!!! throw them away, or burn them or smash them to itty bitty pieces, just use the Honda ones, mine are cheep carbon fibre copies, look great, then I found some better, different ones down at the local garbage tip that were better again  don't know what they are off, but they work a treat....   

[Klavdy]

You can easily get the mirrors out by using a heat gun or hair dryer to soften the plastic a bit, then get a piece of plastic like a credit card and slip that around the mirror glass.
It'll pop out nicely.
Then, squirt a very small blob of expanding foam in the mirror case, let it dry overnight, sand and shape it to about half way filling the case.
After sanding,stick the steel plate back in on top of the foam you've just shaped, and fill it all the way with more expanding foam,(It'll overflow the mirror case but that's what you want) let that dry , then sand to shape and pop the mirror back in using the heat gun/credit card route again.
Voila!
Reconditioned OEM mirrors with no holes drilled in them.

[Flynt]

You can easily get the mirrors out by using a heat gun or hair dryer to soften the plastic a bit...

Did it like this once too, except I used hot water to soften the plastic and just popped the glass right out...  I had a nice piece of glass in a damaged case and a nice case with bad glass.  Boiled some water and gave birth to one perfect stock '90 mirror (a complete POS I should have thrown in the trash before starting).

The '84 mirrors actually work pretty well, although they fold back a bit when traveling at warp 1.  Need to get stiffer mirrors...

Frank