The side mirror on a late-model Ford consists of four major parts: the mirror housing, which is the large plastic shell that bolts to the outside of the door; the mirror motor; the mirror glass; and a cover on the inner door panel that hides the wiring harness and mounting nuts. To disassemble a Ford mirror, all that's needed is a little time and a few basic tools.
Remove the mirror cover from the inside of the door panel. To locate the mirror cover, look inside the door, directly opposite the large mirror housing. To remove the cover from the door panel, pull the cover off with your hands.
Disconnect the wiring harness of the mirror motor. The harness has two ends held together by a small plastic lock on the harness. Pull the lock up and pull the two pieces together.
Remove the three 9/16-inch nuts that secure the housing to the door. Hold the mirror housing while you remove the nuts. Otherwise, the mirror will fall out of the door, and the studs used to mount the mirror could scratch your paint.
Pull the mirror out of the door.
Slide the mirror to one side of the mirror housing. This pushes the other side out of the mirror housing. Push your fingers behind the mirror and pull out on it to separate it from the mirror motor. The mirror has a socket molded into it, and on the end of the motor there is a small ball. Pulling the two apart does not damage the equipment.
Remove the four Allen screws that hold the motor into the housing. Pull the housing and the wire harness out of the enclosure.
