Got the notice that my towing mirrors arrived at the post office. Going to pick them up as soon as my son wakes up from his nap.

When I get them home I'll start taking pictures of the installation.

Anyway, here's what I ordered:
http://www.1aauto.com/2003-10-ford-expedition-mirror-pair/i/1amrp01443?f=886048&y=2006

Pics and write-up to follow later today.

 

Okay, here we go.

I started with the passenger side while the kids were having lunch inside. That way I'd be done and on to the drivers side when they were done, and the way they play with the other kids in the neighborhood I'd be able to keep a better eye on them that way.

Started by pulling the trim around the inside door release lever, then the power windows and locks panel, and one trim piece under the grab handle.

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On the passenger side, I left the left the window/lock panel connected to the harness and finagled it through the hole, but on the drivers side there's a bit of a problem as there's more wires and connectors, so I took a picture of it before I unplugged them so I could get the door panel off.

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One Philips screw on the rear edge of the door panel, two T-20 torx screws behind the small trim piece below the grab handle. Two 7mm hex head screws on the bottom edge of the door panel. Gently lifted up, then popped away at the top corner by where the mirror is. (The snap broke on the drivers side, but it's not that critical.)

Carefully pulled back the vapour barrier in the mirror area, unplugged the harness, then removed the three 11mm nuts holding the mirror into the door.

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The mirror kind of hooks into the door to sort of hold it in place while you get the nuts on the studs.

The mirror kit comes with new 10mm nuts, but the flange on them are smaller. Going by a review I read about then being a little shaky, with that guy using the new nuts with the smaller flange, I chose to reuse the original nuts. If you choose to do this mod, you'll see what I mean, as I forgot to get a pic comparing the size difference.

Basically this mod is a plug and play, except the harness that comes with the new mirrors need to be completed. What it is, is for the end user to read the instructions that come in the box for the left side mirror. Find your year truck, and insert the two pins into the appropriate cavities of the connector. This kit is used on a few different model years, so the wiring may be different along the way. It's as easy as threading a needle. If you've worked with weatherpack or deutz connectors, it'll be no problem.

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After that, plug it in, make sure the nuts are satisfactorily tight, reattach the vapour barrier and reinstall the door panel. Make sure you line up the door lock rod with the hole.

How's that saying go?

"Installation in the reverse of removal"

I think it looks pretty sharp.

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Nice, well done Joe, great pics

 

Looks good. I have considered upgrading mirrors on my Expy but never did it.

 

Just got back from the first tow with the new mirrors a while ago.

The main glass shook a bit, but was easy to get used to. Convex mirrors were rock steady. Visibility was excellent. No problems setting around the trailer at all.

10/10 would buy again.

 

Glad you guys liked my write-up.

Unfortunately I've had to remove them and go back to stock since I'm trading it in on an 09 F150, but I'll probably do another write-up for when I convert that one.

 

Thanks for taking time to post this. My new tow mirrors came in yesterday. I'll tackle the install this Saturday.