I thought I would show you how I spent my last 30 minutes. I had to get this Donnelly rearview mirror separated from its mounting bracket. In theory, the spring-latched bracket should have been a snap to disengage, but I spent a long time googling the issue and poking at it before I discovered the trick. I even looked up the original patent sketches, patent number 4936533, and that proved even more confusing.
So to keep you from spending the same amount of time trying to disassemble a rear view mirror, I’m going to show you the trick right now.
The secret is to ignore the spring latch at the front, that’s just a decoy. You’re actually aiming for the spring at the back. Slip a small screwdriver or stiff rod through the access hole, and press it against the back spring while putting pressure on the mount to slide forward.
The arrow points at the access hole.
Here’s what it looks like inside. The arrow is the path your screwdriver will have to travel to unlatch the spring.
And one more photo so you can get an idea what’s in there.
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