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Installing E46 M3 factory mirrors on your
Coupe or Sedan is a great way to upgrade the appearance
of your car. The M3 mirrors are much sportier than the
stock mirrors and they also are fully functional just
as your stock power mirrors. We recommend using the factory
M3 mirrors however these instructions can also be applied
to aftermarket units. |
| Required
Tools and Materials: |
| 1) M3 Factory Mirrors
or High Quality Aftermarket Mirrors
2) 10mm socket and ratchet
3) Torque Wrench suggested
4) Must remove front door panels (click
here for instructions) |
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Installation
Instructions |
| As you can see in the pictures below the
M3 mirrors are give your car a much sportier appearance.
They will also retain all the previous functions of your
regular power mirrors if installed correctly. |
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| Step 1 - Before installing your
M3 mirrors you will need to remove the front door
panels. To do this simply follow the yellow areas
and remove all parts necessary to lift the door
panel off the door. You will also need to remove
the cover for the mirrors adjustment knob. Simply
pull up on the triangle shaped plastic piece and
it should pop right off. Fore more detailed instructions
on the door panel removal click
here. |
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Once the door panel is removed,
you need to remove the small cover seen in the
top picture on the right. In order to remove this
cover, first gently pop out the top corner as
seen in the second picture. Once the top corner
is free, pull straight up as seen in the bottom
picture.
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| Next you need to disconnect
the mirror control harness from the software module.
The module is seen in the top picture on the right.
You will want to disconnect the brown harness
coming from the mirror. To disconnect the harness,
press in on the locking tab, and pull back the
locking arm so that is flat against the software
module, as seen in the second picture. Once the
locking arm is all the way back, the connector
is free and can be removed.
Take note of the routing path of the harness
as seen in the bottom picture so that you can
replace the new harness in the correct spot,
and pull the harness free of all it's retainers.
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| Once you have the harness
free, there are two 10mm bolts that need to be
removed as seen in the top picture on the right.
Be careful when removing these, as they are the
only thing that firmly attaches the mirror to
the door. Keep the bolts, as they will be needed
to re-install the new mirrors.
With the mirror unbolted, support the old mirror
assembly with one hand, and press the harness
grommet thru the hold as shown in the bottom
picture on the right. Once the grommet is pressed
thru, the mirror is free and can be removed.
You will have to place the connector's locking
arm back into the "locked" position
in order to fit the connector thru the hole
in the door.
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| With the mirror removed,
your door is looking mighty strange.
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| Put your new mirror into
place, and pull the new harness thru the large hole.
Pull the grommet into place, and make sure it is
seated properly. Use the 10mm bolts removed from
the old mirror, and screw them into the new mirror
just enough to hold it in place. From the outside,
make sure the mirror base is lined up and straight
as seen in the bottom picture. When the mirror is
lined up properly, snug up the mounting bolts to
hold it in place.
Use a torque wrench to tighten the mirror bolts.
Because of the thread-cutting screws, there are
two OEM torque specs, one for a new mirror and
one for re-installing a used mirror. For a new
mirror assembly, torque the mirror bolts to 8
Nm. If re-installing the mirror assembly, the
OEM torque spec is 6 Nm.
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| Once the bolts are torqued,
route the new mirror harness to the software
module, and connect it. Use the opposite method
used to disconnect the old connector to connect
the new one.
Re-install the triangular cover previously
removed. To re-install this cover, first insert
the lower pin into its hole, and push the cover
down to lock it into place. Then, press the
top of the cover into place. Again, use the
reverse method you used to remove the cover.
Test the mirror functions, and re-install the
door panel.
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| After M3 Mirrors
Installed |
Before M3 Mirrors Install
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