Thanks in advance for your efforts

 

Thank you! I have this on both of our escalades and would be very happy to go with option 3 or 4.

 

YES definitely in- found out the Cadillac warranty I bought that was supposed to cover all "electric motors" doesn't cover mirror motors... :bigroll: so yes I'm in!

 

They replacing the actuator as well? haha! An upgrade / repair.... I'd be on board. Option 1 sounds easy enough. If not, I'm going full lazy option"s" 2 or 3.

 

I heard from the gear manufacturer today and the prototype gear set will be ready late next week. It will be installed into one of our test motors to ensure 100% fit and function. When this is complete we will begin to take pre-orders and begin to build up a stock of ready-to-go replacements as well as preparing for the DIYer's and simple motor swaps. Thanks for your patience.

 

Sounds like you may be on to something good...

Option 5 - Customer pays core charge for a replacement motor fitted with new gears and the disassembly instructions with illustrations, in a PDF format . Core charge refunded when I receive the broken motor.

 

This is a definite possibility as well. I am open to just about anything that gets people's mirrors fixed short of having to buy a whole new mirror from the Stealership.

 

I would be interested in this as well.

 

Interested... darn passenger's side hasn't been working for months.

 

I would love to take part in this, my drivers side mirror in my 07 Escalade is doing exactly this. Would love to send you the broken mirror and whatever fee is needed for a new mirror. Please let me know what I need to do!

 

I need to do this too! Pain that only my driver's side mirror folds and the passenger side doesn't.

 

Just a quick note to everyone to let ya know the testing is about to start. Stay tuned......

 

This is awesome, please put me at the top of your list if you can figure out the logistics!

 

Put him on the list according to the place of his post

 

Thats fair =)

 

Ok let me put in my place holder and interest in this.

 

I would go with option 3 or 4. I have a broken gear. I just took the housing off and disconnected the motor wire. I guess at the end of the day it would have to be at a low price point for me. I dont use that function very often so why pay big bucks to fix it? Everything needs on the mirror still works.

 

Yes you are correct that everything still works but one thing that may not be affecting you (but does affect many) is when this gear is broken inside, the mirror has noticeable play. The reason is because the internal gears when mated and working properly holds the mirror tightly in place. When this particular gear is broken, the mirror rattles slightly and causes the reflection to become blurry.




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----UPDATE----

I spoke with the gear manufacturer today and we have an update and a forecasted availability date. In addition there has been a change in the product itself. During the testing it became obvious that mating a metal spur gear with a plastic worm gear was going to be problematic. The mating of metal and plastic when the plastic is not designed for it, causes the plastic to wear prematurely. So, to address this the new replacement gear has been changed to a reinforced plastic with a thicker cross section to eliminate the stress concentrations which cause fatigue cracking. This comes with an additional benefit of a lower cost. For the DIYer the gears will be sold in pairs can be purchased for 49.00 coming with a lifetime warranty on the parts. The testing took place on a replacement motor and was cycled 5000 times at which time the motor gave out. The gear itself was good as new. So, now the gear outlasts the motor.

I am still working on the pricing models for those who are not mechanically inclined or don't wanna mess with taking things apart. I should have this ironed in plenty of time for the launch in mid to late June. I appreciate yall's patience and will definitely make this worth the wait.

Hunter
469-766-2667

 

Thanks Hunter, this really is awesome! I'm so sick of that "play" you speak of but for $900 it's something I've lived with.

 

Shoot. How do you take the housing off to check it? Nothing in my driver side works. No turn signal, no mirror adjustment from the switch but passenger is fine.

 

Ugghhh man its sorta hard to explain how its done but rather easy to do. if you are wanting to pull the whole mirror off the truck you need to start from the inside and remove the plastic cover at the base of the window. Behind that you will find three nuts holding three studs that hold the mirror on. I suspect that if you have no power, no signal that you have either blown fuse or a cut wire.

 

Definitely interested, need good directions as it is tricky to disassemble without feeling like its going to break.

 

hmmm so the plastic was cycled 5000 times, how did the worm gear look? Generally when you place two friction devices against each other in motion for a prolonged period the softer material always wears at an accelerated rate. This is certainly pronounced when using metal against plastic, but even a very hard plastic against a softer plastic can cause issues. Any thoughts on also replacing the worm gear?

 

Klaus,

The worm gear was just fine after all the cycling. I asked the same question and apparently the new harder plastic isn't too hard so as to damage the worm gear. Remember, the majority of these break as a result of someone pushing the mirror to a closed position (or simply bumping it hard enough) breaking a tooth or three on the spur gear. Not that many are simply worn out from what I have seen. Furthermore, the worm gear has a much smaller surface area and doesn't suffer from the same surface fatigue as the worm gear.

 

Ah so that's my next question- just how robust ARE these to being manually folded and can you see a potential way to improve this? Manual folding is going to happen- someone is going to smack into the mirrors, someone is going to forget to fold them in a car wash (or sometimes that car wash actually folds them OUT for you!) or other things- there should be some level of reasonable "break away" and I'm curious if you can identify if that's the case?

 

Klaus,
Unfortunately the way this thing is designed its impossible to allow for manual folding. The two gears (worm and spur) are the two parts that hold the mirror in either the extended or folded position. Big design flaw from what I can tell. Once the spur gear is broken, then there is 1-2 millimeters of play and the mirror will vibrate making everything blurry driving down the road. I am guessing there could have been a different design that allows for both manual and auto folding, but this one doesn't allow for it. The best plan of action is to fold them in when away from the vehicle.......that way shoulders wont catch it and vandals are not likely to pull it out from the folded position. Always remember to fold them in at the car wash

 

When will you know about availability? Even if you just sell the gears/motor with instructions I think many people will be interested without having to send the whole unit in for replacement. Looking forward to this.

 

I would be interested in option 1 or 4.

What holds the gears onto the motor shaft?

 

The latest update is the first batch of gears should be available in the next 2 weeks. (Mid June) If that changes I will update everyone. Yes, the replacement gears will be sold separately for the DIYer and various full service options will be available for the others who either don't want to jack around with the internals or don't want the hassle.

As to what holds the gear to the motor shaft. The worm gear protrudes on the shaft coming out of the motor and is molded onto the metal. The spur gear is molded onto its rotational shaft as well which is the gear we are replacing. Its not rocket science but it will require some know-how to remain intact.

 

I/we are not certain at this point if it will be press-fit and press-fit and epoxied. The torsional load is very minimal thus a press-fit will probably be all that's required.

 

thanks Hunter! Please keep us posted!