Torque specs for side mirrors?

awood said:

Anyone have the torque specs for the plate covering the mirror bolts as well as the mirror bolts themselves? OCD kicks in and it needs to been done right:bigthumb:

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The torque spec for body parts are listed in a separate Toyota Body Specification Manual, not common anywhere but a body shop. And while I appreciate the precision you seek, and have mild OCD myself, the bolts for that plate go into plastic nuts - hand tight will be fine. The plate is not subjected to any stress, is not load-bearing, and uses the plastic nuts to prevent loosening from vibration.


Take a chance and let your judgment be your guide....:rocker:

Well Cruiserlarry pretty much explained it, there's no harm in just hand tightening them, just don't tighten them so much where you break the plastic nuts.

I totally agree about the plate covering the mirror bolts, but not the actual mirror bolts. Thiey do need to be tight as the mirror will be under stress when it is bumped or pushed in not to mention constant wind force. My fear is over tightening. Since the force of the mirror will be on the door panel and thin sheets inside there is a change for potential damage. I imagine this is in the repair manual somewhere I just must not have that section. Anyone have it?

do the shake test. If it doesnt wiggle your fine; its not taking any stress....

awood said:

I totally agree about the plate covering the mirror bolts, but not the actual mirror bolts. Thiey do need to be tight as the mirror will be under stress when it is bumped or pushed in not to mention constant wind force. My fear is over tightening. Since the force of the mirror will be on the door panel and thin sheets inside there is a change for potential damage. I imagine this is in the repair manual somewhere I just must not have that section. Anyone have it?

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The force of the mirror is spread out across a reinforced multi-layer opening, using welded nuts, and for safety the mirror is held in place by plastic clips, too. Remove all 3 bolts, and the mirror still will not fall - in fact, it will take some work to pull it off the door if you do not release the molded clips. While I'm a stickler for torque in critical applications, I think you'll find the 3 Toyota fine thread bolts bottom out when snugged hand tight, and the mirror will have no where to go. I've installed 20-35 sets of mirrors so far, and have yet to have any issue, despite not precisely torquing the 3 bolts. You might check the service manual, body section, to see if they provide torque specs, or call your local Toyota dealer.

The Toyota service manual lists the mirror bolts at "71 in.lbf" That is equal to 5.92 lbf right?