Community Forums

bengaltiger1 · 03-09-2018, 03:33 PM

Good afternoon! While traveling two weeks ago, the passenger side mirror on my 2006 Four Winds Hurricane fell off! Luckily, the wiring harness kept it from falling completely off. It turns out that all 4 screw holes are stripped preventing the screws from securing the mirror. Any suggestions on repairing the screw holes? I've tried helicoil but the holes are a bit too large in diameter to use the coils sized for the current screws. I've considered using a slightly larger screw but I'm afraid that will crack the mirror housing. In the past, I've epoxied tooth picks to repair wood hole damage but I don't think that would work in this case. I'm considering filling the holes using a two part epoxy mixture, drilling a small pilot hole and then remounting. Any thoughts? Thanks!

RROLDSX · 03-09-2018, 03:41 PM

I would use damp wooden plugs with expanding poly-urethane glue. If you get any excess (you should tape off the area) let it set dry before trying to remove it. It will expand in the hole and you should be able to re-drill the holes for the screws. I’ve done it on camper leg mounts and it was a very strong repair. While JB weld would be a good idea, it’s difficult to get the epoxy down the hole.

bengaltiger1 · 03-09-2018, 04:35 PM

I will try that. I have some gorilla glue on hand but will need to run to the hardware store for the wood plugs. Thank you!

RROLDSX · 03-09-2018, 04:40 PM

Some appropriate sized dowel that you tap in with a hammer and snip off the excess length after the glue has set should work.

bengaltiger1 · 03-09-2018, 04:51 PM

Would you apply the glue directly to the dowel and put the glue in the stripped hole prior to inserting the dowel?

RROLDSX · 03-09-2018, 04:55 PM

Just coat the dampened dowel with glue and tap the tight fitting dowel into the hole. If you put too much glue the hydraulic action of the glue in the hole won’t allow the dowel to go in deep enough. I even used wood slivers instead of dowels. Good luck.

Pirate · 03-09-2018, 04:58 PM

I have a 2006 fourwinds windsport. Same thing happened. Previous owner used lag bolts with metal plates to screw the mirrors back in.

I rebuilt the walls below the window because all the wood was rotted out thus nothing to secure mirrors.

It appears your windows run down toward the mirrors. I am willing to bet the inside of the wall below that point is rotted out. Using larger screws and filling the holes really won't solve the problem.

You may consider pulling both sides windows and checking for water damage. Can you see any damage in the opening for the wires?

Good luck.

bengaltiger1 · 03-09-2018, 05:01 PM

I don't recall seeing or feeling any wood damage in the opening for the wires. I will go check now.

beaverfever · 03-09-2018, 05:09 PM

1/4-20 well nuts
a good hardware store or even amazon stocks them.

GRipple · 03-11-2018, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bengaltiger1

I will try that. I have some gorilla glue on hand but will need to run to the hardware store for the wood plugs. Thank you!

I've tried gorilla glue without any success. In fact I returned it to home depot. I would be more inclined to use JB weld. Been using that for 30 years with much success for anything I used it on. If the wood plug doesn't work, you may have to get some aluminum stock about 1/8 inch thick, cut it oversize to cover the area. Attach it to the area either with screws and sealed with some EPDM caulking, Then drill pilot holes into the aluminum to screw the mirror into. And a hole for the control wires drilled into the aluminum too. You could make a like piece for the other side so they both match. If you bought the motorhome used, the mirror may have been knocked off before you got it and was patched haphazardly before you got it.

corjaguar · 03-11-2018, 09:33 AM

I would go to a metric size set screw.......you may have to re tap the holes for metric, but it wouldn't be that much larger.

ga traveler · 03-11-2018, 09:48 AM

I have repaired many motorhomes with this problem. On most of them, I drilled a hole all the way through the wall and installed a bolt and nut. If the wall is soft, I installed a metal plate on the inside of the motorhome. Make sure you seal the mirror to prevent this happening again.

corjaguar · 03-12-2018, 05:02 AM

Sorry.......I misread your post, at first I thought you lost the mirror from the base mount......which has set screws holding the mirror.
They make an insert that is a called a "wood insert nut" that has a machine threaded insert that you can fit into the existing hole and will fit pretty tight....you can add a bit of gorilla glue to insure tightness.
Hope that works

rick h · 03-12-2018, 09:16 AM

same thing happened to me with the help of a narrow toll booth,did a roadside repair used a peice of plastic wire tie in each hole no glue.When i got home after 2 weeks and 1000 miles still nice and tight.repeated process at home using silicone to seal that was 6 years ago still holding fine.(07 hurricane)

good luck Rick