Sunvisor rod removal help

[nasqar]

I have new rods to put in the sun visors of a 1971 C10 but I am scared to yank out the old rods afraid I will tear something up. Is there a video or somewhere that I can see how to change these safely?

These also appear to be metal, so can I be safe to assume I can paint these to match the interior of my truck?

[deestrong71]

They will tear, they have a Cardboard type of backer inside and break very Easy. I ordered new ones at LMCtruck.com

[msgdsrf]

I have replaced mine twice, just pull hard, a little at a time. I can't imagine tearing them.

[mgkgmc]

I have done it several times it's no problem if there are in good shape.
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[nasqar]

I will give it a try tonight and see what happens. How about painting the bracket?

[mgkgmc]

Just get a good grip on the visor and work it back and forth it should work its way off.
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[nasqar]

I got the old bracket out of one of the visors with no big problem. I used a set of channel locks to hold the rod and just slowly twisted the visor and it came off. It was somewhat intimidating trying not to break anything, lol.

When putting the new rod in, I noticed it had a small metal tube that the rod would slide into and it went pretty good until....the last couple inches wont budge and I don't want to hit it and mar it up. My hands are pretty soar from twisting the new rod, it is a VERY tight fit. Any tricks to make the last couple inches of the rod to fit properly?

[nasqar]

Here are some photos for everyone to look at. Hopefully this will help someone that has any questions. I still have to get the rod in the last couple inches but you can see some of the process.

[nasqar]

Parts from LMC

[nasqar]

Removal and insides

DO NOT get in a hurry with this. I had to use channel locks to get a good grip on it, but I just used slow twisting and pressure until it finally came out.

[nasqar]

My cat was wondering what this thing was....it was a little frustrating working the rod back into the visor...this takes more patience then removing it did, lol. You can see what happens if you are not careful. There must be a split inside the visor but it was terrifying when it bent at first. When the rod is far enough inside, the visor doesn't bend anymore.

[nasqar]

Almost finished

[lil hoodlum]

I know exactly what you mean about it being a workout to replace the rods. I finished one visor last year and said to heck with the other one.

I was sweatin' and cussin' too!

Keith

[nasqar]

I called LMC today to ask if they had any complaints about the rods being to big. (I noticed the package says "Made in Taiwan", not blaming it on that but cant rule it out.) The person on the phone said there were NO notes about the rods not fitting. I told her that the rods are almost impossible to get them in the last 6 inches. I have put dish soap on one of them where it was incredibly slippery and it still got me no closer to finishing.

[dujobu]

I just ordered replacement sun visors for my '71 Blazer and the replacements look different than the originals. The replacements have triangular brackets like the ones in the photos above, but my originals use a different style mounting bracket. Am I missing something?

[Grumpy old man]

Don't use dish soap , A little white lithium grease will do the trick also turn them clockwise and not counter clockwise or back and forth ,if you look down the tube they are basically a C type compression fit and if you turn them in with a twisting motion while applying pressure you should be able to get them to twist right in in less than 1 minute , The picture shows a bend in the visor and you may have kinked the tube ? if so it's done, Time for a new one .

[doug_p]

Dredging up a long dead thread, but only to offer MAJOR KUDOS to Grumpy old man for suggesting a small amount of white lithium grease, and only clockwise spinning of the rod.... This information turned what at first appeared to be an enormous pita, to a relatively simple task. Not necessarily quick, but 100% effective requiring zero tools, except the phillips head screw driver for installation in the cab. Thank you, immensely!

[4thgencreamsicle]

This post made today’s little job in between meetings a breeze! Thanks for the tip, Grumpy Old Man!!!

[FRCvette]

Well I am going to dig this out again to give kudos to GrumpOldMan once more. My new visors arrived today and I tried desperately to get the arms in failed every attempt. I did a search on here and found this thread. So thanks to Grumpy for recommending the grease, Worked great.

[68bowtie]

This thread helped me too, thanks guys.

I will add a pic of how I did mine. One was difficult, and one was very difficult, even with the grease. I had to put gloves up top to not destroy my hands when pushing basically my entire body weight (carefully) into this. Got them both done but it was tough!

Also… I’m not sure what the deal is with the short rod that comes with the new visors. The short one that comes installed at the hook end is welded to the tube inside, not removable. And the one installed is 0.375” dia carbon steel, whereas the originals and loose one in the package are 0.345” and stainless. What am I missing?

Oh… and these new hooks do not fit the rods. Oy.

[dmjlambert]

Yes, new hooks simply don't work. I had to put a heat gun to mine and bend it out to fit the rod. It messed up the finish. It's a drag to get crappy parts like that.

[Peanut74]

Did mine as described by Grumpy and I didn't have any issues get them in. Patience is key as well as turning them in the correct direction.

[lkt1954]

Got mine installed using Grumpy old man's suggestion- but it took way longer than a minute. The only issue I ran into was, you can only rotate the rod so far in and you start hitting the visor. The last couple of inches took the help of a rubber mallet. I got smart on the second visor and used scotch bright on the rod to within an inch of the end, way easier, still needed the rubber mallet to get it the rest of the way.
As noted above the extension rods do not fit the new hooks, so I took an exacto knife and trimmed they down to where the rod now fits.

Thanks Grumpy old man for the tip

[BIG ORANGE]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

Don't use dish soap , A little white lithium grease will do the trick also turn them clockwise and not counter clockwise or back and forth ,if you look down the tube they are basically a C type compression fit and if you turn them in with a twisting motion while applying pressure you should be able to get them to twist right in in less than 1 minute , The picture shows a bend in the visor and you may have kinked the tube ? if so it's done, Time for a new one .

Thank you Grumpy, just bought some red truck visors, took them apart as you suggested and slid my blazer rods right back in place,,, easy.......

[67C10Step]

This thread makes me smile. Grumpy’s advice lives on and is still helping others.