04 quest.
Have no idea how, but the black 'bracket that holds the side-view mirror on the van got whacked/broken (bent towards rear, as if my wif...er, 'somebody' entered the garage too close to the side of garage), but the painted (silver/gray) mirror assembly part is perfect.

I know you have to BUY the bracket & the mirror together as one item, but then the mirror 'box' needs to be painted to match the van and that's $$ and a hassle. And the SE mirror, being heated & having 'memory', is a lot more $$ than the base one, but the bracket is the same.

SO...can I buy the new mirror/bracket (base model, $53 or so), remove the new mirror, put my EXISTING mirror on the new bracket & slap it back on?

I can see that the two parts seem to be attached w/three Torx bolts at/near the 'swivel/hinge-point', which I assume allows you to separate the two parts. But maybe the spring at that pivot is wedged in in a certain way where it will go "SPRONG", whack me in the face & never be able to be reassembled.

Has anyone taken those two apart? Will my plan work? I know how to disconnect the cable inside the door, so I could thread it thru the bracket. I really want to know if this is doable BEFORE I buy the mirror, cuz if I cannot, then I'll shop around for a used, salvaged-part that's already painted.

Thanks!