Rear View Mirror Ball Joint

Hello...I took the single black screw out of the back side of the rearview mirror before understanding that I couldn't detach the mirror portion from the ballcatch in that manner. Instead I had to removethe whole piece by removing dome light lens, 3 screws and a connector switch. But...now for the life of me that one, singular screw that goes in the back is giving me the most difficult time just catching the thread and going back into its little home. I cant take apart the mirror any further b/c it seems to have a plastic "seem" and is somehow like enclosed after assembly in the factory or manufacturing process....so I can't see if I am missing a plate of sorts that could have slid out from between or anything at all. I can't hear anything inside the enclosed area either. How do I get the screw back in? Will this screw help hold the balljoint tight?Any help is much appreciated!

 

Same here. No trouble removing the entire rear view mirror with mount, but I just want to remove the mirror itself and retain the drop down arm with the ball for reattachment. Short of a Sawzall any suggestions or a link to a previous thread that might explain how to remove just the mirror from the mount?

 

BUMP

I found a cool mirror with a dashcam built in and best part about it is that it has carplay. Since I've had the toughtest time finding a cheap solution, this is going to be my go to for now.

Need to find a way to use the existing arm to mount this mirror instead of the current setup with wraps a rubber band around the existing mirror.

 

To separate the mirror from the mount, I removed the small black screw which made it loose but not detachable. Then I put the mount in a vise and just pulled it off really hard. There might be another "proper" way but I couldn't find one and it didn't seem to damage the mirror or mount.

 

There's a 3d mount that somebody made for Wolfbox dashcam mirrors which might work

Somebody made a 3d printed Wolfbox mirror mount which might be of interest?
If the screw is removed and the metal plate is loose inside the mirror you need to remove the glass from the mirror housing. Boil a pot of water and place it in a container big enough to submerge the entire plastic housing and glass. Let it sit in there for a minute or two in order to loosen up the plastic. Get a pry tool (plastic might work but I had to use metal and go at one of the edges between the plastic and glass. You should be able to get in between and leverage it up. Work slowly so as to not scratch the backside of the glass or mar the plastic. If you scratch the backside there's really no fixing it - the mirror coating is extremely thin and flakey so you'd need to take it to a mirror shop most likely to be redone.
Resubmerge the assembly when you notice it becoming harder to remove the glass as the plastic is likely cooling off and contracting.