The '96-99 mirrors are different from '00-02. For the earlier models, there's a screw at the bottom of the housing that you can loosen (if it's not frozen in place) to remove the mirror.
For the later models, there are clips and tabs that hold the mirror to the gear mechanism. You have to pull on the lower portion of the mirror to unclip the clips, then rotate the bottom out to unhook the tabs. Hopefully the photo below makes it clear - clips on the bottom, tabs on top: