Howto Diagnose Wipers?

[gema]

I need to diagnose and fix whatever isn't working with my windshield wipers. Lately, click the switch (which is brand new) on, nothing happens. Before I replaced it, they would work occasionally. So I figure it's time to start tracing and checking, and the first place I want to check is the wiper motor. Where is it? I looked in the bay...and my guess is underneath the cowl, but I'm clueless as far as removing it goes. I figure while I'm doing this, I'll fix my horn, too. Thanks in advance, all, I LOVE this forum

[EScanlon]

Removing the cowl is real straight forward.

First remove the wiper arms. Once you've removed the nut holding them to the pivots, use gentle persuasion on the arms to get them off. If they're real tight, a thin wrench below the pivot mount and again GENTLE persuasion will alllow you to get them off without problems. Biggest thing to be aware of is that you are real close to the paint and you don't want to mar it.

Remove the 5 screws on the front lip of the cowl that gets hidden by the hood. Then gently lift the front edge. You only need to lift it enough to clear the side access doors and the hood gasket. Then pull towards the front of the car. You'll note that this allows the placement tangs on the back of the cowl to come out of their holders just beneath the windshield and also allow the wiper pivots to clear the holes in the cowl.

You'll then see the wiper motor in the center. There are 4 bolts holding it in place, two at the top and two down inside the cowl. You can try to remove the nut holding the wiper linkages to the motor, but I've found it can be easier to just remove the pivot arms and linkages all attached to the motor in one move.

Once you've removed the nuts holding the motor bracket, and either the pivot arms or the linkage from the motor, don't forget to disconnect the electrical connection. Then force the rubber plug for the wiper motor INTO the cowl. You should be able to remove them easily.

If you try to remove with the linkages on the motor, I've found that if you first move everything to the driver's side of the car (this is constant regardless of RHD or LHD) you should be able to move the passenger wiper arm out of the cowl cavity. Then just bring the rest of the motor / linkage out.

Be careful on disassembling the wiper motor. The back of the gear case has a contact point that determines the PARK point. If you move this without making a reference mark you'll find that your wipers park themselves in odd locations. You CAN disassemble the motor, clean it and lube it, but be EXTREMELY careful as it is very easy to screw something up. If you are opening it up because the wipers are slow, you might have more effect on the speed of the wipers if you disassemble the Pivot Arms and lube them instead of opening the motor.

That's it for now, hope it helped.

Enrique Scanlon

[240znz]

Enrique wrote soom good stuff there. My wipers were painfully slow. The wiper pivot rubber seals were perished to the point of they were letting in water...guess what was happening in there!!!!

I pulled the motor and arms. Dismantled the arms including the pivots and cleaned them in bath of kerosene. Used fine wet & dry sandpaper to remove the corrosion, painted them and put it all back together with lots of water-proof grease. Didn't touch the motor (even though I am a electrician) and they now work a treat....speed is not a problem.

So, the first ting I would do is to look at the pivots. They are now some 30 years old and probably need a little help.

Good luck....and be very carefull when dismantling the pivots, those circlips are very soft, but they are easily reformed using a pair of pliers....just take your time.