kmack
05-13-2002, 10:22 AM
I'm copying this from another thread I posted to and putting it here for posterity....
For those that have slow wipers and have determined it not the wiper motor, this is an easy way to help clean things up.
Pull the motor and wiper arm assembly out of the cowling area and out of the car. Your wiper arm "pivots" are what is stuck. Put the pivot arm into a vise to hold it still. On the part of the shaft that the wiper blade arm attaches to, you'll see a small little snap-ring around the the shaft just above the pivot base. Take a small flat blade screwdriver and remove that snap-ring. Then slowly work the pivot base off of the pivot shaft.
This part is what will take you the longest. Depending on how gunked up the whole thing is will determine how hard it is to get off. You may need to work the pivot base off with pliers or Vise-Grips. Take your time and try not to hurt the base - it is aluminum.
Once you have the base removed, you'll see how badly rusted or otherwise caked-up the shaft is. Take some emory cloth (or 400-600 grit sandpaper) and clean up the shaft. A little WD-40, etc. will help work everything off. Trial fit the base back onto the shaft . If it doesn't spin on the shaft freely, then keep working.
Once you have it all cleaned up, re-assembly is reverse order. Make sure you grease the wiper arm shaft before putting the base back on. I used Lithium grease. The snap-ring should then just slide back on into it's groove.
Put the assembly back into the car and then get ready to go drive in the rain. Also make sure the little rubber boots that go over the shaft are in good condition and intact. Otherwise you need to do this all over again in a few years.
For those that have slow wipers and have determined it not the wiper motor, this is an easy way to help clean things up.
Pull the motor and wiper arm assembly out of the cowling area and out of the car. Your wiper arm "pivots" are what is stuck. Put the pivot arm into a vise to hold it still. On the part of the shaft that the wiper blade arm attaches to, you'll see a small little snap-ring around the the shaft just above the pivot base. Take a small flat blade screwdriver and remove that snap-ring. Then slowly work the pivot base off of the pivot shaft.
This part is what will take you the longest. Depending on how gunked up the whole thing is will determine how hard it is to get off. You may need to work the pivot base off with pliers or Vise-Grips. Take your time and try not to hurt the base - it is aluminum.
Once you have the base removed, you'll see how badly rusted or otherwise caked-up the shaft is. Take some emory cloth (or 400-600 grit sandpaper) and clean up the shaft. A little WD-40, etc. will help work everything off. Trial fit the base back onto the shaft . If it doesn't spin on the shaft freely, then keep working.
Once you have it all cleaned up, re-assembly is reverse order. Make sure you grease the wiper arm shaft before putting the base back on. I used Lithium grease. The snap-ring should then just slide back on into it's groove.
Put the assembly back into the car and then get ready to go drive in the rain. Also make sure the little rubber boots that go over the shaft are in good condition and intact. Otherwise you need to do this all over again in a few years.