Windscreen wiper linkage arm broke!

Dana_Drury · 12-31-2002, 11:01 PM

Evening...

Despite the fact we are in the middle of a drought, it rained heavily today, and halfway through driving my windscreen wipers stopped working and just went "cthunk... cthunk" with one of them moving slightly...

So I got home, pulled the under dash area out from the boot and found that the metal arm that links the left to the right had snapped where there is a ball joint connection (the metal has been pinched to allow for a bolt to go through and must be a weak spot).

Looking at the unit I concluded two things, one was that it sucked that happening... and secondly do I need to replace the entire unit as one whole thing (as instructed in the Haynes manual, my factory manuals had no details) or, seeing as my wiper motor is fine, can I simply get a used wiper control mechanism and swap it in... and is it a nightmare to do?

(I had to speed to clear my windscreen of water... imagine explaining that to the police!)

Tinton · 01-01-2003, 01:20 AM

Quote:

(I had to speed to clear my windscreen of water... imagine explaining that to the police!)

Especially on the last day of the double demerit period.

Anthony.

Dana_Drury · 01-01-2003, 01:28 AM

Ah yes, its hard enough driving normally in a P-Car let alone with double demerit points (down Princes Highway no less....)... It did make me marvel at the aerodynamics of the Porsche though...

pwd72s · 01-01-2003, 09:45 AM

A ball joint connection? I'll admit that I'm not familiar with the problem you're describing. But I'm wondering if a skilled welder could repair the break? Also, Rain-X! Great stuff, and especially if wipers aren't working...

Adam · Adam's Garage

I believe that if you remove the cardboard-esque curved cover at the aft section of the the boot/trunk area then you'll have access to all kinds of stuff (wipers, blower fan, relays etc etc). I think it is secured by 4 or 5 13mm nuts.

I've gotta echo Paul's words of wisdom about Rain-X. I use it religiously and at speed, unless it's a real downpour, the wipers are reasonably optional.

Good luck with it. Hope it's plain sailing from here on in.

Dana_Drury · 01-01-2003, 10:20 PM

Yeah I got in there once after it had broken (you have to remove the blower motor as well which is a lot easier than I expected, two bolts and a viola!). I can get the to linkage, but I think I am going to have to drop the whole section out on the weekend and replace or try and reweld the linkage.