Dear Listers,
I Have some new wisdom to impart, after spending Saturday correcting a
wiper problem on the 6. The symptom of the problem is that when the wipers
were turned on, one wiper worked correctly, and the other sat lifeless on
the window. I had to replace the driver side wheelbox. A real pain in the
neck. The Tach has to come out to get to the access cover below the
wheelbox.
The first thing that I learned is that the weak link in the wiper
system is the wheel box. The cable is made of sturdy wire and seems
unlikely to fail, similarly the gear with which it meshes in the wheel box
is steel and does not look like it will strip easily. In my case, and
probably most others the failure was caused because the wiper shaft itself
is not fastened to the gear well, (simple press fit). Over time the shaft
to gear connection loosened and allowed the gear to freewheel, resulting in
one wiper which did not work. The bad news of this discovery is that simply
replacing the cable will not correct the problem. If this failure occurs,
the wheelbox must be replaced, no short cuts.
Second, it is possible to replace the wiper cable without removing
either wheel box. This can be done by removing the wipers and wiper motor,
then simply sliding the old cable out of the tubing. The new cable will
slid in, and mesh with the gears of the wheel boxes as it is slid forward.
The bad news is that, the cable probably will not go bad, meaning that if
something goes wrong, its most likely the wheelbox which is not as easily
replaced.
The third thing I learned is that when buying replacement parts, beware
of bargains particularly when they are as hard to replace as a wheelbox. I
bought a replacement wheel box from a TRF clearance sale. ($25 I think) It
looked identical to the original, however after I installed it and began to
thread the wiper cable through the tubing, I found that the position that
the tubing was clamped in relation to the gear teeth was off by a bit,
making it impossible to thread the cable through. It was not difficult to
bend the tubing brackets into position, but I had to remove the newly
installed wheelbox to do so. I also found that the studs which hold the
wheelbox cover in place were not fastened well to the assembly, as one broke
free while I was test fitting the cable and tubing. I don't know if I
purchased a unit at full price from another company if I would have had
better luck or not. Maybe I would have paid full price and still had
problems, or maybe the full price part would have been perfect out of the
box.
I hope you can take advantage of these tidbits if you encounter a
similar situation.
Best Regards,
Joseph Garruba
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