Boys and Girls,

I recently noticed the driver's side wiper arm is loose on my '02 V6. The arm is secure to the post, but the unfortunately the post itself has a fair amount of side-to-side play relative to the fixed structure. I'm trying to get a handle on what I can expect to find when I dig deeper. Here's a picture of the entire unit, shamelessly stolen from eBay:



Are there any adjustments to tighten up the pivoting post where the arm attaches? Or am I probably looking at replacing the whole unit?

 

Before you buy anything check carefully. It may be the arm that is worn, not the post. Many wiper arms are made from a softer metal that is more prone to wear than the steel post.

 

A little update. I found a good deal on eBay for a serviceable used linkage/motor assembly. From a quick comparison with the replacement unit, it would appear the bore on the existing mechanism is severely worn. I didn't have time for major disassembly. I could not discern if there's a replaceable bushing or not. I also don't want to tear the replacement apart too far (in case I damage it), and would prefer to simply swap in the serviceable unit. I may play with the existing unit at a later date to see if I can repair it and keep as a spare, but for now I want to minimize downtime.

Any tips on replacing the whole mechanism? I found a couple of videos, but they were for RHD V8 models. I have a LHD V6, so am hoping for specifics for this model. The service manual has me remove the shock tower brace, coolant reservoir, and brake booster. For the coolant reservoir, I bet I can remove the mounting bolts and swing it out for clearance without disconnecting the lines. But is it really necessary to remove the brake booster? That seems like such a poor design. How much clearance is needed? Would it be enough to loosen the mounting bolts without disconnecting any lines?

 

Finally had a little free time to take care of this problem. Each pivot arm does have a bushing (bronze?). I had hoped to replace the bushing in situ, but there was not enough room behind the linkage. I ended up replacing the entire linkage mechanism (with motor). The whole process wasn't as bad as I had feared. The service manual has you remove the power brake booster for access, but I found that wasn't necessary. Talk about a pleasant surprise!

Here's the same picture as above, with added notes. Four bolts secure the mechanism. Three bolts are in plain sight. The fourth bolt is hidden behind the coolant reservoir. There's also a protruding stud on the firewall. Once the four bolts are removed, you must slide the whole shooting match forward about one inch to clear this stud:




Here's a view installed. For access, you will need to remove the wiper arms. Mark the windshield with tape or a Sharpie so you can reinstall the arms in the same position. Then remove the cover at the base of the windshield. Next remove the brace between the shock towers (still installed in this image). Finally, drain the coolant reservoir and disconnect the hose underneath. Access under the reservoir is nearly impossible. Disconnect the far end of that hose (at the firewall) and leave it attached to the reservoir. Have a drain pan ready. You can leave the other hoses connected, unbolt the reservoir, and swing it forward. With the reservoir out of the way, you can remove the hidden fourth bolt for the wiper mechanism:




Once the mechanism is loose, removing it was a bit of fun. Per the manual, you must remove the brake booster for clearance. I've seen others mention you only had to loosen it, not fully remove the booster. The clearance was SO close and very frustrating. I spent at least 15 minutes trying, getting more and more frustrated. I finally gave up and decided to loosen the booster. But before I started, I twisted the whole mechanism one last time to undo the connector from the bottom of the wiper motor. Heck if I know what I did, but after tipping the assembly flat to reach the connector, the whole thing popped free. So the wiper mechanism can definitely be removed without doing anything to the brake booster. Just be patient, and tip the bottom edge forward to improve clearance.

From start to finish, I spent a little over 2 hours. This was not a bad job, all things considered.

Here's the damage found on the old mechanism. You can see the edge of the bushing, worn nearly all the way through on the outboard side:



Another view:




I may see if I can replace the damaged bushing and keep the old unit as a spare, but that's on the back burner for now. I've no idea why only one bushing failed. The other looked fine.

If you have the wiper arms removed for any reason, such as replacing the cabin air filter, I'd suggest adding a few drops of light oil to these bushings. Each pivot has a rubber cover that slides off for access. I'd also suggest having a spare cabin filter on hand, as you've got to remove the wiper arms and big trim panel for access anyway.

To give you an idea how loose the pivot was, the spring in the wiper arm was lifting it up and causing contact with the hood. Normally there's about a half inch gap there. Note the shiny worn area in the middle of the wiper arm:

 

the engine can use a little wipe down, no offence meant

 

Forgot to mention a few minor things:

1) How did I notice the worn bushing? That wiper was not clearing rain from the windshield very well. After the third new blade, I started getting suspicious... The middle of the arm has a hinge with spring to maintain blade tension on the glass, but I couldn't see any adjustment. Thinking perhaps the spring had lost tension, I got to playing with it and noticed the wear mark due to the arm lifting up and hitting the hood. I finally put the little clues together and realized the pivot point was sloppy. I am happy to report the wiper action is back to normal now.

2) If you need to replace the wiper motor, you'll probably have to remove the whole linkage mechanism as previously detailed. The wiper motor has a small integral gearbox and is secured to the underside of the linkage mechanism by three bolts. This picture, same as above complete with dirty motor, has arrows pointing to two of the three bolts. The third bolt is hidden under the ledge at the base of the windshield:




3) If the wiper arms are removed for any reason, be sure to test run the wiper motor before reinstallation. This makes sure the linkage is positioned in the park position. While loosening the fasteners securing the arms, it's possible to unknowingly rotate the linkage away from the park position. If you install the wipers like this, they will park in the wrong position.

 

Got to wondering if my wiper arms are indexed correctly. Even though I replaced the whole wiper linkage mechanism, I marked the glass and reinstalled the blades exactly as before. There’s no guarantee they were correct before this recent work. Looking at various pics online, it’s possible both are indexed one notch too high but it’s difficult to be sure.

Would somebody be so kind as to compare my measurements with yours? Mine is an ‘02 (pre-facelift) LHD. The first picture shows the measurement (3.5”) from the edge of the gasket to the center of the passenger’s arm, at the middle of the blade:




This picture shows both blades. The measurement was the same for each arm:




Thanks for any help.

 

That looks a little high compared to mine Karl. I think at least 1 notch lower mine is a leter model 2006 but should be similar. Please ignore the greasy hand print marks on the wall. Took me 30+ years to achieve that custom look

 

Thanks. I adjusted each arm down one notch, and now it looks similar to your car.

BTW, I picked up one of these doohickeys for pulling the wiper arms. Not bad for a whopping $6 and worked like a charm:










When removing the arm, don't fully remove the retaining nut at first. Instead, back it off about one thread beyond flush. This creates a shallow well on the end of the pivot post, and helps keep the puller centered while you tighten the knob.

 

Hey Karl, I just checked my 01 V6 and the arms positions were like yours before you adjusted them. May I know how you adjusted them using that Amazon tool? Thanks

 

Sounds like there might be a little confusion about that tool. It is simply a puller, only used to remove the arm from the post. The tool doesn't do anything to adjust the wiper arms relative to the post.

The arm and post are splined to each other. To adjust the position of the arm relative to the post, I simply moved the arm one notch lower during reinstallation.

You don't necessarily need the puller to remove the arm from the post, but it does make the task easier. Previously, I was able to wiggle the arm free while applying upward pressure.

Did that answer your question?

Please keep in mind I do not know which position is right. The lower position I decided to try looks "more correct".

 

Just a note on that style of puller?
I got one and it does not fit my late model XJ (X351)? The cut out is not deep enough to get the threaded rod centered over the stud? Maybe I could Dremel it out some?

I use this style of puller.



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The plot thickens. I have one of those pullers with the adjustable arms. It's probably 30+ years old, and has worked on other vehicles. But on my S-type, I couldn't get it to clear the sculpted plastic panel at the base of the windshield. That's why I splurged the $6 on the Amazon special with the fixed base. The opening in the base was barely wide enough to clear the post, but it did fit. Ideally, the gap should be slightly wider, but I was too lazy to do anything about it.