REPAIRING A WIPER TRANSMISSION (FOR INOPERATIVE DRIVERS SIDE ARM) 900s

If the cam under the left side arm's pivot point has separated from the shaft, you can fix it permanently if you can find the cam and the spacer washer. Usually they are held by the cable or fall just down on the electrical harness against the firewall below the wipers. Find as many pieces as you can before working on removing the transmission/linkage assembly. The spacer for the cam usually either stays on the shaft or sticks to the cam with the grease it has on it. Make sure the cable for the cam is not frayed.

To remove, first remove the two 13 mm nuts holding the arms to the shafts. Raising the arms/blades off the windshield will allow the covers at the bottom to lift up. Remove the nuts and rock the arms off the shaft. Keep the arms separate, noting that one is marked left and one right.

Pop the two boots around each shaft off the body. At this point you may find it easier to remove the ac belt, I usually leave it on though. Remove the 4 10 mm bolts that go though a spacer and rubber grommet securing the wiper transmission/motor assembly to the firewall. Drop the assembly down far enough to get a wrench on the 10 mm bolt holding the arm to the motor. Remove that bolt, working the arm off the motor's shaft until it clears. This eliminates prying the plastic bushings on and off and reduces the chance that they will be brittle and will break.

Now remove the three Phillips' screws holding the motor to the transmission. A sharp smack on the screw driver with a hammer will usually ease the removal of these screws. Let the motor stay in the car and maneuver the transmission out of the car.

Loosen the cable in the linkage by holding the 8 mm nut on its end and turning the cable by means of the slot in its end with a small flat screwdriver. Position the shaft in the transmission for the left side wiper arm. Clean and grease the shaft and the transmission. Fit the spacer on the big splined end of the shaft and put the cam on so it extends down over the housing, not with its biggest end out. You will have to position it so that offset angle will allow it to turn when it is pushed onto the shaft and its bottom is almost flush with the end of the shaft. If it is hitting the transmission, you have it turned the wrong way. Tap the cam onto the shaft until there is little play in the shaft up and down in the housing but not so tight that it is hard to turn. When this is good, place it in a vise and drill through the cam and shaft with a 1/8 inch bit. Now tap a 1/8 rolled pin in the drilled hole and it will never fall apart again.

Note the wear marks in the arm that the cable sits in to determine which way to route it on the cam. Loop it around the cam, placing the crimped part on the cable in the notch on the cam and running the threaded end out the hole in the end of the arm. Start the nut and tighten by turning the 8 mm nut while holding the cable by the slot in its end. Get this fairly tight. Lube this area well so the cable will not wear. Test that the cable works by moving the arm back and forth. Crossing the cable the wrong way, or having a cam with a lot of wear in its grooves may allow the cable to pop off. Better to know this now than when its all put back together.

Getting the transmission assembly back in after you have both shafts on it is much more challenging than removing it with the drivers side off. Position it in its place, starting the right shaft in its hole in the body first. Push that shaft all the way to the right upper corner of its space in the body. Then move the arm so you get the most clearance and allow it to go as far right as possible. You can turn the assembly down and pull up carefully on the body at the left side hole for that shaft until the shaft goes into its place. This may take some effort. Be careful not to damage the brake lines or harnesses that run under the left side pivot. This is a tight squeeze, but it will go.

After you get both shafts back in their openings in the body, reattach the motor to the transmission and the 10 mm bolt back in the arm to the motor. Make sure you put the arm on the right way, it should face to the right of the car if the motor was in the parked position when you removed it. Then bolt the assembly back to the firewall.

Place a bit of lube in the rubber boots and put them back in place. Reattach and tighten the wiper arms and you're ready to go. Position the arms close to where you want them to be when parked and tighten the nuts, They may shift a bit as the splines align themselves, so you might end up adjusting this position a bit to get what you want.