windscreen wiper assembly removal tips required

[peanut]

Hiyall. Has anyone removed their windscreen wiper motor and linkages lately on a 944S2 ?

There seems to be a completely inaccesable bracket fixing under the windscreen in the centre of the screen. It secures the linkage furthest from the motor.

the only way I can see to remove this fixing is to remove the entire housing to the heater fan first ?
I don't want to rip all that out if it can be avoided as I don't know how difficult it is to replace it without damage.

I'm seriously contemplating sawing the damn bracket off at the moment []

 

[DavidL]

I shall watch this thread. I need to do mine as it can squeal like a pig. I have a spare motor but the couple of times I've looked the bolts are truely hidden!

 

[steve 944t]

I did mine about 5 years ago. Can't remember all the details but definitely did have to remove the fan assembly. It was a pain in the neck to do and time consuming, but not particularly difficult.

One tip - the connecting rods go onto a spline. Make sure you mark it and put the new one on in the same position. Mine is about 1 tooth out which affects the sweep of the wiper blade. It is an annoyance, but not enough of an annoyance to make me take it all apart and re-do it!

 

[JamesO]

I removed the fan housing to change my wiper linkage/motor, not an awful job if the screws aren't seized.
It may be possible to do it without removing the housing but my fan resistor pack was burnt out and I had a spare later housing, which was a different design.

 

[Mike_Pollock]

Heater has to come out!

As already said, not too bad a job unless the screws are siezed

 

[peanut]

thanks chaps. I was kinda hoping there was some ingenious way of avoiding removing the fan housing. I thought it might explode into 50 pieces and never go back together again.

The 1989 S2 is completly different from all the earlier 944's The H****s manual is useless. grrr

I need to drill and tap one of the brass swivel balls that the link arm attaches to. It is so worn that even a new arm won't stay on. I'm going to try drill through the link arm cup and the swivel ball and screw them together with a self tapper.?

 

[bertelli_1]

The motor assembly won't physically come out unless you remove the top of the fan assembly anyway. Be wary when removing the two large nuts where the wiper arms splines come through the screen surround - usually they are badly corroded & the alloy threads just turn to dust.

 

[peanut]

ORIGINAL: bertelli_1

The motor assembly won't physically come out unless you remove the top of the fan assembly anyway. Be wary when removing the two large nuts where the wiper arms splines come through the screen surround - usually they are badly corroded & the alloy threads just turn to dust.

thanks for that warning. Mine were very corroded too and took quite a lot of persuasion to get them to drop out of the brackets. . Before I put it all back together i will try to disasemble both the wiper arm splines and grease them . Some of the friction that causes the wiper link arm to pop off the spigot probably comes from the oxidation around the wiper splines.

 

[Mike_Pollock]

I'd suggest having a word with Alistair see if hes got a good mechanisum, Mine was totally shot but still worked if a little floppy.

 

[peanut]

ah I see that you did the screw through the link arm cup idea ![] thats what I was planning to do with mine.
My splines are not quite as oxidised as those fortunately. I'm hoping I can re-fix the link arm and refit the whole assembly again.
thanks for the horror image lol just as I'm about to go to bed []
I shall have nightmares all night now[]

 

[Mike_Pollock]

Mine had already been screwed so I just swapped the lot! Quite cheap from Cocacola on here, Good luck[]

 

[Dockrell]

Peanut,
I have a late 2.7 944, built in May 1989 so my car is not an S2, but I have replaced the entire wiper assembly on my car without removing any of the heater components.
As you say the bolt under the passenger side is a pig to remove, or fit, but it can be done with a small 1/4 inch socket set.
There were two other areas that caught on the passenger side of the wiper assembly and stopped easy removal.
The first was a cable loom by the heater assembly, solved by removing the retaining clip and moving the loom out of the way. I was able to get some more retaining clips so I was able to refix the loom in its original position after I replaced the wiper assembly.

The second area that caught was the operating arm for the passenger side wiper. I disconnected the operating arm from the wiper and the assembly could be removed by rotating it out of the holes in the scuttle.

Assembly was easier but remember to fit the operating arm end on the passengers side once the assemby is in place.

The first time I removed the wiper assembly it took me nearly all day - after the third or fourth time it was down to an hour and a half.

My replacement wiper motor only came with a single ball joint connector so I had to swap over my old double ball joint connector - hence issues with getting the wiper alignment correct and the many attempted assemblies.

Mike
White 2.7 automatic

 

[peanut]

thanks Mike . There seems to be several differences in the early and late type wiper motor fixings and assembly. The heater fan housing is different too I think.

Its impossible for me to get my hand into that space and so I'll probably remove the heater fan cover to make things easy.
I have as a tempoary measure tied the link arm on using tiewraps and elastic bands. if it holds together for a re-test next week it will give me time to do the job properly when I can find somewhere under cover .

ORIGINAL: Dockrell

Peanut,
I have a late 2.7 944, built in May 1989 so my car is not an S2, but I have replaced the entire wiper assembly on my car without removing any of the heater components.
As you say the bolt under the passenger side is a pig to remove, or fit, but it can be done with a small 1/4 inch socket set.
There were two other areas that caught on the passenger side of the wiper assembly and stopped easy removal.
The first was a cable loom by the heater assembly, solved by removing the retaining clip and moving the loom out of the way. I was able to get some more retaining clips so I was able to refix the loom in its original position after I replaced the wiper assembly.

The second area that caught was the operating arm for the passenger side wiper. I disconnected the operating arm from the wiper and the assembly could be removed by rotating it out of the holes in the scuttle.

Assembly was easier but remember to fit the operating arm end on the passengers side once the assemby is in place.

The first time I removed the wiper assembly it took me nearly all day - after the third or fourth time it was down to an hour and a half.

My replacement wiper motor only came with a single ball joint connector so I had to swap over my old double ball joint connector - hence issues with getting the wiper alignment correct and the many attempted assemblies.

Mike
White 2.7 automatic

 

[Mike_Pollock]

All the oval dash cars are the same (the square dash are different and easy!) , but I understand what Mike says, ie disassemble in situ and it may come out, without removing the heater - certainly worth trying!

 

[rcsalmons]

Depending on what your problem is this may or may not help, something I posted on the 968 forum which I guess is the same as an S2 -

Following on from an earlier post I fixed my wiper linkage today and thought I'd add a few pics.

Total cost from OPC Exeter less than £10

The worn out ball joint.

Removed scuttle cover, wipers

Whilst holding one end of the linkage the other end can be levered off

The new part - thanks Mike968 for pointing me in the right direction
Note You can only buy a complete assembly according to 968PET, this is from 944PET.

Lever the new arm on, brake pads were the only thing I could find to lever against.

Pop the other end in, scuttle cover back on, wipers on and a clean

 

[peanut]

thanks for the very nice instruction images . Unfortunately on some cars the brass ball on the wiper spline is so worn that even a new link arm will still pop off under load.

Amazing colour !

 

[944Turbo]

As a bodge you can also wedge in some plastic cut from a soft plastic cd envelope between ball and socket.

When I replaced the arm on mine I took the heater out - its worth it just to remove the dead leaves and compost that has accumulated over the years. There is a flexible mastic seal between the heater fans and the body, this is important to prevent water ingress.
Tony

 

[peanut]

thanks Tony. I've used some elastic bands and a couple of tie-wraps for now. This weekend I'll remove the heater fan and do a permenant job. I was amazed at how much leaf mulch there was beneath the plastic cover. Its all really damp too so a breeding ground for rust and leaks. I'm looking forward to cleaning all that out .[]

 

[944Turbo]

It will be compost along the front edge between it and the scuttle - I am obsessive about removing leaves from the scuttle area - do it on others cars when the bonnet is up! - and mine was quite full, good have planted seeds.
Once all the bolts ((or nuts?) its been a while but I do remember there is a good illustration in the workshop manual) are removed the mastic meant the fans were still well stuck down - I removed the intake grills from the ends and eased it up with a suitable piece of timber.
Tony

 

[david924s]

When the motor went on my S2 wiper I replaced the whole mechanism with one from a Turbo, after removing the plastic cover at the windscreen end you can remove the mechanism but replacing for me was nearly impossible, so I removed the heater unit and hinged it back onto the engine. This gives you plenty of room to work and replace the wiper unit, it also allowed me to remove all the debris that gets in there. Be careful with the screws holding the heater to the engine bulkhead as they snap easily and dont be tempted to leave the awkward ones out as water can then enter directly into the cabin. I think I got my replacement for about £80 proven working with a guarantee of sorts and it has been fine for over two years now.