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1993 Corolla wipers

1993 Corolla LE auto 1.8 liter 320,000 km

The windshield wipers on this poor car are struggling so hard that the wiper motor is twitching the firewall in and out. The binding is in the hubs on the cowl.

The hubs look to be made from aluminum, as they are corroding a white powder. I took out the entire drive linkage in hopes of disassembling and lubricating. However, the drive arm is riveted on to the spindle. There is no circlip, so possibly the spindle is pressed in place and not removable. This thing is so tight you can't move the hub by hand.

There is no oil port, so I sprayed some penetrating oil on the tiny crack where the spindle exits the hub. It still shreiked when the motor was activated (without blades). I then put lots of 10w30 on (perhaps one drop went in) with the tip of a small screwdriver. It is now quiet, however the motor still looks like it's torquing slightly, a bit more than the reaction to the linkage shifting, even without blades mounted.

Should I drill into the side of the hub? I think the problem is binding within the hub caused by the exfoliation and helped by unlike metals in contact. What are your thoughts on this?

Your expert opinion is welcomed. Regards, Jack.

Reply to
Jack
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I think your best bet would be to find a replacement transmission, either from a junk yard or a dealer. Barring that, try penetrating oil to see if you can wash out the contaminants. If you leave it as-is, you will soon need a motor as well.

Reply to
Ray O

Thanks Ray O. I'll monitor the situation and check the wreckers.

- Jack

Reply to
Jack

Update:

I removed the linkage from the cowl. The driver's side spindle was seized so tight I had trouble working it back and forth with a work glove on, standing on the linkage to hold the bar down. The centre spindle (passenger wiper) was not nearly as bad, however would not do a 360 deg. spin. I soaked the spindle/hub with 10w30 (the penetrating oil seemed to do nothing). Then I forced the hub back and forth for about 15 minutes. After lunch I repeated this and got some rust-colored oil coming out.

Now it moves freely. I would have liked to disassemble the spindle from the hub, however there is no circlip. It looks like a washer is pressed on. FYI - Jack.

Reply to
Jack

If you could figure out how to get it apart and had some basic metal shop tools, a rebuild would be a slick project - drill out the adapter, and machine a little Oilite Bronze bushing for the wiper arm pivot.

Or for a lot less money than the effort expended to fix the old one could possibly be worth, go find a good used one at a wrecking yard, or a new one at the dealer, and be done with it.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

You're welcome and good luck!

Reply to
Ray O

Thanks for the update. Now that it is freed up, lube what you can with lithium grease.

Reply to
Ray O

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