Has anyone encountered a squeaky wiper mechanism on a maxima?
Mine is a 97, I first thought it was simply bad blades, but after unbolting and removing both entire arms, they still squeaked. I doused the entire area with wd40, then silicone (after removing that black vent cover thing that runs across the length of the rear of the engine compartment. Still squeaks.
My next move is to remove the entire mechanism and either lube it carefully, or replace it. Anyone have any advice on this? Thanks,
Thanks Jim. At the time I just needed to spray something--anything--that would creep into the pivots because the thought of removing them was a nightmare. Nothing seeped in, and that route didn't work--the axle shaft was bound so tight that I needed to remove the whole assembly.
However, I did remove it and fixed the squeak. For those reading who are interested and may have a similar problem read on.
The bad news is that it's difficult, the good news is that it's doable. Of course you need to remove that long black plastic shroud, also the vaccum solenoid in the center/rear of the engine compartment, then that bracket thing that holds the passenger-side pivot to the body.
Each of the pivots (the white nylon triangular things in which each wiper axle goes through) have 3 bolts. The problem is that these bolts are slip-fit in the pivot, so if the nut is rusty, you just spin the whole nut/bolt assembly. Not only is it nearly impossible to reach under and hold the other end (the driver side is especially difficult)--but the bolt head is circular--not hex, and thin as a washer. So I ended up drilling right through the top of the bolt itself for the two which were stuck. Then a simple twist with the wrench twisted what was left of the bolt off.
The metal crank-arm just pops off it's link under the passenger side pivot (actually in the very middle). Then the whole arm with the two pivots can be fished out of there.
I then put the nylon piece in a vise (carefully) and popped out the rest of the bolts I had drilled-out. I replaced them with normal bolts, which slip-fit in tight enough to hold while I re-installed the piece--I was prepared to use some mastic adhesive to hold them in--at this point I didn't care--but there was no need for that. Anyway, then to pop the 'axle' out of the nylon pivot, I had to get the lock/snap-ring off the topside of the axle. It was so rusty I didn't even know there even was a snap ring until I soaked the end of the axle with a penetrating oil, then wire brushed the whole thing. I then just popped the snapring off using a sharp wood chisel, since I had nothing else to pry this rusty thing out with. Then, with the nylon pivot in a vise, I carefully hammered the axle through the nylon pivot.
The axle shaft was extremely rusty, I wire brushed it then wrapped 200 emery cloth around it to smooth it out, then finished with 400. I then greased it with standard grease (I had no white lithium), and put it back in, put the snap ring back on, and put the whole thing back together.
The job was a success--no squeak, the wipers wipe smooth like new. It was about a 2 hour job, but worth it.
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