frugality
Top Post Dawg
So my rear wiper has gotten knocked out of whack by going through automatic car washes. After exiting the car wash, the wiper arm would be pushed down onto the lower painted part of the tailgate. So I bought new wiper arm components from 1stvwparts.com, which is a VW dealer in Washington state that runs an online business.
So long story short, the wiper arm had split. It looks worse here because of my prying to get the thing off, but basically it split at the rounded end. This is what we call "insert molded"; the aluminum ring was inserted into the tool, and the plastic arm was molded over the top of it, making the aluminum integral to the plastic.
This knurled aluminum bit stayed on the wiper motor shaft. Being that I'm in Michigan, the wiper is exposed to lots of road salt spray in the wintertime.
I doused it with Liquid Wrench, but vise-gripping just wouldn't bust it loose. I'm not sure a gear puller would have been a good idea here, due to the fact that you'd be pushing on the fragile nozzle. So I ran out and got some nut breakers, and it worked like a charm. After busting it off, I spent some time with a wire brush, and then used a dental-style pick to clean out the splines of the wiper motor shaft. The wiper motor shaft itself wasn't corroded. The aluminum ring of the wiper arm just corroded and provided a death-grip on the shaft.
I put a little anti-seize in the splines and installed the new wiper arm. This picture is midway through the clean-up.
So long story short, the wiper arm had split. It looks worse here because of my prying to get the thing off, but basically it split at the rounded end. This is what we call "insert molded"; the aluminum ring was inserted into the tool, and the plastic arm was molded over the top of it, making the aluminum integral to the plastic.
This knurled aluminum bit stayed on the wiper motor shaft. Being that I'm in Michigan, the wiper is exposed to lots of road salt spray in the wintertime.
I doused it with Liquid Wrench, but vise-gripping just wouldn't bust it loose. I'm not sure a gear puller would have been a good idea here, due to the fact that you'd be pushing on the fragile nozzle. So I ran out and got some nut breakers, and it worked like a charm. After busting it off, I spent some time with a wire brush, and then used a dental-style pick to clean out the splines of the wiper motor shaft. The wiper motor shaft itself wasn't corroded. The aluminum ring of the wiper arm just corroded and provided a death-grip on the shaft.
I put a little anti-seize in the splines and installed the new wiper arm. This picture is midway through the clean-up.