Wiper question

amg5872

amg5872

Well-Known Member
Site Donor $
Messages
148
Reaction score
27
Location
St. Louis, MO
Hi, all. This question is for a 1973 E3, but I figured the E9s might have the same wiper assembly and there seems to be more E9 forum traffic so I hope it is okay to post here. I recently bought my 1973 E3. The day after I got my safety inspection (I mention that because I suspect the technician may have mishandled something) I turned on the wipers and the driver's side wiper didn't move. When I went to check it out, the whole wiper assembly came off of the shaft in my hand. I can press it back down onto the shaft but if I turn the wipers on this wiper will not move. The shaft itself is moving; the issue is that the wiper assembly is not engaging with the shaft. It's just loosely attaching to the shaft. I'm attaching a picture of the wiper assembly and the shaft I am talking about. Thanks in advance for any thoughts on this issue.
 

Attachments

  • wiper.jpg
    wiper.jpg
    86.3 KB · Views: 128
It looks like the splines inside the cylinder that fits into your wiper arm are worn, so the part longer grips the splines on the shaft that turns back-and-forth. I'd leave the wiper arm off until you get it fixed - those silver wiper arms are hard to replace. Fortunately your's didn't fall off while driving.

I'm not sure how to fix this, other than finding good, used parts. Pouring some JB Weld into the cylinder and sticking it back on the shaft might work for awhile, but it will quickly fatigue from the cyclic load.
 
The splined cap on your wiper shaft is stuck inside your wiper arm, pry it out from the spring clip. Maybe someone here has a spare, it usually isn't the problem, it's the splines on the outside of the cap and inside the arm.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    97.6 KB · Views: 115
I cant see the cylinder part listed, perhaps it comes with the pivot shaft(s) which are still listed as available at least for e9
 
Thanks to you all for the replies. I always say this, but this forum always impresses the heck out of me. HBChris, I see what you mean about the splined cap being stuck inside the arm. So assuming I get the splined cap out of the arm, the remaining issue is the engagement between the splined cap and the splined shaft. It seems jmackro is correct that the splines on the interior surface of the cap are worn such that the cap will engage with the wiper arm but not with the shaft. What would you all recommend for a part source for the splined cap? Stevehose, where were you looking? Thanks again, guys.
 
amg5872 said:
What would you all recommend for a part source for the splined cap?
Click to expand...

A wrecking yard? This part is probably common to many older BMW's. And as Chris noted, they usually wear on the outside, not the inside. I didn't even know they could come off the shaft. How you would remove one from a wrecked car is an unknown to me - perhaps with a claw hammer (I'm serious).
 
Well, here is the photographic update if anyone is interested. I extracted the splined cap from the wiper arm. I don't know if it shows up in the pictures, but the splines on the wiper arm and on the outside of the cap appear to be in decent shape, while the splines on the inside surface of the cap appear worn. If anyone has a spare cap, I'd love to take it off of your hands. Thanks again to all for the input.


AG
 

Attachments

  • wiper2.jpg
    wiper2.jpg
    94.1 KB · Views: 121
  • wiper3..jpg
    wiper3..jpg
    92.8 KB · Views: 150
Kluge FWIW

This exact thing happened to me. Happily, the wiper fell off while I was at a stop light and not on the highway. The part is unobtanium. You may notice that the shaft will slide right down into the well beneath.

This happened at The Vintage and with a consult from Rob "The Hack Mechanic" Siegel and Eric Wegwieser, we fixed it by putting just a small dab of JB Weld on the splines and re-seating the splined cap.

Your only other choice is to buy a complete, new wiper mechanism.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top