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Wiper Motor Repair 700 1985

Has anyone repaired/rebuilt a wiper motor? Was it worth it? Did it work or did you wind up replacing it? Original motor slowing down. 34yrs old
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UPDATE: Wiper Motor Repair 700 1985

The 240 doesn't fit my 740. But wasn't the motor. Stalks rusted, dirty etc. Cleaned them all up and back to normal. fyi mine was a single 4 wire plug.
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Wiper Motor Repair 700 1985

As Dave had stated 740/940 wiper motors are of better construction. I've disassembled my 25 years old motor, regrease (use spray to get to tight spots) and reassemble it back. Even the carbon brushes are still long. No loose magnets inside. If your wipers are slow check fuse #15 for poor/dirty contacts and maybe its time to renew your wipers too (if the rubbers are hardened). Lubricate the wiper shafts with some oil and lastly add some dishwashing soap into wiper fluid.

Amarin.








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Wiper Motor Repair 700 1985

If I remember reading about it, the 700 uses the same wiper motor as the 240. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyhow, the one in our grocery getter started making the telltale noise I haven't heard since maybe '02 -- the loose magnet cuddling up to the armature. Kind of like an idling boat motor.

http://cleanflametrap.com/wiper.html#loose_magnets
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

Before I got married, I had six theories about bringing up children.
Now I have six children and no theories. (John Wilmot)








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Wiper Motor Repair 700 1985

Hi Art.

The 740/940 windshield wiper motors are fortunately not the same and are much more reliable than those used in the 140s/240s. The latter were of course famously prone to failure from rusty/loose magnets on the inside motor casing, which for the benefit of others can usually be repaired successfully by disassembling the motor, removing the armature, thorough rust removal and epoxying them back in place, careful when reassembling the cam gear and contacts.

The main problem with the 740/940 wiper systems, both front and to a lesser extent the rear, can be extremely slow operation, most noticeable at low speed when dry wiping or trying to clean road spray off the window. As noted in the FAQ, it's caused by the wiper shaft bushing lubrication drying out. Ensuing aluminum corrosion can make them one step short of frozen. Caught early, external lubrication can temporarily help, but the proper fix is to remove the shafts, polish up everything and re-lubricate with a quality all-weather grease, such as marine grease used for drive shafts.

As long as I'm on the topic and for the benefit of others who might later follow this discussion, I'll add the following wiper related tips as there is no longer a mechanism to add information to the FAQ.

Access to the front wiper system is much simpler than the 240s where you often end up having to crawl under the dash. In 740s/940s, the windshield wiper system is under the cowling below the windshield. Cowling removal is a fender bolt on either side at the front, hidden middle bolt under the rubber strip, lift front edge and slide forward off the pins on either side at the rear, be extra careful not to scratch paint (use a blanket). While you're at it, it's a good time to fix those problematic loose leaf screens using a heat gun on low and pressing the mesh back into the mastic with the edge of a blade, smoothing over the oozed mastic to properly hold it in place like the factory should have done in the first place.

The tailgate wiper motors are also quite reliable. Access to the tailgate wiper system requires removal of the inside door panel trying not to break the slightly delicate plastic clips, including the looped tabs along the bottom edge and the inner clip frames at the top. Getting the bezel over the T-handle is often problematic as the plastic handle cover is often very difficult to remove -sometimes simpler to just split the bezel in the middle and re-glue it afterwards with mastic or whatever. Lift the panel out a bit at the bottom then push straight up. Careful when aligning the clips on reassembly. There is a repair kit if the top clips get broken. To the best of my recollection, those motors are also different from the 140/240s, definitely the assemblies are. Main problem I have with 740/940 tailgate wipers is the aluminum mounting shaft through the tailgate eventually becoming loose -when the shaft starts to becomes loose the aluminum threads easily get worn and when you go to give it a good tighten (tricky to get a wrench between the glass, best to use a large deep socket) the threads easily strip, I've had to use spacer washers to get the nut back out onto good thread -I'm thinking about trying thread locker next time, next step after that will be epoxy.

I don't have headlight wipers, so I can't attest to the reliability of those motors.

I'm glad this post came along as it reminds me I've got one 940 in definite need of wiper lubrication before the fall rains arrive

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Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now








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Wiper Motor Repair 700 1985

Just lubed my wiper shafts so I'll post a few more notes.

-Once you've got the cowl panel off, stuff a shop rag down each side of the cavities by the fenders, especially the driver side, so nothing can drop down. Virtually impossible to see where it lands and, short of turning the car upside down, virtually impossible to fish things back out from the narrow crevice at the bottom, even with a magnet. I remembered this once happening to me.
-Remove the entire wiper assembly to the work bench -note the four T-washers on both sides of the rubber mounts.
-Next, memorize/document/mark the precise alignment of the motor control arm and linkage arms for reassembly. Presumably to take the tension off the wiper blades after the down stroke, when the motor is in the park position the short motor control arm ends up just a bit (like maybe 5 degrees) beyond being perfectly aligned under the linkage arms.
-Remove the circlip on the end of each shaft. There's a rubber o-ring seal under a metal thrust washer at both ends of the shafts -don't lose them. Check the o-rings for damage or excessive wear, replace as needed. If you've got suitably thin o-rings of decent quality then probably a good idea to always replace them as these act as lubricant seals. Probably best to avoid using standard thickness o-rings as they may create undesirable added friction.
-To be able to pull out the shafts, you need to unbolt the arm from the motor shaft.
-Clean/polish the shafts and bushings, flush the bushings and re-grease both the shafts and the bushings. Probably best to use a fairly thin consistency Lithium grease, but thicker than white spray Lithium.
-Re-grease the two ball joints on the linakge arms as best you can. The far end one pops off for full access. The middle one on the motor arm wouldn't pop off easily, so rather than force it I just regreased it under the rubber collar. There is no ball joint at the cable tethered end.
-Try oiling the motor shaft bushing with something like 3-in-1.
-The gearcase cover is riveted and cannot be opened, so nothing to do there.
-The cable tensioning nut should not need adjustment unless the cable pawl is noticeably floppy.

Made for a definite improvement.
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Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now








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Wiper Motor Repair 700 1985

Thanks Dave. Should have known this was a Frequently Asked Question. (smile)
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

700/900 FAQ








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Wiper Motor Repair 700 1985

700/900 owners may have the FAQ, but even better for 240 owners is Art.
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Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now








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Wiper Motor Repair 700 1985

Again, thanks Dave for the kind thoughts. I'm chagrined to discover I'd already looked at the wiper section of the 7/9 FAQ list when I put together the 240 wiper web page years ago. Still looks as it did, too.


--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

"Never trust the work of the last guy, even if you're the last guy"







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