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This also happened on my wife's '78 245 after she replaced the single blade wipers with the "improved" double blade type while on a winter trip. This of course doubled the frictional resistance and eventually the splined inner end of the right wiper shaft worked loose from its cams. The splined inner shaft-end is press-fit into the potmetal cam, so once the splines loosen, some metal inside the cam's shaftway is lost. Don Foster's repair worked because he used Loctite, which took up some missing thousandths of potmetal. Though I knew better, I first refit the cam onto the shaft and hammered it home as Don did, but without Loctite. (I'd advise backing up the exterior shaft end with a wood block when you hammer carefully from inside, or you may bugger those splines or threads.) Even though I replaced the double blade wipers with single bladed, the repair lasted only a few months. When it failed again I just bought a replacement cam and shaft assembly from the dealer for about $60. The Volvo pt. # for my '78 (right side) was 1203019, "Wiper Bearing", though it's the whole assembly of cams, bracket, and shaft.
I'd think Loctite or, even better, something like Loctite "Quick Metal" Press Fit Repair (available at a bearing house) might make a lasting fix. And yes, it's a bitch refitting the cables. They have to be right or they'll flip out of the cam grooves. As I recall, you loosen the small screws in the cable-end recesses, located atop the linkage arms over the cams, thus permitting you just enough slack to roll the cables into their grooves, then retighten when the cables are properly in place. You'll probably have to twist a loop into the cable if the cable has come off the cam and unlooped itself. I can't recall which way the loop goes--i.e., right over left or vice versa. You'll have to look at the grooves and logic it out--all of this far easier said than done. Note that the little silver collars on the cables fit into the notches on their respective cams. Check the other wiper for reference if its cable is still intact. If fitting new cables to the cams, each cable-end should loop completely around its cam and over to its seat in the linkage arm. To remove a kinked or broken cable (mine weren't), you point each cable-end upward after loosening its screw, then pull directly (gently) down to snake it out of its linkage arm recess. The right wiper has two cams and therefore two cables, the motor arm linkage driving the aft-most cam and cable, while the arm linking to the left wiper drives the cam nearest the firewall. It may help to rotate the cam both to fit the cables on and to envision the proper arrangement.
If you choose to replace the whole assembly, just remove the three bolts holding the bracket to the firewall and pull it out (after removing the exterior wiper arm of course.) You may have to pry a little since the sealing compound will have stuck the bracket in place. Be sure to replace the compound, called "dum-dum" at body shop supply stores, or at least reshape the old so it seals well around the bracket and shaftway when you tighten the new assembly. Otherwise leaks are likely.
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