So dry day today, thought I'd take a look at my wipers again as the near side wiper was bouncing.

After fiddling with the arm location, noticed it was still bouncing and the actual plastic mount now wiggles quite a bit on the main metal arm from the motor. Enough play to let the wiper arm stick.

I had a spare motor (already on my 3rd) so whilst that one is solid, the spindle that holds the arm can turn a bit even when the arm is well tightened. If it sticks to the windscreen it goes out of sync and I risk getting another tangled collision off metal in front of me. This was the original replacement I bought from ebay (brand new but aftermarket).

Both actual motors are fine, but the assemblies just keep on breaking for me. Has anyone had the same and found a way to get them to actually last more than a year?!

sHAYM4N said:

So dry day today, thought I'd take a look at my wipers again as the near side wiper was bouncing.

After fiddling with the arm location, noticed it was still bouncing and the actual plastic mount now wiggles quite a bit on the main metal arm from the motor. Enough play to let the wiper arm stick.

I had a spare motor (already on my 3rd) so whilst that one is solid, the spindle that holds the arm can turn a bit even when the arm is well tightened. If it sticks to the windscreen it goes out of sync and I risk getting another tangled collision off metal in front of me. This was the original replacement I bought from ebay (brand new but aftermarket).

Both actual motors are fine, but the assemblies just keep on breaking for me. Has anyone had the same and found a way to get them to actually last more than a year?!

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My car is over 240,000km with the original arrangement with no obvious weaknesses yet.


In your second picture it looks like the part that goes under that thread is not fitting fully onto that piece of metal? Does it need some preparation with a file to make sure it fits properly before tightening?

judderbar said:

My car is over 240,000km with the original arrangement with no obvious weaknesses yet.

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Wow that's incredible! I seem to have such bad luck with these. On the second photo that is actually the spindle that holds fine! I couldnt quite remember what was wrong with this linkage so presumed it was this spindle, took the photo and tried fitting

The one at the driver side however is in great condition with no where near as much corrosion turns on itself inside the outer casing. Not very loosely but enough that the weight and friction from (a bad wipe ) is enough to cause it to stick. This is the first replacement I bought (new but aftermarket), the first pic was from the second ebay assembly I purchased (has lasted about a year).

So now I've had both a new aftermarket linkage and an original one from a breakers, neither have held up more than 18 months. Was hoping I could somehow take the best bits from either to at least get a little more use out of them but the metal bars are pretty tight and doubt I could get it to hold tight if I somehow managed to release the end spindles from the main linkage.

The corrosion is more likely to be due to the car sitting a lot, I work from home so I only do around 2k a year (and less with all the trouble Im having with my motor atm). Looks like I'll have to get another (and maybe get a car cover to help them last a little longer!

I use silicon spray on the joints of my wiper arms to help keep out moisture and reduce friction.

deeinlondon said:

I use silicon spray on the joints of my wiper arms to help keep out moisture and reduce friction.

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Thanks! Yup have a new motor/linkage arriving tomorrow (original & new - so hoping this one lasts a little longer!). Would you advise silicon spray over grease, & any particular brand you would recommend?

I have no idea - never used grease - I think all silicon spray going to be pretty similar - last used one from LIDL supermarket.