How to lubricate the wiper mechanism

[gee37]

Thanks you have saved me meggabucks!

Thanks for this great article. I have just followed the instructions and my wiper is working like its brand new!

The wiper mechs on Mercs with single blades can dry up over time, which can lead to corrosion and eventual seizure. You can imagine what Mercedes would charge for a replacement!

Someone had already sprayed the outside of mine with copper grease, not a job I'd recommend as it is a grinding paste on parts like this, so I cleaned most of it off with the paper towel.

Here is the procedure, using my car:

Tools required - waterproof grease, silicone spray, paper towels/rag, long screwdriver with flat blade

1) Turn the ignition to position 2 and activate the wiper. Turn the ignition off when the wiper is in the 12 o'clock position (will take a few goes but its not hard).

2) Remove the keys and release the bonnet catch. Open the bonnet and depress the catch in the corner so it opens to its full vertical position. This will give you more room to work.

3) There are 2 bits of plastic that cover the mechanism. The first one is the smallest section, its easy to release. I forgot to take a picture but basically get your fingers between it and the glass of the windscreen, and tug both sides outwards. If your fingers are about half way up the bit of plastic, thats where the clips are. They're not big clips and it comes off easily. Once its free, it will rotate upwards around a pivot at the bottom of the wiper, just pull it up until it won't go further, and then pull it away from the windscreen (check the picture as I'm re-assembling it at the bottom of this page).

4) The larger piece of plastic is tricky. The first 2 clips are similar to the smaller bit of plastic. Get your fingers on one side of it, similar to above, and give it a couple of small tugs. You should easily find the clips, again they're only small.

5) Once you've found these clips, you'll notice that the big piece of plastic is still held on somehow to the wiper.

Remove the hex bolt just above the cover, and disconnect the wiper arm - be careful to shield the windscreen from the mechanism slapping down onto the glass.

I didn't need to do this, as the plastic on my cover is cracked underneath the hex bolt, so I just twisted it off.

http://static.flickr.com/73/204066577_c4a154425a.jpg

You can see the circular clip - there is a break at the bottom.