Windscreen Wiper Oiling etc

[big col]

I'm trying to oil a uni-blade wiper on a W201 190 (1988). I tried to remove the whole thing including motor but I have a vacuum valve on the water pipe going throught the fire wall which is getting in the way and stopping me getting the whole unit out. There is also a cover on the wiper motor which is hitting a metal tag (part of the chassis).

So ... I have slapped some grease around on the moving parts underneath wiper (joining wiper to motor) but I have not been able to get into the 'gear box' part that controles the wiper going in and out. The 3rd speed is slower than the 2nd and I think this will be because the 'gear box' needs oiling.

Any ideas? - Can the parts that need oiling be removed without the motor? I don't really want to open the water pipes to remove the valve if I can help it.

Thanks...

 

[Dec]

Could you put up a picture of the whole thing including motor.

Dec

 

[big col]

Unfortunantly ...

It is all back together in the car ...

And in between the hail yesterday it snowed.

When the weather fines up if I have not been able to solve the problem then I will post some pictures.

Thanks

 

[Dec]

The cover you refer to, I think, is metal, if it is, it can only be removed by taking out the complete unit, and the cover is then removed via a screw. I am saying this because I read a How-To on repairing older mechanisms like yours, I book marked this How-To but cant find it now, it seems I have deleted it from my hard drive.

Under the cover on your car will look something like the picture below (a W202) If you are desperate you could drill a small hole in the cover at X and spray some spray grease through the straw attachment, in the direction of arrows. If the cover is plastic it should be possible to remove by hand. Avoid running wiper on high speed until you get it greased properly.

Dec
EDIT;I did a search on the net but couldn’t locate, it was on a forum, somewhere?

I edited that picture to show there are 4 holes, red arrows, for the purpose of draining water/condensation from inside the “hub”, yours would almost certainly have drain holes too, have a look, with the aid of a small mirror.

If you could manage to “flood” the area inside, through these holes with spray grease through the spray straw it might solve the lubrication problem.

 

[big col]

Thanks

I'll probably not drill into the unit. I think I will just have to remove the coolant valve that is getting in the way. Just did the head gasket recently so I have new coolant so don't want to have to drain the system. Will try making some hose clamps to fit ...

A job for the summer (incase I stuff it up and have no wipers for a bit)

Let me know if you find that bookmark...

 

[Dec]

See above

Dec

 

[big col]

Thanks

I'll try some spray into those drain holes (if mine is the same as yours).

Thanks for your time on this...

 

[fwd]

The cover you refer to, I think, is metal, if it is, it can only be removed by taking out the complete unit, and the cover is then removed via a screw. I am saying this because I read a How-To on repairing older mechanisms like yours, I book marked this How-To but cant find it now, it seems I have deleted it from my hard drive.

Under the cover on your car will look something like the picture below (a W202) If you are desperate you could drill a small hole in the cover at X and spray some spray grease through the straw attachment, in the direction of arrows. If the cover is plastic it should be possible to remove by hand. Avoid running wiper on high speed until you get it greased properly.

Dec
EDIT;I did a search on the net but couldn’t locate, it was on a forum, somewhere?

I edited that picture to show there are 4 holes, red arrows, for the purpose of draining water/condensation from inside the “hub”, yours would almost certainly have drain holes too, have a look, with the aid of a small mirror.

If you could manage to “flood” the area inside, through these holes with spray grease through the spray straw it might solve the lubrication problem.

Would this be of any use....

http://202tech.mkosonen.com/howto/wiper.html

 

[Dec]

No, unfortunately that’s for a W202, his is a W201 …198?…something. Same idea but diffrent design.

Dec

 

[C220GJS]

This thread from another forum will show you how to lubricate the earlier wiper drivehead; http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=66429 .Read the whole thread.

 

[fwd]

No, unfortunately that’s for a W202, his is a W201 …198?…something. Same idea but diffrent design.

Dec

Oooppps... sorry about that

From memory, it is almost similar except that the cover is held by 2 tiny countersunk philips head screws that are only accessible with the assembly off. I found that out when my 202's pinion gear stripped and someone told me that the 190 mechanism is identical... NOT so, neither the elec motor nor the g/box <grrrrrr>...

I remember it was a swine to remove in comparison to the 202 unit... I have the assembly somewhere and I can dig it out if needbe for a quick shufty

 

[Dec]

Thanks fwd that could be useful to the OP, big col, as he is having trouble as to how exactly the complete mechanism is removed from the car.

Dec

 

[Dec]

This thread from another forum will show you how to lubricate the earlier wiper drivehead; http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=66429 .Read the whole thread.

Thanks for the link George, that’s the one I was searching for.

Dec

 

[fwd]

Thanks fwd that could be useful to the OP, big col, as he is having trouble as to how exactly the complete mechanism is removed from the car.

Dec

A tad too late now as the missing link has been located...

Just taken mine apart to have a 'refresher' so if anyone wants any info, just yell....

 

[big col]

Been away for the week ... thanks for all the tips. Will have another look this weekend...

 

[big col]

Still no good

I've sprayed some wd40 into the wiper housing through the drain holes. I expected this to help ... but did not. I then sprayed some grease through the holes and still no change. It looks as though there is a drain hole at the bottom of the gear box (see picture - black arrow) ... sprayed some stuff up here too. Still no good - it's ok on first and second speed but slows right down on fast speed.

Looks like whole unit will have to come out and it is just the coolant valve that is getting in the way. I think I will just have to wait until the weather is a bit better to pull the whole thing out.

Can the wiper be unbolted from the motor so the motor is left in place? I tried this but did not become obviuosly loose when I did it. THe motor is the bit getting in the way when trying to remove it.

BTW it is a 1988 201 - not sure why it put a silly smile thing with glasses on the OP.

 

[Dec]

Your wiper works in the same as a W202, the only difference is that yours is an earlier design, you can study THIS LINK for reference, be sure and read both pages, there will be variation in both setups but the principle is the same.

There is no hole at the black arrow, it is just an alignment mark for getting the rubber shroud on straight.

As the WD40 and grease was unsuccessful, you have definitely now lubricated the sliding mechanism so that rules that out as the problem.

The other possibilities are.
Nut 1 or Nut in the link is loose.
Gears inside motor gearbox have been striped by worm drive.
Damage/wear to the electrical switches or the contact rails, you could remove the motor cover to investigate, if the motor is facing the right way round without having to remove the mechanism, be sure the keys are out of the ignition.

The mechanism is bolted to the body and the motor will be bolted to the mechanism by 3 ? bolts, the motor arm will be connected to the levers by a ball joint, see link. It is best to remove the mechanism and motor in one piece.

I think the reason you can’t get the assembly out is something to do with your understanding of the way the mechanism is connected through the bulkhead and may not be because of the coolant valve. At the bottom of your picture, the bracket, just left of the word “cover” should just pull away or unclip from the bulkhead, provided that the 3 or 4 bolts that hold the mechanism have first been removed. I think there is a bolt on the other side of the bulkhead that needs to be loosened first (but nor removed) A picture is really needed here.

Dec

 

[big col]

The motor...

Thanks Dec

I had not appreciated the way the motor was geared too. Will all need to come out to be greased in there. As the wiper works but is a sluggish on full speed, a hope it is just a case of lube rather than replacement. Will hop on top of this when the weather improves...