how to change wiper motor
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Iain's pretty much nailed it.....scuttle panel can be awkward, secured by 4 or 5 small torx screws, and at each end by the screen pillar, under a plastic cap, a phillips screw - that at least in Uk always seems to be rusted......when they are all undone, the panels are still held byclips adjacent to the screen...don't be tempted tp lever against the screen to release them 
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Bonnet up.
Remove wiper arms. At the end of each wiper arm there is a black plastic plug that covers the bolt. Helpfully each one has a little lug on the side. Use a thin flat blade screwdriver to apply very light leverage, and off they come.
That reveals the 14mm nut holding the wiper arm in place. Remove them from each wiper arm and pop them to one side. I found the best way to remove the wiper arm was to flex the arm slightly on it's springed hinge - that "straightens" the arm on the "spline" that it's fixed on. Then it just lifts off, hopefully with no bother, and minimal 'jiggling'. Put them to one side after a quick spray and wipe with WD-40. :thumbs:
The next step is to remove the plastic scuttle panel. The panel comprises two halves - left and right, overlapping in the centre. On mine there were seven screws holding this in place:
3 x Torx screws - one in the centre of each of the left and right panels, and another in the dead centre, where they join.
At the top of each side of the scuttle, at the leading edge that mates with the windscreen, there is a black plastic circular plug. It is just a push fit. Prise them out gently with a thin screwdriver. The plug is attached by a little plastic t-bar. Gentle pressure will free it, so be careful not to lose it. Under the plug, on each side, you will find a small, rusty phillips screw. Mine came out easily and I bathed them in WD-40. I've heard of people having to drill the suckers out.
OK - at this stage the scuttle feels "looser" but is not going anywhere fast. If you look below the scuttle and to the side (i.e. towards each wing) you'll see another screw. This is mounted horizontally (all the others were vertical). They come out ok but you need to be very careful not to allow them to fall down into any of the nearby nooks and crannies.
Some folk have suggested that you need to pull the rubber seal off that runs across the scuttle at the back of the bonnet. I didn't, it came with the panel - no problem. There are some plastic clips on the rear edge - just ease them out. I took the opportunity to wash the scuttle inside and out, and clean the base of the windscreen where the seal was. It gets very clarty. The washer jet pipes are attached to the underside of the scuttle, so go steady.
I did a general tidy up while I had access - removed a shed load of leaves and compost. I noted that there was no rust at all and cleaned it all out and sprayed with WD-40.
Then the easy bit. The wiper motor and linkage is held by 3 bolts. Remove them and unplug the electrics. Jiggle the unit out. Fit new unit as reverse operation.
Replace the scuttle and give every nut, bolt and screw a slather of grease. Once again, be careful not to drop and lose the horixontally mounted screws. I blobbed some vaseline on them and that gave enough "stick" to get them in position.
Pop the wiper arms back on, and replace all the plastic plugs.
Give it a go!
Remove wiper arms. At the end of each wiper arm there is a black plastic plug that covers the bolt. Helpfully each one has a little lug on the side. Use a thin flat blade screwdriver to apply very light leverage, and off they come.
That reveals the 14mm nut holding the wiper arm in place. Remove them from each wiper arm and pop them to one side. I found the best way to remove the wiper arm was to flex the arm slightly on it's springed hinge - that "straightens" the arm on the "spline" that it's fixed on. Then it just lifts off, hopefully with no bother, and minimal 'jiggling'. Put them to one side after a quick spray and wipe with WD-40. :thumbs:
The next step is to remove the plastic scuttle panel. The panel comprises two halves - left and right, overlapping in the centre. On mine there were seven screws holding this in place:
3 x Torx screws - one in the centre of each of the left and right panels, and another in the dead centre, where they join.
At the top of each side of the scuttle, at the leading edge that mates with the windscreen, there is a black plastic circular plug. It is just a push fit. Prise them out gently with a thin screwdriver. The plug is attached by a little plastic t-bar. Gentle pressure will free it, so be careful not to lose it. Under the plug, on each side, you will find a small, rusty phillips screw. Mine came out easily and I bathed them in WD-40. I've heard of people having to drill the suckers out.
OK - at this stage the scuttle feels "looser" but is not going anywhere fast. If you look below the scuttle and to the side (i.e. towards each wing) you'll see another screw. This is mounted horizontally (all the others were vertical). They come out ok but you need to be very careful not to allow them to fall down into any of the nearby nooks and crannies.
Some folk have suggested that you need to pull the rubber seal off that runs across the scuttle at the back of the bonnet. I didn't, it came with the panel - no problem. There are some plastic clips on the rear edge - just ease them out. I took the opportunity to wash the scuttle inside and out, and clean the base of the windscreen where the seal was. It gets very clarty. The washer jet pipes are attached to the underside of the scuttle, so go steady.
I did a general tidy up while I had access - removed a shed load of leaves and compost. I noted that there was no rust at all and cleaned it all out and sprayed with WD-40.
Then the easy bit. The wiper motor and linkage is held by 3 bolts. Remove them and unplug the electrics. Jiggle the unit out. Fit new unit as reverse operation.
Replace the scuttle and give every nut, bolt and screw a slather of grease. Once again, be careful not to drop and lose the horixontally mounted screws. I blobbed some vaseline on them and that gave enough "stick" to get them in position.
Pop the wiper arms back on, and replace all the plastic plugs.
Give it a go!
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13,271 Posts
:thumbs: Having done mine a couple of months back I can vouch that that is a Fantastic description SIF! Well done for this really helpful post! I wish I'd been able to read this before I started:lol: I also had a fair bit of 'compost' and leaves etc to clean out. I'm sure the car has been much faster ever since:lol:Bonnet up.
Remove wiper arms. At the end of each wiper arm there is a black plastic plug that covers the bolt. Helpfully each one has a little lug on the side. Use a thin flat blade screwdriver to apply very light leverage, and off they come.
That reveals the 14mm nut holding the wiper arm in place. Remove them from each wiper arm and pop them to one side. I found the best way to remove the wiper arm was to flex the arm slightly on it's springed hinge - that "straightens" the arm on the "spline" that it's fixed on. Then it just lifts off, hopefully with no bother, and minimal 'jiggling'. Put them to one side after a quick spray and wipe with WD-40. :thumbs:
The next step is to remove the plastic scuttle panel. The panel comprises two halves - left and right, overlapping in the centre. On mine there were seven screws holding this in place:
3 x Torx screws - one in the centre of each of the left and right panels, and another in the dead centre, where they join.
At the top of each side of the scuttle, at the leading edge that mates with the windscreen, there is a black plastic circular plug. It is just a push fit. Prise them out gently with a thin screwdriver. The plug is attached by a little plastic t-bar. Gentle pressure will free it, so be careful not to lose it. Under the plug, on each side, you will find a small, rusty phillips screw. Mine came out easily and I bathed them in WD-40. I've heard of people having to drill the suckers out.
OK - at this stage the scuttle feels "looser" but is not going anywhere fast. If you look below the scuttle and to the side (i.e. towards each wing) you'll see another screw. This is mounted horizontally (all the others were vertical). They come out ok but you need to be very careful not to allow them to fall down into any of the nearby nooks and crannies.
Some folk have suggested that you need to pull the rubber seal off that runs across the scuttle at the back of the bonnet. I didn't, it came with the panel - no problem. There are some plastic clips on the rear edge - just ease them out. I took the opportunity to wash the scuttle inside and out, and clean the base of the windscreen where the seal was. It gets very clarty. The washer jet pipes are attached to the underside of the scuttle, so go steady.
I did a general tidy up while I had access - removed a shed load of leaves and compost. I noted that there was no rust at all and cleaned it all out and sprayed with WD-40.
Then the easy bit. The wiper motor and linkage is held by 3 bolts. Remove them and unplug the electrics. Jiggle the unit out. Fit new unit as reverse operation.
Replace the scuttle and give every nut, bolt and screw a slather of grease. Once again, be careful not to drop and lose the horixontally mounted screws. I blobbed some vaseline on them and that gave enough "stick" to get them in position.
Pop the wiper arms back on, and replace all the plastic plugs.
Give it a go!
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77,460 Posts
i got 38.6mpg the other day too :lol:
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13,271 Posts
I suspect that was the info centre lying through it's teeth as per usual:lol:
- but if it's true it will be entirely due to compost removal from sub-windscreen zone:thumbs:
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30,602 Posts
One thing nobody mentioned was to make sure the old motor is in the park position before you note down the linkage positions AND make sure the new motor is in its park position before bolting it to the linkage.thanks guys ill give it a go hope all goes well and ill use all your tips
When you first test the wipers after you have finished, have one hand on the ignition switch to stop it instantly if the wipers go the wrong way...!!
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77,460 Posts
nah - proper tank brim empty brim.....some long, steady runs involved....infocentre is constant at 27.4mpg, totally ignoring the compost removal
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77,460 Posts
expert save David - thanks !
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13,271 Posts
Apply penetrating oil or WD40 or similar, then just wiggle and PULL!
Mine were tough to get off, but did eventually
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2 Posts
wiper arm bolt loose and keeps falling off
Hi everyone
I have a slightly different problem that I hope you guys can help me with. The wiper motor etc. works fine on my Alfa 156 from 1998, but the arm keeps coming loose on the driver's side.
As has been described, the arm is fitted with a nut that screws unto a bolt that leads underneath the scuttle where it goes through a hole in the arm that is connected to the motor. For some reason this bolt will not stay attached to the motorarm on mine. It broke loose one day and I don't know if there's supposed to be a nut or something holding it in place, but if so it has fallen off somewhere. As the bolt only just reaches into the hole in the motorarm it is a bit difficult to make sure it stays there once the motor starts rotating the arm/bolt. This means I can attach the bolt and arm and get it working just fine but after a little while it wiggles its way out and the motorarm underneath the scuttle falls of the bolt and the wiper stops moving. Also, the bolt isn't threaded, but has small vertical ribs to make sure it spins when attached to the arm, so I can't see how I'd be able to fit a nut on it. I have tried hammering the thing in place and also tried to make it stick with a sticky paste/glue but it hasn't lasted.
I have read about someone drilling a small hole in the end of the bolt, but it just looks too slim to be able to drill into, without it breaking.
I hope somebody can offer a possible fix as it is a bit annoying having to repair it every time it rains!
Cheers
Ivan
Hi everyone
I have a slightly different problem that I hope you guys can help me with. The wiper motor etc. works fine on my Alfa 156 from 1998, but the arm keeps coming loose on the driver's side.
As has been described, the arm is fitted with a nut that screws unto a bolt that leads underneath the scuttle where it goes through a hole in the arm that is connected to the motor. For some reason this bolt will not stay attached to the motorarm on mine. It broke loose one day and I don't know if there's supposed to be a nut or something holding it in place, but if so it has fallen off somewhere. As the bolt only just reaches into the hole in the motorarm it is a bit difficult to make sure it stays there once the motor starts rotating the arm/bolt. This means I can attach the bolt and arm and get it working just fine but after a little while it wiggles its way out and the motorarm underneath the scuttle falls of the bolt and the wiper stops moving. Also, the bolt isn't threaded, but has small vertical ribs to make sure it spins when attached to the arm, so I can't see how I'd be able to fit a nut on it. I have tried hammering the thing in place and also tried to make it stick with a sticky paste/glue but it hasn't lasted.
I have read about someone drilling a small hole in the end of the bolt, but it just looks too slim to be able to drill into, without it breaking.
I hope somebody can offer a possible fix as it is a bit annoying having to repair it every time it rains!
Cheers
Ivan
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