300TD replaced the vent girlls and cleaned the wiper motor area
 

Today after changing the oil and filter I decided to replace the vent girlls and clean the wiper motor area. As well as check to see how much crud was in the wiper motor area.
There was a complete layer of dust/dirt on the wiper motor area under the wiper motor section panel. Cleaned it and decided to take some pictures. i did not take a picture prior to cleaning. ON the first picture you can see the amont of dirt on the wiper motor. Thats how the entire area was. Quite dirty.

Removing the vent grills.

At the front of the grills are 4 plastic rivets. In the center of each unit is a straight tube. With a small punch, push this center section all the way through the assembly. It will fall inside the vent area and must be retrieved unless you have purchased new units. One, the most inward one on each grill will fall into the drain tube and must be retrieved from under the car.
After removing the rivets, the grill simply lifts out. On the drivers side you must remove the wiper assembly first.
To remove the wiper rotate the attachment point cap uppwards so you have access to the nut holding the assembly to the actuating arm. Use a 13MM wrench or socket to remove the nut and washer. Then lift the wiper assembly off the shaft.
Remove the drivers vent grill in the same manner as the passengers side.

Center panel removal.
At the front of the center panel are 4 rivets, round style. Again push the center shaft using a small punch all the way through. Again you wil have to retreive 2 of the units. At the outside edges are 2 screws that must be removed. The final item is the passenger wiper blade assembly. Remove the plastic cap and then use a 19MM socket or wrench to remove the nut and washer. There is also a weather proof washer that is the last item on the shaft prior to removing the blade assembly.
Now pull the center panel forward and up. The rear of the panel fits under the windshield weather strip. It may also be "attached" quite well if never removed before. Mine took some effort.

YOU DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE EVAPORATOR THIS WAY. You will see the plastic evaporator box section that leads to the fresh air flap. But you cannot clean the evaporator using this method.

Installing a air filter system is a consideration. But the setup does not lead to making this easy.

Installing the center section panel requires getting the rear of the panel under the weather strip. Use a non marring tool. I used a golf tee. Use that or a plastic item. You dont' wnat to scratch your paint. You know the panel is installed correctly when the small screws on either side line up with their holes.

The attached pictures are provided for your enjoyment.

Dave

Picture #1 Shows the amount of dirt. The whole compartment looked like the back of the motor.

Picture #2 The passenger vent area with the grill removed

Picture #3 The passenger wiper shaft with the center section removed.

more pictures

Dave

Picture #1 on this page. The driver side wiper assembly and grill removed.

Picture #2 The center section . Again the panel removed. That black square shaped unit next to the motor is the evaporator housing. Again, no access to the evaporator from this angle.

Picture #3 The passenger wiper drive shaft. Note the drain tube. This is held in place by the panel. So don't forget it when reassembeling the center section.

Picture #4 I used a golf tee to make sure the panel was under the window weather strip. DON'T use metal. You will scratch your paint.

Picture #5 You know the panel is installed correctly when you can install the small phillips screws.

More pictures

Dave


Picture #1 of this page. The order for installing the cover over the passengers wiper arm. Use a 19MM wrench to tighten the nut, be careful not to damage the paint, close quarters there. The small cover goes on last. Then the wiper arm, washer and nut. There are 2 sets of washer/nut combination on the passenger arm. One under the plastic cap which holds the panel on and the one on the top of the wiper arm. Picture #1 shows the passenger side and #5 shows the drivers side but the drivers side is done the same way as the passenger side once picture #3 is completed.

Picture #2 The front rivets. Install the base and the center pin pushes teh feet of the rivet out and locks the assembly together.

Picture #3 Notice teh clips at the rear of the grill. make sure you install them first and then lay the front section down on the body. Install the 4 rivets and you OK.

Picture #4 Notice the grill rivets are square. Install them the same way you did the panel rivets. The bottom section of the picture shows the center section. One side has a X on it. this is the top. If you install it with the X down it rather difficult. The unit seems tapered and they seem to install easier this way.

Picture #5 The drivers side order of assembly.

Last picture.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Picture #last
The tools used in the entire job. 19MM and 13MM wrench. Small phillips screwdriver, Very small screwdriver to push through the rivet center section, Golf tee, and a 2 pronged screwdriver to lift the rivet base out of the panel and grills. Be carefull with this kind of screwdriver on the paint.

Thanks for the very timely and informative post Dave. I was just thinking of replacing mine, since I have to pull them to perform some wiper bushing R&R.

Wiper Motor R & R
 

1984 300d Turbo 147k
Thanks For Pictures And Write Up Did A Diy New Wiper Motor R & R And Had A Shop Do The Drivers Seat New Seat Spring And Pad
Seat Is High And No More Hard Ride Best Ride For Mercedes Its Cold Here And Wet Need The New Wiper Motor

I love your pictorials Dave! A super nice job as always. Organized, well thought out and effectively described and displayed.
Always love seeing the red wagon too.....:)