Y'all,

In diagnosing my inop rear wiper on my '84 300td, I discovered that two of the three machine screws holding the gearbox to the linkage arm assembly had disappeared (and the third was there only because the linkage held it in place after the ear broke off the gearbox case). I pulled a "good" (I hope) assembly from a junkyard car yesterday, and two of of its screws were missing as well, with the third not far behind. Many other threads have mentioned this, and this one that "callenderevent" sold on eBay had the same problem (note the missing screws to the left and below of the black cover):



Do all W123 300td rear wipers have this problem, and why do folks keep using the damned thing after it starts thrashing around? I'm thinking some Loctite and/or longer screws with jam nuts are in order!

-Shawn

Mine does, but I haven't gotten around to checking it out yet.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

loktite.

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http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

Mine's an 83 and has been fine (knocking on zebrano )
I use it sparingly with the intermittent button, and then only for one swipe or two if I really need it. It just sounds like it's straining somewhere.
There was a point when that square connector plug wouldn't stay put. Until I fixed it with a wiretie to stay together, I just used a squeegee at the gas station when the rear window got too dirty to stand.

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85' 300D No inspection, No registration fees, Cheap insurance
"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're going to see some serious %$&^."

The screws you really need to be concerned about are on the inside....the ones holding the linkage arms togather. From the several units I've looked at it appears that these screws can work loose, jamb up the works, crack housings, in general screw things up. It's these screws that probably cause the other screws to go missing...like when for the 97th time some poor TD owner tears apart the wiper motor only to find nothing wrong because the real problem was a wire shorting out in the rear hatch hinge area.....don't ask how I know that.

The good news is it sounds like you have assembled your collection of motors and now have plenty of spare parts and extra screws. A small piece of vaccum hose slipped over the skinny pointed tail piece of the unit will work to replace that rotted/lost rubber washer. It is much easier to remove that brass colored bracket from the hatch than it is to try and stuff the motor back into it. Clean all that old grease out...It's just old stiff crap after 20 years. When the motor works again and then stops...it's a short in the wiring over the hatch. (if the motor will work out of the car, but not in the car...start looking for that short)

Good luck....these things can make you a bit crazy...you have been warned!! It is really nice to hit the switch and wipe/wash the rear window...you can see so much better.

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Mark
1983 300TD Wagon
Even a broken watch is right twice a day

Mismost,

Thanks for the tips. That grommet (as well as the rubber sleeve for the motor) are both there and in good shape. The internal screws on the linkage are good too. I guess I got half-lucky! I'm an old hat at electrical diagnosis, so the wiring tips are part of my normal routine.

LaughingGravy,

Since you've put in a fix, it doesn't matter to you now, but my wiper connector has a slide-on clip that holds the two halves together.

We thought you'd never get there......

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Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

these things have rear wipers?

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1984 123.193 372,xxx miles, room for Seven.

1999 Dodge Durango Cummins 4BTAA 47RE 5k lb 4x4 getting 25+mpgs, room for Seven.

My 80 had no problems whatsoever with the rear wiper/squirter. Pretty amazing considering how many other problems that wagon had. Well it still has those problems, but they're not mine anymore.

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-justin

1987 300TD, 1987 300TD
2008 R32, 2000 Passat Wagon

Can anyone tell me what size these screws are. I puled mine apart and it's missing two of he three. The one thats in there under the arm is lose and I can't figure how to it.

All three of my wagons have had no issues with the rear wipers- but I do pull things apart just to make sure they are still assembled correctly.

My sonic wagon's wash function is in-op due to a plugged hose. Anyone had this and how did you solve it- blowing on it does not clear it, lol.

I don't know if anyone is still looking at this but here is some info.
The missing screws are 6mm and I found that allen head screws fit properly. Use a lock washer.
The cause of this problem is due to slamming the rear hatch too hard and frequently, thereby unscrewing the screws and then they fall out of the hatch and eventually, the gearbox separates and the wiper stops working.

Mine works fine, though I did notice that there was a little play in the arm that goes through the rubber gromet/glass...

If my squirter worked back there I'd be more inclined to R&R the wiper assembly....

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1982 240 D, 308,000 - 321,127 miles (sold)
1982 300 TD,166,500 - 226,000 miles
1998 E 320, 120,000 - 144,000 miles
2005 C 230 K, 26,000 - 77,000 miles (sold)