Accessing Wiper Motor
 

Might anyone have instructions/advice on how to access the W123
windshield wiper motor? I don't want to break anything!

1. Remove wiper arms.
2. Remove black plastic collar & nut from pass side wiper shaft
3. Remove cowl vent covers (push the square center pins through the grommets)
4. Should be 3-4 Philips screws to remove for the metal panel in between the cowls, remove & safely retain
5. There are a few black plastic/ rubber center-pin fasteners. They operate the same way the cowl vent covers do.

Once you get that all undone, you should be able to pull the metal cover out from under the windshield seal. Be careful, the metal is easily bent and your paint could crack.

Be careful to try & find the center pins for the grommets that hold both the cowl covers and the wiper motor cover in place. If not, I think they can be ordered at your dealer. Never found through the various parts houses, but I could be wrong.

I just did this while parting out Betty. I can go back & take picture if you need it.

Like Andrew said, push the pins all the way through on the cowl vents and then slide them towards the front of the car. There is a little tab you don't want to break. I used a small nail punch and a small hammer to tap them out. The closer they get to going all the way through the lighter you want to tap so they don't disappear.
The square pins on both cowl vents towards the middle of the hood are the hard ones to find. When you push them through, they fall in to the drain tray for the wiper arms. If they are not at the top where you can see them, chances are they fell all the way through and are stuck where the water drains in to the engine compartment. There is a fat rubber hose, on each side, that comes out of the fire wall and are semi-pinched at the end. BE CAREFUL...that's where my little plastic pins wound up.

I agree as said above.
I have lost those square plastic pins that have fallen into the water drain hose. maybe when these hoses were new, the ends were closed more, now with the rubber being aged, the ends are slightly opened. I think what happens is the pin drops through the hose to the ground never to be found.
Might be a good idea to tape on a sandwich bag to catch the pin on it`s way through.

PNP is my source for new pins when ever Iam there.

To get the cap off the wiper arm, lift the arm all the way up. hold the cap with your fingers, lower the arm and the cap will lift up as the arm is lowered. 13mm nut holds the arm on.

The black plastic cap usually breaks when pulling it off. they are brittle with age. be careful.

Lift the arm and wiggle it to remove. a tight fit on the shaft splines.


That center panel as I remember, has a foam seal under it, so it doesn`t just lift off. X2 being careful not to bend it. I had one come right off, and the next 2 being a problem child.

Charlie

Just worked on the wiper motor a couple days ago. It's fresh on my mind. What seems to be the problem with the motor?

My problem was the wipers slowly started to get real slow. That followed with them moving to halfway up and getting stuck. I had to give them a push to get them to do the entire wipe sequence.

I thought it was the motor but after taking the center panel off, I found that the linkage(transmission) was jammed and the motor was just trying real hard to move the wipers.

Once the panel is off and the motor is visible. You will find that the motor is held onto the frame with three 10mm bolts. There is a 13mm bolt that connects the motor to the transmission. The transmission is mounted with two 10mm bolts on each side.

I simply removed the transmission and replaced with another one from my parts car. Easy stuff, nothing to mess up.

Good luck. These guys have given good directions to accessing the motor assembly :)

Thank you all for your helpful responses. To answer the question regarding my symptoms. The wipers work on and off- sometimes perfectly for months. When they work, all three speeds are fine. When not, only the high speed and it has trouble parking. I figured it was time for a new motor. I changed the relay and stalk but no use. Perhaps only the motor wiring to save a few dollars?

If you need a wiper motor, I think one from PNP is $25.

Before removing the linkage from the motor, take a picture or remember exactly how it goes back on.

I removed the wipers, cowel vents, panel, linkage arms and wiper motor. wanted to inspect and clean up the 30 years of dirt accumulation and look for rust etc...

It got dark when I was finishing up, and didn`t get the wipers on, so threw them in the trunk. went to a GTG the next day and figured I would put them on when I got there.

when the GTG ended, It started to sprinkle then pour. I quickly threw on the wiper arms. turned them on, and they went down first before wiping about 1/2 way up. :confused:. we sat out the rain at Mc Donalds downing some coffee for a while. finally repositioned the wipers farther up the windshield, and made it home.

Seems the short piece that bolts to the motor, needs to be in the horizonal position. I went to PNP and pulled a panel to scope in on a motor linkage set up.

Charlie

I’m unable to get that 19mm nut off the passenger side wiper to remove the motor cover. Anybody else have that problem or does it usually just come off without a problem? Is the a lockring or something just above? Thanks

Got it.. small lock ring on top of 19mm nut 😬.. rust was hiding it