W126 wipers question
 

I am the new owner of a very nice '91 300SEL. It has 135,000 miles and is in great shape except...the wipers hit the rubber windshield surround on the left and thump into the well to the right. I have read the wiper threads, having done a search, does anybody know how I can fix this? The car is virtually silent except for the whack! thump! of the wipers flailing back and forth. The blades and cages appear to be OEM, the blades are marked (in German) L and R and appear to be installed correctly. They have the little tabs. Am I looking at new linkage or bushings or....?

I am currently doing research on service manuals and haven't yet bought one, so I am throwing myself on your mercy.

I have another one too but I'll start another thread.

Haven't had the problem on my '91, but in the past I'v had some old Chevys that got loose at the mounting points for the wipers or the motor, and they slapped around. Might check to be sure the connections are tight.
These use 22" blades, might measure them just to be sure they are correct.

DG

Thanks for the quick reply - I will tear into the cover and make sure its all tight in there, and measure the blades. Bought new wiper refills just to give the old girl a treat.

If that doesn't work, you can always just sing "Me and Bobby McGee" wheneve it rains. You know, to get into the spirit of the wacking and thumping. . . .

Answer:
 

#1. Lift the cover at the arm pivot point.
#2. Loosen the 13mm nut.
#3. Separate arm from pivot point.
#4. Adjust arm angle.
#5. Tighten 13mm nut.
#6. Test wipers at new angle.
#7. Re-adjust as needed until you are happy.
#8. Close pivot nut cover, and cleanup.




Have a great day.

Well, got the wiper motor out of the car and there is a link that connects the two wiper shafts - the bushings are worn out and are preventing the adjuster from being able to do anything. Need a new link or a new transmission.:(

I know that you lot have been having trouble sleeping, worrying about my wipers; I have decided to fix 'em myself. Had the motor apart to check the grease and its adequate, after moving it about to where it is supposed to live on the bits that need greasing.

I have bought two rod ends and some fine thread reddi-rod and I'm making my own link. The wreckers want anything from 50 to 250 for a used 'transmission' and my figuring is that unless the car lived in Nevada, the bushings are going to be worn on any used part. The new part is somewhere about $700+; not an option, yet.

I'm making the new bushings out of brass on the lathe so I can keep the existing adjuster - if you have a W126, look at the rubber plug under the hood, between the wiper bases, and if you remove it and peer inside you will see a 13mm bolt surrounding a screw - this adjusts the space between the two arms, most obvious when they are parked and with bushings in good condition, adjusts the length of the sweep.

My car is a 91, about 135,000 miles and lived its whole life in Vancouver where it rains big time. If you have the same car, I would seriously consider dismantling the wipers and do some preventative maintenance, pop apart the bushings and grease them, if they are not already worn out. Getting the whole thing out is quite simple and is an easy 30 minute job. If you want me to write down the details of the job, just ask.

If you live in Vancouver, just give me a week or three to work out my repair before you do yours, to allow me time to get the best transmission in the lower mainland if my repair doesn't work!

My symptoms were, with the proper blades in the proper arms and cages, the blade hit the left side of the windshield surround and when they returned to the parked position, slammed into the body where they were supposed to not touch. Very noisy. No possibility to adjust the arms as the bushings allowed them to slap about.

One last thing before you all nod off, the ability to just grab a wiper and pull it out of the well it lives it, to change the blades as Mercedes intended, degrades as the wipers get old and the grease hardens into glue. Be careful, if you have not serviced yours, that you don't damage something when you try to pull them out.

New connector-rod made up, works like a damn! Quiet wipers, no flailing at the body, no thump when parking or on down stroke. About $60 worth plus my time.

wow, something beyond my DIY skill.

The only part that required slightly more tech. skill was turning the bushings out of brass on the lathe, otherwise, not difficult. I should have made some more of these assemblies and sold 'em, every SEL will need them eventually.

Good fix! Years ago the wipers on friends Dodge van gave out due to worn bushings. I made a set of new bushings from some worn out Benz valve guides.

Sweet fix. Well done.