W140 Wiper Transmission - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

oldsouth · #1 02-19-2006, 11:39 PM

Well, my wiper transmission went out again. This is the 3rd one to go out. In the prior transmissions the little plastic gears and parts were shreaded. Does anyone know whether you can buy just the parts inside the transmission instead of buying the whole unit? I know you can only purchase the whole unit from Mercedes. I am going to take it out tomorrow and see what is broke this time and will post then.

oldsouth · #2 02-20-2006, 08:17 PM

It's the little plastic gear that is broken. I called Bosch and they said the whole unit is Mercedes only and no individual parts are available. Anyone have an old wiper transmission unit laying around with a good gear??

oldsouth · #3 03-05-2006, 11:27 PM

Update: I had a machine shop make me a plastic gear. I finally got the whole thing installed and it is working. The real test is to see how long it works. They had to order a special gear cutter and build a special jig but I still came out about 1/4 the cost of a whole unit and have an extra gear for a spare to boot.

One question I have if anyone can answer. I found nothing on the service DVD that told how to install the pictured part into the housing. Whether to have the ram in or out. After several tries, I have it pretty close. What worked was neither in or out but just about fully retracted when the wiper is straight up. It still leaves just a small unwiped part at the bottom about the size of a quarter. Has anyone read any specific instructions about how the thing is to be timed right. I did read the part about aligning the marks, but that is for hooking up the linkages. What I am talking about is before that is done.

pbrennan10 · #4 03-16-2006, 11:24 PM

Hey buddy i'll send you a christmas card if you'll go into detail and some pictures on how to get that wiper transmission case open.

oldsouth · #5 03-16-2006, 11:43 PM

I assume you have the whole thing out of the car. Just take the linkages off. There is a nut that holds the linkage on the transmission. Below the nut on the shaft there is a half moon keeper key that you need to pry off. Hold you hand around it so it don't go flying off. The parts will then separate easily. May need to bump the shaft with a hammer lightly. The phillips screws only hold on the outer gear and do not need to be removed. Going back together is the bugger. The rod that moves in and out needs to be almost fully retracted when at the top of the cycle. Sorry, no photos. I have mine all back together now. Send me your email address and I will send you a PDF of how to time the linkage if you need it.

Mail Christmas card to PO Box 542 Columbia, LA 71418.

pbrennan10 · #6 03-16-2006, 11:55 PM

Nope i dont have it out, i've taken it out but ended up surrendering. I just couldn't get the case separated. Anyway if you do take this out do a good write up and i'm sure you could sell those bastard gears to guys like me for dealer level prices~

oldsouth · #7 03-17-2006, 12:41 AM

I have already taken it out and put it back in with the new gear. They made two when they made it but did not burn the hole in the center because they wanted to see how this one lasted. It was just a guess and estimate burning the hole. The machinist wanted to wait to see how this one held up.

There is no dealer level price on the gears. They are not available at any cost. You have to buy the whole transmission. About $1450 list and they would give me a 25% discount. That's why I had the gear built.

You need to take it apart to make sure it is the gear. There are some bushings on the linkages in there too. If you want to send it to me, I can get a gear cut and install it for about $300. It's kinda a gamble right not though. I have not used mine enough to see how it is going to last. Only time will tell.

You could also find a good local machine shop and see if they could cut a gear. Make sure they use self lubricating plastic for the bushing. No one has a mold other than Bosch so the gear has to be hand made one tooth at a time. Its an engineering shame for a $1400 transmission to depend on a $10 plastic gear -- that you can't buy. The whole wiper setup is a joke. The transmissions purpose is to wipe the windshield more completely. Honda does the same thing without a transmission. The 210 E-Class cars use a transmission with only 1 wiper blade. Now that REALLY is a joke. Basic things like windshield wipers should be simple and reliable. Not complicated and troublesome. ARE YOU LISTENING MERCEDES! I doubt it.

BenzOnline · #8 03-17-2006, 01:05 AM

The plastic parts on the W202 C-Class fail aswell but probably not as often. Maintenance is required on these wipers (the one wiper version) as you have to lube the bars where the wiper slides up and down on.

Ridiculous but when it works its like a work of art!

Jadavis · #9 08-12-2008, 09:49 PM

Mine died today...

We have a machine shop do a lot of work for our machines in the frozen dough factory I work at. They make a lot of gears for us out of stainless, carbon steel, and UHMW. I'll see if they can make some out of UHMW (Ultra High Molecular Weight) plastic.

Anyone up for a group purchase?

-Jim

oldsouth · #10 08-12-2008, 11:43 PM

I didn't realize it had been that long since mine went out. I am still on the gear I had made. Working perfectly (knock on wood). I still have my spare but it is without the center hole. I might be interested in one if it were cheap enough. The machine shop I used had to hand carve the gears and it was pretty expensive. They made the center hole by heating up the shaft and pushing it thorough the gear.

bobs · #11 08-13-2008, 05:15 AM

I noticed that they're selling them (wiper gears)on ebay now for $49. Search for "W140 gear" and you will find them. Yes, they are probably Chinese knock-off parts, but they're a lot cheaper than a new transmission.

As a side note, I have dealt with that seller, "foreigncarpartsonline" before and have had a good experience.

Jadavis · #12 08-19-2008, 11:18 PM

Wow! That was a heck of a job to take it out. I can see why it calls for 3.8 hours of book labor. Nothing really hard, but lots of going back and forth.

As usual, I had a camera and didn't take many pictures. I did make a tool list. I'll post what I can later.

How do I get the transmission apart again? I'll try what you have posted above.

Off to see the machine shop tomorrow!

-Jim

oldsouth · #13 08-20-2008, 12:24 AM

Wiper PDF