Front Wipers struggling to Wipe!!...and its raining

**Auditron** · 30-12-2015,06:44 PM

Hi All,

This couldn't have happened at a worse time when the town i live in is suffering flooding.

So my 2000 VW Gold MK4 TDi Has an issue with the front wipers. I initially thought the blades had popped off the spline but that is not the case. Basically it looks like the motor doesn't have enough power to wipe. If i lift both arm away from the glass it works fine. If i put either one down it does work but intermittently, if i give it a help to wipe it is ok. It is as if there is just not enough drive in the motor to move both arms whilst on the windscreen? In dire need of some advice. Do i need a new motor? What is the best thing to do?

PS: Battery is fine, all windows etc work with no issues. I made sure to turn everything off and just try the wipers but no change.

Thanks in Advance.

**MiniMental** · 30-12-2015,07:50 PM

Sounds like the linkages seizing up. Common problem on older cars as its a mechanism more often than not overlooked. I'm having this issue with my Passat, wipers have gone really slow. Will be having a look tomorrow. Find the linkage for them under the windscreen and WD40 it a lot, then put them on highest speed and keep lubricating them. Make sure you get the pivots on the bottom of the wiper arms. This is only a temporary fix, assuming it is the linkage of course, you need to strip it, clean it and relube it with decent grease.

Hope this helps

Mini

**zollaf** · 30-12-2015,07:55 PM

yeah, its quite often where the spindle that holds the wiper arm actually comes through the body. some can be stripped and cleaned , some can't.

**MiniMental** · 30-12-2015,08:14 PM

Can they be stripped easily off a B5.5 lol.

**zollaf** · 30-12-2015,08:15 PM

i actually have no idea, mine work perfectly, never had to try

but probably the answer is yes. theres normally a circlip you remove under the wiper arm (remove arm from spindle) then they just push down and out.

**Auditron** · 30-12-2015,10:06 PM

All,

Thanks for the advice, I will give that a go tomorrow. Local breakers should have a spare if all else fails. Will let you know how it goes.

**Auditron** · 30-12-2015,10:16 PM

Originally Posted by zollaf

yeah, its quite often where the spindle that holds the wiper arm actually comes through the body. some can be stripped and cleaned , some can't.

Hi Zollaf,

I have taken both wiper arms off and cleaned the 2 spindles/splines that grip the arms with a single bolt on each and there is no movement there. The arms don't slip so that isn't the issue.

**MiniMental** · 30-12-2015,10:19 PM

It's the bottom of that bit which you need to clean. Underneath/behind the spline it goes through the support bracket for about 2" and the control arm attaches to the bottom somewhere.

If you take scuttle panel off the bottom of the windscreen it should give you a clearer view. YouTube has some good vids. Just search VW wiper linkage.

Mini