Wiper Motor & Linkage replacement - How To

The problem?
Windscreen wipers not working on my MGF, despite having checked the fuse and the linkages, so it is the motor which needs replacing. The wiper motor + linkages are often sold as a complete unit so a quick check on ebay and a used windscreen wiper motor and linkages is found just 10 mins from me.
Not raining so I set off. Half way there it starts to rain lightly, so at each junction a quick wipe clears the view.




Tools needed:
10 & 13mm sockets, 32mm socket or large adjustable wrench/spanner, Cross head screwdriver

The Fix
1) Open the bonnet and remove the front bulkhead cover.
This is held in position by x4 10mm nuts ( A ), two on the LHS, two at the bottom of the cover in the spare wheel well and one retaining piece with a crosshead screw ( B ) to the RHS of the cover above the brake master cylinder/servo. Ensure the cover is free from the four fixed bolts and then lift the cover away.



2) Remove the wiper arms, then the 32mm nut and washers from each arm.



Before removing the 13mm bolt, you need to move the wiper linkages such that the wipers would be in the upright position. You need to do this to be able to get the motor and linkage mechanism in and out of the car.
Positioning the linkage arms can do in one of three ways.
a) If you still have some movement use the the wiper switch then switch off the ignition half way through the sweep.
b) Open the ball and socket joints on the linkage arms or
c) open the motor casing, a pair of small torx head screws, then rotate the motor by hand.

Having done this remove the 13mm bolt.

3) Next you need to remove the scuttle panel. Watch out for the screw covers, they are the work of the devil and will fly away to some hidden location if you do not put your hand over them. You have been warned.



The hooks referred to are shown in this photo, they slide under the glass of the windscreen to hold the ends in position


4) Remove the connector leading to the motor. Slide the motor and linkage mechanism out of the car. It is tight but gently lifting the motor up will help.

5) You are now ready to replace the mechanism and refit is just reversal of the above. To make sure the wipers end up in the correct position operate the wiper motor and allow it to 'park' before refitting the wiper arms.



What was the problem?
Wanting to know why my wiper motor had failed I took it apart to discover it had water in it! Never a good sign in an electric motor





In comparison with the replacement motor



The problem is that oxidisation of the metal casing of the motor distorts the rubber gasket seal allowing water in.
On the new motor I cleaned up both parts reassembled it, then smeared some grease around the join.

It may be worthwhile checking your wiper motor. After following 1) above you can get access to the motor and check it's condition. A little research has revealed this is a known issue and some people have gone as far as drilling a drain hole in the underside of the motor. I would not recommend this, I believe you are far better stopping the water getting in in the first place.

Excellent! :thumbsup: I'll add this to the A-Z how tos. Nice one Paul. :broon:

I received a Mike Satur 'upgraded' wiper linkage for Christmas and have only just got round to fitting it. Here are some pictures.

You start off as described by PQD44 - off come the wiper blades, the large nuts holding on the wiper spindles, the scuttle cover, and the under bonnet cover.

Now you have access to the old mechanism which looks like this:



At this stage the only thing holding it in place is the M6 bolt in the motor bracket. However, it's impossible to remove like this in the default stopped position this so you need to allow the linkage to motor to where the up position would be on the wiper blades then kill it with the ignition key

The driver's coupling should look like this at this point:



It's easier to unplug the electrics once the mechanism is half out.

Once it is out you have to drill out the 3 rivets that connect the old couplings to the cranks. I started small and went up to 8 mm. At this point one of the couplings fell to pieces and this is what the back of the central coupling looked like:



I didn't stop to take pictures at this point as I was running late.

The new mechaninsm bolts on at each end directly but you have to modify the central bracket slightly to countersink the new CSK bolt head so that it's about as flush as the old rivet was. This bolt as supplied is way too long and when you've bolted the new central coupling together you need to cut the bolt off flush with the nut (and use some loctite). As I was to discover, the new mechanism is deeper that the old and you need as much clearance as you can create.

This is the new mechanism ready to go in - NB set it up just as the old one came out as though the wiper blades were up, not parked, otherwise it won't go back.



Putting it back in was straightforward - here is how it looks:





At this stage I connected the power (keep your fingers well clear - it will want to park and is very powerful)and it was obvious that the drive was contacting the bulkhead once in every wipe. Mike Satur hints at this and provides 2 washers to space out the motor bolt bracket. In my case this was no where near enough.

The solution was to use a longer bolt in the motor bracket with a lock nut to force the motor to tilt forwards & up which gave sufficient clearance from the bulkhead. There is plenty of pliancy in the fittings to allow this. I used some loctite on this too and you can see how big a gap I needed:



The end result is a much smoother running mechanism than the old one which after 90K miles was decidely tired. Typical of most MG F jobs a lot of time is taken in gaining access but it is fairly straight forward (but NB PQD44's advice on removing the scuttle without breaking the clips). The Mike Satur mechanism is certainly well engineered but for the money I think he should supply a new central bracket already coutersunk and a bolt that doesn't need cutting (if he supplied the bracket it would be easy to judge the bolt length and there would be one less rivet to drill out). Finally, he should come-up with a solution (like what I have) to allow the tilt of the motor to be adjusted to compensate for a deeper mechanism that would otherwise contact the bulkhead.

Just tested in heavy showers and is much quieter than before.

Hope this helps anyone considering the same fix.

Richard

Had to repair mine after the run ysterday (bolt method) however mine wasnt as straight forward, Mine is a mk1 VVC 1997 and immediately in front of the main bracket is a clutch damper for the hydraulics. I had to remove the linkage from the motor and the motor from the bracket in situ before I could remove the wheelbox assy from the car, took about 2 1/2 hours all in.

The how to's were very helpful though, going to have to get a mike satur kit at some point though.

Just done mine, although made a meal of it, I have to say it is much better

Excellent 'How To'

About to replace mine, motor failed due to water, got it working again but no 2nd speed.

Managed to get a decent one off Ebay which had the uprated Mike Satur linkage.