Thanks Jim. At the time I just needed to spray
something--anything--that would creep into the pivots because the
thought of removing them was a nightmare. Nothing seeped in, and that
route didn't work--the axle shaft was bound so tight that I needed to
remove the whole assembly.
However, I did remove it and fixed the squeak. For those reading who
are interested and may have a similar problem read on.
The bad news is that it's difficult, the good news is that it's doable.
Of course you need to remove that long black plastic shroud, also the
vaccum solenoid in the center/rear of the engine compartment, then that
bracket thing that holds the passenger-side pivot to the body.
Each of the pivots (the white nylon triangular things in which each
wiper axle goes through) have 3 bolts. The problem is that these bolts
are slip-fit in the pivot, so if the nut is rusty, you just spin the
whole nut/bolt assembly. Not only is it nearly impossible to reach
under and hold the other end (the driver side is especially
difficult)--but the bolt head is circular--not hex, and thin as a
washer. So I ended up drilling right through the top of the bolt
itself for the two which were stuck. Then a simple twist with the
wrench twisted what was left of the bolt off.
The metal crank-arm just pops off it's link under the passenger side
pivot (actually in the very middle). Then the whole arm with the two
pivots can be fished out of there.
I then put the nylon piece in a vise (carefully) and popped out the
rest of the bolts I had drilled-out. I replaced them with normal
bolts, which slip-fit in tight enough to hold while I re-installed the
piece--I was prepared to use some mastic adhesive to hold them in--at
this point I didn't care--but there was no need for that. Anyway, then
to pop the 'axle' out of the nylon pivot, I had to get the
lock/snap-ring off the topside of the axle. It was so rusty I didn't
even know there even was a snap ring until I soaked the end of the axle
with a penetrating oil, then wire brushed the whole thing. I then just
popped the snapring off using a sharp wood chisel, since I had nothing
else to pry this rusty thing out with. Then, with the nylon pivot in a
vise, I carefully hammered the axle through the nylon pivot.
The axle shaft was extremely rusty, I wire brushed it then wrapped 200
emery cloth around it to smooth it out, then finished with 400. I then
greased it with standard grease (I had no white lithium), and put it
back in, put the snap ring back on, and put the whole thing back
together.
The job was a success--no squeak, the wipers wipe smooth like new. It
was about a 2 hour job, but worth it.
--Jim
> Neither of those is a good lubricant. You need to grease the pivot
> points with white lithium grease.