How to reverse the wiper
blades on your 993
This DIY is contributed by Aaron
Schreder (A.J.)
I recently completed the windshield wiper
reversal project on my '95 993 as mentioned on this board last month, and
wanted to pass along the info. The wipers now rest in front of the passenger
instead of the driver. The directions that I followed were only text, and
unfortunately, I still haven't broken down and bought a digital camera,
so I don't have illustrations, either. First of all, many thanks to the
author of the original DIY about switching the park position of the wipers.
It was a big help, and without it, I would not have attempted it. This
DIY could be considered further development of that DIY. The original DIY
suggested that this project would be good to do when replacing the pollen
filters, because a lot of common items would be removed. I was also under
the impression that I needed to remove the screen at the back of the hood,
and remove the ductwork underneath. I also removed the LH side pollen filter
and cover, and spent a good amount of time removing all this. Once it was
all off, I noticed that the wiper motor output shaft was all the way over
to the left side, and none of this stuff had to be removed. So let me start
at the top, and be as brief (but thorough) as possible:
First of all, this is NOT an easy project.
It's quite simple in theory, but VERY difficult in execution. If you have
large hands or you hands aren't very nimble, forget it. I probably spent
five hours on this project, but I hope to save others from wasting the
same time I did.
A.J. |
TOOLS
REQUIRED:
Phillips screwdriver
flat head screwdriver
10mm 12pt wrench
2' of string
flexible magnetic
pick tool
MODIFICATION:
- Remove the carpet from the trunk,
remove the plastic cowl cover and rubber seal that runs across the back
of the trunk.
The wiper motor is on the left side, tucked
up under the cowl, and is impossible to see without leaning over and all
but sticking your head into the trunk. The output shaft is canted forward
and outboard a little. The output linkage is about 2" long coming off it.
The idea is to loosen (remove, because it's splined) the nut on the output
shaft, rotate the output linkage 180 degrees, and retighten the bolt. The
area is so tight, I could barely get my fingers in far enough to actually
touch the shaft, and doing so caused bruises for later.
- Under the cowl cover that you first
removed there is a black plastic, half round shroud in front of the wiper
motor. This is the left side pollen filter housing. I removed it just to
be sure, but it may be necessary. Loosen the finger nut on the inboard
side of the pollen filter housing. On the outboard side, there is a silver
latch. Push on the middle of it and the end will extend, allowing you to
remove it. The housing comes straight off. The filter also comes straight
off. Note the locator tab on the top of the filter. It's a notch that needs
to be straight up when reinstalling. If it's not, you may spend 20 min
wondering why it doesn't fit... There are two metal air conditioner tubes
running behind the pollen filter housing. I very carefully pulled them
forward out of the way, because the wiper motor is behind them, and I needed
all the room I could get.
- I have a flexible magnetic "picker"
that I got from Griot's Garage (from my wife for Christmas) that made this
DIY possible. Without it, I
don't think I would have been able to
do it. There is a plunger on one end, and the magnet extends out of the
plastic housing only when the plunger is depressed. So it can be located
precisely without sticking to all metal objects in the vicinity, and objects
can also be released and picked back up. The nut on the wiper motor shaft
is 10mm, and I could barely even get the wrench in far enough to engage
the nut. Using my right hand, I got the wrench close. Using my left hand,
I fine tuned the position of the wrench with the magnet picker. Once the
wrench was on the nut, it was very difficult to break the nut loose since
there was very little room to maneuver. And the wrench had to be repositioned
each time. There was not enough room to use a 6pt wrench. A ratchet would
have been nice, but there was barely enough clearance to get the wrench
over the nut because the output link above the nut interfered with anything
larger. For better clearance, I cycled the wiper half way across the windshield
and turned off the power. That opened up the linkage a little better. NOTE:
I tied a string to my wrench because I knew I was going to drop it at least
once every time I tried to reposition it on the nut.
- Factory position, the output link
points to the right from the motor shaft. For the wipers to park in front
of the passenger, the link needs to
rotate 180 degrees, pointing to the left.
The problem is, the linkage covers up the nut in this position. I couldn't
even SEE the nut, let alone
kid myself into thinking I could get a
wrench on it. Using intermittent wipe, I cut the power when the wipers
were vertical on the glass. To remove
the linkage from the wiper motor shaft,
I used the flat head screwdriver as a wedge, and let out a little frustration.
I advanced the linkage 180
degrees from that position (clockwise,
arbitrarily), retightened and tested. This gives the best access to the
nut in both positions. I wish I would
have done it this way the first time...
TESTING:
- On a single stroke, if the wiper
cycle ends smoothly, but starts with a jerk down, then proceeds up and
across the glass, you have not
advanced the output link on the motor
shaft enough. The link needs to be advanced clockwise on the shaft, making
sure the shaft is not turning with it. If on a single stroke, the wiper
comes down on the return stroke, hesitates and jumps back upwards before
stopping, you've gone too far. The link needs to be turned counter clockwise.
The DIY I was working from talked about
switching the wiper arms and bending one of them to fit the glass. I don't
understand why this would be done. The wipe pattern is optimized
for LH drive. And as always, if I don't bend the wiper arms, it's easier
to go back to the factory position if I ever need to. I adjusted the park
height on the right side down a bit, since I had them down as low as possible
when they parked on the left. No other problems, and now that I've forgotten
about blowing an entire evening and the cuts and bruises on my hands have
healed, I can say it was all very worth it!!
P-car.com
Web
master
|