Dear Brisk members,

I am in the process of replacing the rear wiper arm on my 08 MkII Fabia hatchback. The previous owner had done a cowboy job and used some sort of epoxy to bodge a cracked wiper arm (crack on the plastic eye that fits around the motor connect - see photo) - and this has totally lost grip on the motor drive. 
With a bit of force I removed the cracked wiper arm and am now ready to order a new one - but I am unsure about the nut-like part that is left on motor connector. My question is - do I remove this component before fixing the new arm? (See photo) 

Thank you,

Myles

(First time Skoda owner and loving it!)

Yes, it is not a nut, that has already been removed, it is the wiper arm boss with the splines, cut it through carefully with a hacksaw beside the splines parallel to the shaft axis but at the slight angle of the taper.

 

Someone has tried to remove the arm, removed the nut & then found the boss seized on the shaft as usual, broken the arm whilst trying and then given up & glued it back in place.

 

You will have to source a nut if you cannot find the old one, M8x1.25 13mm across flats.

Sorry to be the bringer of bad news but the bit that's left is the splined part of the wiper that's normally set into the wiper arm, if you have the new one you will see the splined part in the arm, I had this issue on a mates car and the only way we got it off was to purchase a wiper arm puller from the bay around £7 fit it on and plenty of wd-40 and slowly wind puller up also tapped side of puller with 2 small hammers and it then pooped off, can't put heat on t due to glass, when putting new one on silicone grease is a god's send comes off easy next time

The only way to get that insert off the wiper motor is to use a puller as suggested or split it carefully using a Dremel, you might be able to grip it and gently wiggle it off but I doubt it.

Thank you all for your detailed replies - I think before buying a puller I will attempt to cut the boss with a hacksaw blade. Perhaps a cut on each side and a gentle prise with a flat head screwdriver in the cut groove will cause it to fall away. 
thank you all again 

m 

Some rather conservative answers, out in the wilds of Corby they'd use grips, but at £7 a  puller is easier, I'd use GT-85 instead of WD-40 as it better all round and a longer acting lubricant, with PTFE, use liberal amounts if that's your preference.

 

https://gt85.co.uk/gt85-original/

 

Personally, I'd spray with GT-85 let in soak in over night, it won't wash off, go a have a few glasses of barrelled Egyptian Cream and forget about the rear wiper until the weekend and/or better weather. 😊

 

(ETA: the cuts and prise should be enough to break it, don't use a good screwdriver, save good tools for good work.)

Edited 21 February, 20224 yr by nta16

Lubricant wont make the slightest bit of difference, it will be corroded on.

 

The pullers usually are not rigid enough to remove a corroded and seized wiper arm and will need the addition of the good news with a hammer, you can get away with that on the front spindles aside from the bonnet obstructing the swing but on the rear the puller is perilously close to the screen.

 

A Dremel will work but not necessary, a hacksaw will have it off in no time without damaging anything else, angle grinders & dremels close to glass are not a good idea as the molten sparks will embed in the glass, maybe the Dremel does not throw off sparks, its the one tool that I have yet to find an excuse to buy = to date unnecessary.

36 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Lubricant wont make the slightest bit of difference, it will be corroded on.

 

The pullers usually are not rigid enough to remove a corroded and seized wiper arm and will need the addition of the good news with a hammer, you can get away with that on the front spindles aside from the bonnet obstructing the swing but on the rear the puller is perilously close to the screen.

 

A Dremel will work but not necessary, a hacksaw will have it off in no time without damaging anything else, angle grinders & dremels close to glass are not a good idea as the molten sparks will embed in the glass, maybe the Dremel does not throw off sparks, its the one tool that I have yet to find an excuse to buy = to date unnecessary.

 

Are you for real dude, honestly, since when does brass throw off sparks when it's cut?

My independent removed mine for free in about 5 seconds with a small puller however he did say if it had been like the one in the picture which has the integrated washer, the puller often mangles up the end, in that case he'd just hacksaw it off.

 

BTW its an aluminium alloy insert not brass or at least mine was

Edited 21 February, 20224 yr by xman

11 hours ago, sepulchrave said:

 

Are you for real dude, honestly, since when does brass throw off sparks when it's cut?

 

I did not know they were brass, if they are indeed brass then I'm surprised that they corrode on the shaft so well.

 

Had I known they were brass I would have avoided using a grinder all the more, that comes from an engineering apprenticeship and learning and seeing the dangers of grinding wheels on surface grinders.

 

I had no choice but to use an angle grinder on aluminium recently, I had plasma cut it 1mm too long, it went against all my instincts but worked just fine.

 

I expect if I ever do get a Dremel I will start turning to it more and more.

11 hours ago, xman said:

BTW its an aluminium alloy insert not brass or at least mine was

 

Who gives a ****, it still won't throw sparks if cut with a dremel wheel.

 

This is a self help forum, we don't need method statements and risk assessments to get results.

Even easier to cut with a hacksaw then, shame they were not brass.

 

The OP is free to choose whatever method they like according to the tools they have to hand or choose to buy, AFAIK only one person was telling them that it could only be done their way " to use a puller as suggested or split it carefully using a Dremel" which is not always true having removed several myself.

 

My puller alone was not going to remove my rear wiper, it had never been removed in 100K miles, being where I was I could not cut it off as to replace the arm would have been expensive and taken a long time, it needed a tap on the extraction bolt but that would likely have broken the screen, I used a combination of oak folding wedges and plywood spreaders to support the rear of the puller and very judiciously tapped the puller bolt with a selected hammer, it worked for me so I could re-use the wiper arm but I definitely would not recommend anyone else taking the risk.

 

I crack all 3 wiper spindle fixings loose & retighten them at least once a year now to prevent future problems. Retightening alone is a good idea, I have had them come loose after many years and on an autoroute where I could least attend to it in safety.

35 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Even easier to cut with a hacksaw then, shame they were not brass.

 

The OP is free to choose whatever method they like according to the tools they have to hand or choose to buy, AFAIK only one person was telling them that it could only be done their way " to use a puller as suggested or split it carefully using a Dremel" which is not always true having removed several myself.

 

My puller alone was not going to remove my rear wiper, it had never been removed in 100K miles, being where I was I could not cut it off as to replace the arm would have been expensive and taken a long time, it needed a tap on the extraction bolt but that would likely have broken the screen, I used a combination of oak folding wedges and plywood spreaders to support the rear of the puller and very judiciously tapped the puller bolt with a selected hammer, it worked for me so I could re-use the wiper arm but I definitely would not recommend anyone else taking the risk.

 

I crack all 3 wiper spindle fixings loose & retighten them at least once a year now to prevent future problems. Retightening alone is a good idea, I have had them come loose after many years and on an autoroute where I could least attend to it in safety.

 

Absolutely not, why are you erecting giant walls of text for such a simple problem, criticising me for daring to suggest there's more than one way to skin a cat then complaining when I robustly rebut that criticism.

 

Read what you wrote again in reply to me and stop splitting hairs, it makes you sound petty.

👜👜Put the handbags away ladies ...😄

 

For further information, the wiper arm insert is an aluminium alloy of some sort. A good soaking with penetrating oil the night before, helped with the removal, the splined shaft was remarkably clean and shiny once removed all the corrosion being on the alloy component.

 

The spindle on the car wiper shaft is steel and has a tapered spline.

 

A new wiper arm comes with the alloy component pressed in, and the hole, surprisingly is plain, i.e. smooth.

 

When fitting, first make sure the wiper motor is in a parked position, hold the arm firmly near the spindle end and in the correct parked position, and when you tighten the securing bolt, the spline will cut into the alloy insert for grip.

 

The problem I found was the parking position of the rear wiper tends to vary a bit, so I had to remove the arm a few times and refit before I got a good compromise.

Edited 22 February, 20224 yr by xman

Calm down dear!

 

Far from suggesting there is more than one way to skin a cat you said "The only way to get that insert off the wiper motor is.............."

 

I appreciate that by responding I am (also) splitting hairs and being petty.

Edited 22 February, 20224 yr by J.R.

2 hours ago, xman said:

A new wiper arm comes with the alloy component pressed in, and the hole, surprisingly is plain, i.e. smooth.

 

Hence the need to retighten especially if they have been refitted say after a windscreen replacement, but loosen & release the arm then retighten to break any corrosion building up.