Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2012 15:25:49 -0600
Reply-To: OlRivrRat <OlRivrRat@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: OlRivrRat <OlRivrRat@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: windshield wiper repair
In-Reply-To: <20120816154504.W62C8.1266068.imail@eastrmwml304>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes
Dave
Regarding the StrippedSplines ~ Drape some SteelWool over the post,
press the WiperArm on & apply your Nut or Bolt ~ works great. I lost my
splines 5 or 6 years ago in a blinding rain no northern Ill. I pulled
in under the pump shelter of a closed GasStation grabbed an SOS or
Brillo pad out
of drawer in my Westy, applied the trick & drove on down the road ~
slowly ~ could only see about tail lights about 8ft in front of me.
It's been working
fine ever since.
ORR ~ DeanB
On 16 Aug , 2012, at 1:45 PM, Dave Mcneely wrote:
> A few days ago I mentioned that the passenger side windshield wiper
> threaded stud of the shaft on my 1991 Volkswagen Vanagon GL
> Campmobile had snapped. Well, I have a new shaft in hand from Van
> Cafe. Now I realize that the conical pressable piece that the stud
> and splines of the shaft fit into has stripped. Evidently this
> requires a new wiper arm, as the damaged piece seems not to be
> replaceable. Is that true?
>
> A couple of other questions:
>
> 1. Does anyone know for sure that the dash must be pulled in order
> to replace the shaft? Is it possible that it can be reached and
> replaced through the top grill opening? That might be easier to do,
> if indeed it can be done.
>
> 2. GoWesty has a procedure on their web site for drilling and
> tapping the stud in the shaft, and then fitting the wiper arm on
> with a bolt rather than a nut. Has anyone ever done this, and was
> the fix successful? That might be easier than replacing the shaft,
> especially if the dash must be pulled to do so. But, there is not
> much there to drill and tap. The GoWesty procedure says to file the
> stud off flat, punch the center, then drill it, then tap it.
> Interestingly, I mentioned such a possibility to the shop I
> consulted in Burlington, Washington a couple of weeks ago, and the
> guy just looked at me as if I was kidding, and said, "Never work,
> not enough metal there to hold anything even if you could drill and
> tap it." GoWesty's page seems as if it is something done with some
> regularity: http://www.gowesty.com/library_article.php?id=1512
>
> Given my skills and general lack of patience, this may be something
> I should hire done, but it should be cheaper in that case than
> hiring someone to remove the dash to replace the shaft.
>
> Comments?
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