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Date:         Thu, 16 Aug 2012 15:15:05 -0500
Reply-To:     Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: windshield wiper repair
Comments: To: mcneely4@cox.net
In-Reply-To:  <20120816154504.W62C8.1266068.imail@eastrmwml304>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Heck yeah I've fitted then with a bolt, there should be a very complete writeup in the archives by me. It works GREAT. If you are like me, that $60 part you now own will reside in the little cubby above the rear cabinet. I have pulled the dash a couple of times since the bolt was installed, but never had the inclination to change back to a stud.

The deal is to drill and tap right into the exact center of the stud. To do that, you need to file it down flat, get a 5X loupe in your good eye, and place a punch in the exact center of the stud. The rest is just careful drilling and tapping.

It sounds like GoWesty copied my writeup, or else somebody there was also a machinist at some point in their lives...

Jim

On Thu, Aug 16, 2012 at 2:45 PM, Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@cox.net> 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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