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
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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