Wiper linkage question

[lesage]

Wipers frozen to screen this morning
Applied de icer
Thought blades were free
Start engine, wipers. They werent free. Wipers launch off with a thwang. Linkage breaks.

The link (pivot bearing) thats broken is on RH side, (on my UK RHD e34, its the last link, connecting the drive shaft from motor to the small arm at base of wiper spindle). From the top, it has a flat topped soft grey metal cap with rounded edges; on the arm underneath, theres a rubber boot and a domed protrusion which points up and obviously is designed to locate into the metal cap. Picture is like that on this link borrowd from bmwe32 website.
http://bmwe32.student.utwente.nl/images/wipers/DSC00728.JPG
(NB the diagram on the realoem site seems to be that for a LHD car as my RHD seems different).

Question: can i replace/fix the single broken link or have I to go through the agony of replacing whole damned mechanism? If single link can be replaced, how is it done? P/N? If not how is mech replaced on 92 e34 M50tu RHD...?

Thanks...

[shogun]

Check the parts here based on your VIN
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/partgrp.do?model=HJ82&mospid=47394&prod=19920700&hg=61&fg=45

[lesage]

The parts arent separately listed. The pivot in question seems similar to that geographically near the figure 6 and 7. 7 is clearly the rubber boot sorrounding the lower element. If that boot is replaceable, it suggests (I think) that the bearing is assemblable/disassemblable (do such words exist I wonder...?)

I did try to press the lower & upper parts together using a small G-clamp, without success. It may be that, if the elements can be pressed together, my G-Clamp was just too puny. It'd be nice to know whether they can be pushed together and if so by what means -- assuming that, based on the diagram, I cannot get a replacement
for the individual part ...

[lesage]

I shouldve also mentioned that the diagram that comes up seems applicable to the LHD, not the RHD model, even when I use my VIN number in the search box

[lesage]

I think Ive sussed it out.

The drive rod from motor is replacable and cheap (£3 odd). It comes complete w/ two sockets ( I think theyre made of some hardened polythene or plastic but may be I'm wrong), one at each end, and these fit on, evidently, to the balls protruding from either end of the linkings before and after said rod.

The BMW mechanic said you just have to press/rock them on...
I havent yet done that but if I succeed in doing so, that'll be the end of the problem.

[lesage]

I installed the new drive rod. Went on fairly easily, rocking it side to side over the joints at either end. (Used a claw hammer to yank off the old rod from the motor end)

The other nice by-product is that the wipers are now nice and quiet whereas they made quite a 'flip-flap' racket in the past. Clearly the bushes were worn and this cheap & easy replacement has cured that

[Paul_540i]

Nice one. I have one of those rods too, not yet installed. Have a bit of play in my mechanism and asked the dealer the replacement price. Was around £130 + VAT, so I left it! He suggested it may just be the rod, so at £3 ish I thought might as well. Just haven't got round to trying it yet.

My car also has the pressure adjusting motor for the driver's wiper, making it look a little more difficult. BTW This "feature" appears completely useless as the wipers still smear and judder at anything over 70 MPH.

[lesage]

FYI, I replaced both blades recently with Bosch blades (from Halfords). Previous juddering stopped but the RH one wasnt excellent, leaving a not quite wiped smear in the central area of the blade sweep. When the new rod was installed, not only was the system quiet but the partly wiped problem disappeared as well. I cant think that the rod replacement had anything directly to do with it; I presume it was just that the wiper blade, which of course had to be removed, was better seated/tightened when I replaced it...
For £3, the rod cannot be beaten, though...a significant improvement, getting rid of previous 'flip flap'...quite apart from the busted joint

[shogun]

The juddering of the wiper blades is just a matter of adjustment of the blades angle. BMW even has a tool for it to check the angle. See the TIS.
It must be exactly 87 degrees.

[lesage]

thats intriguing! What is the P/N?
Angle apart, it does also seem that wear on the blades after a point affects the movement of the rubber on glass. Perhaps 'judder' is not the exact description; more a v rapid but noisy staccato rubbing or jumping, rather than the desired smooth glide. Like when you make a wineglass sing by rubbing wet fingertip over the rim :-)

[Paul_540i]

How do you adjust the angle? Wear is not an issue as they are brand new as of about 3 weeks ago, proper E34-unique design too with the driver's blade having a full-length spoiler.

Will have a go at changing that rod this weekend.

Cheers
Paul.

[Paul_540i]

Changed the rod last night, and the old one was fairly worn mainly on the side that attaches to the driver's wiper. Has vastly reduced the play, not sure how the performance will be affected until I get some rain (shouldn't be long in SW Scotland!).

Well worth the £3 regardless! I'm pretty sure the rest of my wiper linkage is in good condition thankfully.

Cheers
Paul.

[lesage]

Neat! We've had enough rain in London now...so I'm sure you'll experience shortly the same 'just like brand new' impression of quiet wipers operating perfectly as if the whole thing's been renovated---and all for £3!!

[Paul in NZ]

sometimes that juddering is caused by the joints and pivots in the wiperblades themselves.I acheived the same smoothness b swapping out the wipers on an old toyota...Shogun had a series of posts about the angle of the blades,you change the angle by twisting the arm.

[E34 Dan]

I have been hunting for this solution for weeks...months now and even better news that I might be able to solve it cheaply without replacing the whole linkage...I have got the same "Flik Flak" noise on the wipers. It sounds like replacing the drive rods from the wiper motor is the first thing to try...but where can I get them from in the UK?

Can anyone can point me in the right direction? Thanks in advance to anyone who can help....

....oh by the way, on my first BMW (see sig). I've had it for nearly a year and don't want to drive any other car again! 168K miles and love every single mile it does.

[Paul_540i]

Any BMW dealer will help, and it's one of those rare parts that's actually dirt cheap from the dealer.

[mjfeeney4]

Replacing a drive rod which fell off (rust, age) with a new BMW part. Problem is exactly as described in the previous post, except I cannot seem to reinstall the replacement over the rounded linkage. The replacement will not press on, by rocking as the previous post suggests. Was able to attach the side closest to the fender using a "C" clamp but not I'm afraid that it may have deformed the metal/rubber cap because the mechanism is stiffer than the original.

Space is very tight near the wiper motor. Any suggestions.