Noisy Wipers

[d.e.hill]

Hi guys,
The wipers on my 1999 1.9Tdi (SE) are bloomin noisy. They don't squeak or chatter, but clunk at the top and bottom of the travel.

I've just changed the blades to valeo silencio aero type ones, but it's just as noisy!(They do a lovely job of wiping though...)

This a common problem? Anything I can do? Most of my mates cars you can't even hear the wipers, on mine they're so loud they interrupt everything.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[fatbloke]

have you tried polishing the glass?

some glass clearners make the screen quite squeaky, try using autoglym glass polish it might help, you also wont need your wipers as much as the rain will bead more and just roll off

 

[Har]

Thats your linkage started to seize up mate,common fault

 

[goble]

you might just be able to save it by stripping it and greasing the pivot points(the white plastic parts) and save it for another 12 months as Har says its common

 

[Har]

if you can get to a breakers i managed to get a mk4 golf linkage for £25,its the same part

 

[d.e.hill]

Thanks lads! I really appreciate your help!

I'm not that bad technically, but I'm not exactly sure which bits you mean...

I'll have a look at her tomorrow (I'm assuming the linkage links to two wipers...!), and have a look for the white plastic bits, then grease them. Would WD40 do the trick or should I get my hands on some thicker grease?

If anyone has any more detailed infomation on the process that'd be great? What exactly do I need to strip down? If not, I'll do my best to work it out!

Thnaks again guys,
Cheers,
Dave

 

[Timmyboy]

Not sure why a seizing linkage would cause that kind of noise, but I can probably help you out if you conclude this is indeed the problem and get stuck - I've just done the exact same thing on my V5 and had a mare with it, but I'm now the expert!

There's a thread close to this titled (helpfully enough) 'How stupid am I' which will give you some pointers, and I think I posted a link to another forum post I found useful.

The tricky bits are getting the wipers off and releasing the seized spindle without knackering the thread - if you can't make head nor tail let me know and I'll give you a bullet point guide of sorts.

 

[d.e.hill]

I didn't understand how it would make them make that noise either, but lo and behold, they're quieter after a greasing session!

Still not as silent as I'd like, but they are quieter.

As far as getting at the linkage goes, it's not that hard, just takes a bit of lateral thinking and a think about where everything goes. I must have had the top strip off about 10 times as I'd forgot to do something each time... joining washer pipes, or making sure water trays were int he right position, or stuffing in that yellow insulating foam.... and so on. Not to mention how hard the wipers are to get off, don't even attempt to do it with a spanner, socket set required!

cheers,
Dave