Sunday 21 October 2018

Renault Clio Mk3: Stuck Wiper Linkage Fix

1. Take off both wiper-arms by removing the plastic-cap, undoing the 16mm nut and working them free from the spindles.

2. Remove the plastic scuttle-panel in front of the windscreen. First remove the plastic stud-clip at either side of the panel and pull off the rubber-seal on the leading edge. The panel can now be lifted at the leading edge and pulled towards the front of the car to remove without damaging the plastic clips at the windscreen edge.

3. Separate the long wiper-linkage connecting rod from the motor-arm by popping it upwards off the ball-joint using a large flat-screwdriver or small pry-bar.

4. Remove the 3 screws holding the entire wiper-linkage assembly to the car using a 10mm socket with some reach. Two are located vertically, one just below the driver's wiper-spindle and one in the middle. The third is facing horizontally in towards the cabin and found just below the middle of the screen.

5. Carefully lift the entire linkage mechanism out from the bulkhead area and remove the two connecting-rods by popping the ball-joints off the bottom of the wiper-spindles.

6. Remove the metal ring-clip from the upper part of each wiper-spindle by tapping either side of the opening in the clip with a small flat-screwdriver / punch and working the clip out.


7. Remove the two flat washers from the upper part of each wiper-spindle.

8. Slide the seized spindles out of their bushings. This is the hard part! Use plenty of WD40. Try working the spindles out by rotating them as you pull, but chances are they will be seized solid and require knocking out with a hammer, so make sure you screw the nut back on, leaving it just proud of the threaded part of the spindle to avoid damaging the thread.



9. Remove the two flat washers from the bottom of each wiper-spindle.

10. Clean the corrosion from each wiper-spindle using light emery-cloth / sandpaper. Using a vice to clamp the spindles makes life easy here.



11. Clean the corrosion from the inside of each spindle bushing on the linkage by wrapping some emery-cloth round a 10mm drill-bit and hand turning it inside the tubes. A small round wire-brush on a drill should work too.



12. Refit the two flat washers to the bottom of each wiper-spindle.

13. Lightly grease the shafts of each spindle and slide them back into the bushing tubes. Be careful not to get any on the threaded part. I used Moly grease but any thick grease will do - CV grease, copper-slip etc.

14. Refit the two flat washers and ring-clip to the top of each wiper-spindle. You should be able to start the clip off by hand and knock it fully in with a small flat-screwdriver.

15. Reverse steps 1-5 to refit the linkage. With the wipers in the 'parked' position, the small arm that connects the linkage to the motor should be pointing towards the passenger-side of the car, otherwise the wipers will still have some downward movement. **It might also be worth lubricating the metal-in-plastic ball-joints when refitting using PTFE white-grease.**


https://www.renaultforums.co.uk/17-electronics/75956-clio-3-front-wipers-problem-6.html?amp=1&utm_source=amp

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