replacing rear wiper arm

Hi, this sounds like an eay job but its not been the case. The hole in the new wiper arm is a brass insert with a tapered hole, the smallest end being 8mm diameter.wheras the motor spindle has a parallel knurled section that is 14.7 mm diameter. It has been suggested that this knurled section may be the insert from the old wiper arm that has stuck onto the motor spindle. I have tried to pull it off with molegrips but am worried about damaging the motor spindle.
Can anyone please verify that all mk1 c3's have the same motor spindle, in which case this knurled section is likely to be the insert from the old wiper arm. Incidently the old wiper arm was damaged going through the monkey enclosure at Knowsley Safari Park. Damn monkeys.

Hi steveo59

steveo59 wrote:It has been suggested that this knurled section may be the insert from the old wiper arm that has stuck onto the motor spindle. I have tried to pull it off with molegrips but am worried about damaging the motor spindle.

Yes, the knurled section should still be in the wiper arm.

You could cut it off with a hacksaw, or use lots of penetrating fluid and a rearing puller. If it all goes wrong, it not a particularly difficult job to replace the motor. Not too expensive if you shop around on eBay - here

Hi, thankyou for the reply. Now you have confirmed the knurled section is not part of the spìndle I will have another go at getting it off. I'll try wire brushing it first, plenty of WD40 then a puller. If that doesn't work I'll follow your suggestion and try cutting it off. The good news is I bought the arm on ebay and because it didn't fit they refunded me. So I have a new arm that hasn't cost me anything. Thanks again for your help.

Hello steveo59

You might find one of these tools handy Terminal Puller Ebay rather than using a bearing puller.

The ends are flatter than a bearing puller to get under terminals and wiper blade mounts where space can be tight. It can also save your paintwork

Alternatively, two good strong screwdrivers or pry bars with thin tips/blades and two planks/board/bits of wood to act as fulcrums to spread the strain. Put them 180 degrees apart, and then wear goggles in case the stupid bit flies towards your face when it comes off! Try applying pressure first one side then the other. It'll probably look like it is doing nothing for a bit then start to move just a fraction. But don't put too much force on one side or it'll jam on again and you'll have to hammer it back on to start again, which will *&^% you off! Try heating the bit you are trying to get off, with a heat gun, or even a hair dryer, keeping the heat away from any glass in the vicinity. Thinking about it, it might be wise to hacksaw part way through, can you see how deep to make the cut? I get the feeling the position this is in may make all this performance a bit of a pain. You will not find cutting vertically easy, unless you have got a Dremel and even them. Maybe sawing parallel to the body of the car, but vertically down one side, then the other, then prying on the bits 90 degrees away from the cuts...? All removes metal and gives you more chance of its grip having diminished. Hopefully you'll end up with a mangled piece of metal in your hand and a clean bit on the car!

Also putting Molegrips on it will only increase the grip it already has on the spindle, thus defeating the object of the exercise! As another poster said, the motor looks easy to get off. Why not take it off, removing the risks of damage to its surroundings, take it somewhere else, preferably to a workshop with a vice, and then you will be able to attack it from more angles? Just trying to put myself in your shoes. But then you would need to seal it back in again, replace panels, etc, etc, boring!

Or maybe just invest a fiver on a wiper arm puller?

Really Missing?

Didn't even know they existed. But there are a lot of things I don't know!

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The wiper arm removal tool on eBay (here).

right!!!!!!!!!! Looks more complex than I was expecting! Like a ball joint splitter, in some ways, or a puller, by any other name, as the poet might have said if he was mechanically inclined. I'm a sad b"£$er but having seen it makes me want to make one, and I do not even have the problem. Tight git that I am!