105 Wiper Woes Jack Chesley

The day before I intended to get my '67 Giulia Super inspected, the driver's side wiper arm went flop and stopped. Of course it was raining; why else would I be running the wipers! Brief unpaid commercial message here for RAINX: thank you RAINX! Anyway, I made it home and considered the problem. The plastic bushing in the end of the rod between the motor and the wiper arm itself had self-destructed. There is no replacement bushing, but you can buy the complete motor and linkage assembly (or at least you could when the car was new and didn't need it). Or, you can look for a friend with a parts car (of course his bushings have probably self-destructed also). Or, you can make a new bushing (obviously that's what I did or I wouldn't be writing this article).

Materials and tools needed include a length of one inch diameter Delrin rod, a thin hand saw blade (hacksaw or thinner), a lathe with a suitable chuck to hold the Delrin rod and turning tools, and a small high-speed hand grinder with a 3/8" spherical cutting burr (Mototool or similar).

Scrape any remaining bits of bushing out of the arm and turn the end 4 mm length of the Delrin to a tapered fit into the hole in the linkage arm. There are both a large and a small size bushing on my Super wiper linkage, but only the smaller size is used on the Duetto since the linkage is set up differently. The last 2 mm before the full diameter shoulder should be a TIGHT press fit. The holes on different arms seem to be the same size, but I turn each one to match the hole to be sure of a tight fit. (the original was cast in place or perhaps pressed in while hot, which is probably why there is no replacement bushing).

Next drill a hole lengthwise through the center of the Delrin (9/16" diameter for the large bushing (although 1/2" will work) or 7/16" for the small one) and cut three thin slots across the hole at 60 degree angles to each other, as in the original bushing. The slots should not cut into the last 2 mm before the shoulder where the linkage arm hole will be pressed on.

Using the spherical cutting burr in the hand grinder, carve a slight cavity inside the hole in the Delrin (with the lathe turning at slow speed) to fit the ball on the wiper actuator arm. The largest point of the cavity that you carve with the spherical burr should line up with the ends of the slots and the edge of the hole in the linkage arm for proper fit and alignment. The slots make fingers that hold the ball in place and all forces should be directly in line with the arm. Test often until you just get a snug, 'pop'-in fit. (actually, I got a pretty sloppy fit on mine and they still work fine after 3 years). It really helps to have a spare actuator arm so you can test the fit without disturbing the lathe set-up. However, if you take the small actuator arm off the shaft at the center of the windshield, MARK its position first! It's a tapered spline joint and determines the sweep of the wipers. I didn't mark it and I still haven't gotten around to setting it back on the right spline.

Finally, cut the completed bushing off the remainder of the Delrin rod, leaving about 1 mm of full diameter rod for a shoulder, tapering thicker toward the center for reinforcement. Polish the ball with a Scotchbrite pad and grease everything. Press the bushing into the linkage arm and reinstall the arm with all the linkage parts matching the drawing you made BEFORE you took the arm out of the car.

I have enough Delrin rod to make a few more bushings. If your 105 wipers are flopping fitfully, give me a call at (202) 828-0478 (days) or (301) 203-0059 (eves) and I'll fix them for $30/end or $50/(2 ends) or trade for a couple hours help on my spider or some 101 parts.

Ode to a '67 wiper arm linkage

My bushings went south and my wipers just died,

so I pulled off the road 'til my tears were all dried.

My dealer can't help. If he could it'd cost more

to buy the d*mn part than I bought the car for!

Now, it's rainin' like hell. "I need RAINX!", I cried.

I can see lady luck's not along for this ride.

Lord, I HATE planned obsolescence!

Capital page

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1996