The wipers on my 1993 S-Limited move very slowly; at first I thought it was down to a combination of old wiper rubbers and the car having had a new windscreen in the recent past. New blades made no difference. Tried some spray lubricant in the linkages between the wiper arms and the motor, and that seemed to improve things. I am more confident its an issue with the linkages rather than the wiper motor. Can the linkages be split, and cleaned up. lubricated, or are they non-serviceable?
Yes they can, just be carefull of old plastic cups for the knuckles, but the MK 1 links/arms are far stronger than the MK 2/2,5 version.
M-m
Do they just pop apart with a screwdriver as a lever; not had a close look at them while they are on the car. Can they be split on the car, or is it best to remove them, and work on the linkages on the bench?
Thanks
I’ve had the same problem with a couple of my cars - slowing wipers and sometimes squeaking noises.
In each case it was the pivots being semi-seized.
Having taken them off the car (not easy if you want to leave the lower windscreen plastic cover in place - which will likely need new clips if you lift it), I had a go at dismantling one without any success at all. In fact I destroyed one in the attempt as I had a couple of decent spares.
You can put off the inevitable by doing what you can with WD40, spray chain grease etc but new ones will be the perfect answer.
On the MK2, the pivot bearings are just plastic and whilst they don’t tend to seize, they do wear alarmingly and get very sloppy.
Leave them bolted into place, plenty of silicon spray to get into the plastic cup and knuckle and just pop it with a screwdriver or small pry bar, just be gentle ;0)
M-m
I’ve also found that it’s the spindles rather than the ball joints that makes wipers tight/slow and I’ve successfully repaired them before. Once you’ve removed the linkage by popping off the ball joint (maybe worth warming the plastic a little before removal to make it more supple) and unbolted the splindle housings from the body, you’ll find a very thin circlip at the top of each spindle. You can just remove the ball joint where the linkage attaches to the motor and leave the others connected. It can be hard to see with all the rust and crud build up but once you’ve found it lever it off with a small screw driver. With the circlip removed the splindle can be pushed out of the housing. Clean any dried on grease from the spindle and the housing, re-grease and re-assemble. Squeze the circlips slightly before re-fitting to ensure a tight fit to the spindle.
As above :thumbs up: i am now changing loads of the Mk1 wiper arm linkages on the Mk 2/2.5’s for the far better made Mk 1 linkages, as Robbie as said on the MK 1’s the spindles tends to be muck build up or surface rust that brings on problems and sometimes worn plastic knuckles, but the Mk 2/2.5’s spindles wear the body oval over time and become very loose and none repaierable, and are made from a cheap grade of plastic and no has thinck, the plastic knuckles seem to be the same and wear very easier than the MK 1’s, so the best thing is the bin.
http://www.mazdamenders.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=134&t=2503
M-m
Thanks for the advice.
Replacing the linkage and spindles made no difference. Wipers seem to struggle on the top of the upward stroke. The car has had a new windscreen fitted; this wouldn’t be causing issues would it?
I do not know where you live, although I had the same problem about 2 years ago, it was fixed by the MX5 specialist in Stradbrooke, Suffolk.
He took the wiper motor apart and lubricated and cleaned it all out, bushes etc, it is stll going strong to date.
Perhaps this might be a good fix.
regards
Ray