by "MM54" (mm54mk2)
Published 08/22/2017 at 20:13
by "MM54" (mm54mk2)
Published 08/22/2017 at 20:13
Tags: FB RX7
STARS: 5
After work today I put the third remanufactured wiper motor in the RX7.
When I got the car, the wipers would stall mid-wipe. Running them and cleaning the linkage didn’t help, so I got a reman motor and took out the old one (which had the same reman stickers on it). The new one turned out to be totally dead (looked like they took someone’s core and tossed it in a new box). I returned that one, and was informed it would be a couple days to get another.
In the interim, I took apart the ‘original’ reman motor/gearbox and cleaned all the rusty grease out and lubed it up. Upon reassembly it squeaked a little but would actually wipe the windshield. I would later find out that the rain-x I put on at this time was also key (It’s worth mentioning that the squeak got very loud after a little bit of use).
So jump back to present-day. I got a new windshield last week, and yesterday discovered (thankfully via the washers, not surprise rain) that the wipers would stall out mid-swipe on the new glass. Great.
I still had the third motor in the box, so after work today I took the whole assembly back out (I’m getting good at that), verified that motor#3 worked at least without load (something #2 didn’t), and swapped it in. Everything went back together in the way that it does.
I reached in through the window, turned the key to ‘on’ and hit the stalk... and it works! Not only does it complete the wipe without seriously slowing down, it also is actually faster on ‘high’ (the old one wasn’t) and the intermittent setting seems to work more consistently (ironically, the old one was intermittent, though I think it may be a wiring issue in the car).
Bonus:
I also changed out the radiator fan today (first day I’ve not driven it in quite a while). The old one was cracked and missing some chunks, so I got a used one in much better shape from ebay. The whole process took about 15-20 minutes and required a 10mm socket and a short extension. That’s all!
"nerd_racing" (nerd189)
08/23/2017 at 07:58, STARS: 0
Awesome man! I’m pretty upset that the reman wiper motor I put in it before selling it to you was shot like that. I never had much chance to fully test it out.
"MM54" (mm54mk2)
08/23/2017 at 12:36, STARS: 0
That was a fresh reman, too? I remember you mentioned you had replaced something with the wipers but based on how clean/lubed the linkage was I assumed it was the linkage, not the motor.
Shame that remanufactured parts are such a crapshoot (and that it seems only one company is remanufacturing these motors). I sure won’t be recommending (not that I would have in the first place) Cardone parts to people anymore.
"nerd_racing" (nerd189)
08/23/2017 at 13:34, STARS: 1
Yes that was a fresh reman from autozone. I had taken the transmission apart to lube it up, I was told that was a common problem with these cars, not the motor. It is a shame Cardone is doing such a bad job at this, I’m going to make sure not to get any reman parts from them anymore.