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  1. #1
    Veteran Member Four Rings
    Join Date
    Jun 23 2015
    AZ Member #
    339002
    Location
    Michigan

    Wiper Linkage Bushing replacements?

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    Does anyone know of bushing replacements for the wiper linkage? The ball is popping out of the socket (iykyk). I don't want to buy a new arm. Doesn't make sense to spend more than a couple dollars on this car.


  2. #2
    Veteran Member Four Rings
    Join Date
    Jun 23 2015
    AZ Member #
    339002
    Location
    Michigan

    A few options.

    Buy new aftermarket linkage (~3 euros each for aftermarket from Estonia, but 25 euro shipping)
    Buy new OEM linkages (~$22 each)
    Buy new aftermarket transmission (~$27 on Amazon)


    I went with the last option. The ball pins that snap into the linkages are worn so they'd probably eat away at the new linkage bushings. I figure I'd skip the pain of servicing the rest of the oem transmission (pulling apart and regreasing, polishing, etc). I will just have to swap the motor over carefully so I don't screw up the park position. Not expecting this one to last as long as OEM for the price, but it will definitely outlast the car at this point. Will slather it in some grease so the chinesium doesn't rust.
    Last edited by A4Qwattro; 09-20-2024 at 01:32 PM.

  3. #3
    Established Member Two Rings IamtheStig's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 12 2013
    AZ Member #
    115056
    Location
    Greensboro, NC

    It sounds like you made the best choice considering the age of the platform. Are you replacing it due to a failure or just refreshing the wiper system?
    Laser Red 2000 Audi A4 Sedan 1.8TQM

  4. #4
    Veteran Member Four Rings
    Join Date
    Jun 23 2015
    AZ Member #
    339002
    Location
    Michigan

    Quote Originally Posted by IamtheStig View Post
    It sounds like you made the best choice considering the age of the platform. Are you replacing it due to a failure or just refreshing the wiper system?
    The driver side linkage kept popping out of the bushing on the wiper transmission. The bushing was worn out and the ball that sits in the bushing was also heavily scored.

  5. #5
    Veteran Member Four Rings walky_talky20's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 30 2008
    AZ Member #
    30427
    Location
    Erie, Pennsylvania

    So sad that our B5 repair threads now include such phrases like "well, car is not really worth doing X" or "considering the age of the car", or "X repair will outlast the car".

    B5's forever, is what I say.
    ^Don't listen to this guy, he's not even a mechanic.
    2001 Laser Red A4 1.8TQM, 5-Speed Swapped, 4.11 Final Drive, APR 93, 2.5" Exhaust, ST Coilovers, 034 RSB, A8 Brakes Front & Rear
    2006 Passion Red Volvo V50 T5 AWD 6MT
    2000 Satin Silver Passat 1.8T FWD Wagon, Slippy Tiptronic, 15" Hubcaps
    2001 Aluminum Silver Metallic A4 Avant 1.8TQM (winter sled)

  6. #6
    Veteran Member Four Rings
    Join Date
    Jun 23 2015
    AZ Member #
    339002
    Location
    Michigan

    Quote Originally Posted by walky_talky20 View Post
    So sad that our B5 repair threads now include such phrases like "well, car is not really worth doing X" or "considering the age of the car", or "X repair will outlast the car".

    B5's forever, is what I say.
    I wish I could. It's just not in great shape cosmetically and I can't be bothered to do anything about it. It's served me well for over 10 years. 5 speed. I'm only keeping it around for winters which is why I needed to fix the wipers.

    Update on the repair. As expected nothing is cheap without reason. The mounting holes to put the motor on the Amazon sourced transmission were too small. Had to drill them out to 1/4" to be able to put the bolts through. Finally got everything back on the car (had to pull the whole ECU housing ), and there's a bit of a clunk when the wipers are on (). I assume the cheap transmission doesn't have the best build tolerances so it's bending itself as the linkages move around. I might end up having to fix the OEM one somehow.

    Waiting on a new fuel line ($80 ) since the rubber line to the fuel rail started leaking at the crimp. I tried some some DIY fixes with hose clamps but they kept leaking and I don't want to burn the car to the ground this year.

    After that I will need to get to the wheel bearing and another broken rear coil spring but might not ever do those. I will probably give up on it at the next timing service. I have a B8.5 6 speed (2 actually...) which will get me to the point where they force us all into electric chairs...
    Last edited by A4Qwattro; 09-24-2024 at 07:12 PM.

  7. #7
    Veteran Member Four Rings
    Join Date
    Jun 23 2015
    AZ Member #
    339002
    Location
    Michigan

    This turned into a hassle and I learned a few lessons. Stick to low mileage OEM replacement parts. Don't buy poor quality aftermarket parts from Amazon/China with no reviews.

    The amazon linkage that I bought (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZHTSY7S...fed_asin_title) had too much travel so the driver side wiper blade was hitting the A pillar. At the time, I also had to take the car to a shop to get an exhaust mount fixed and the shop ended up breaking the wiper motors somehow when they gave it back to me (And they didn't fix the exhaust mount either ). I didn't say anything because I didn't want to bring the car to that shop ever again. Those grease monkeys would have broken something else if I asked them to own up and fix the wipers. The only reason I took it there is because it was a block away from my home and the exhaust was about to fall off the car.

    Anyway, I had to take the wiper motor transmission back out and when I opened up the motor, some of the teeth on the internal plastic gear had been ground away. Everything was junk.

    I ended up finding a low mileage wiper transmission from a '98 2.8 FWD part out near me with 30,000 miles on it. '98's have the same wiper transmission, but a different motor and connector to the '01. So I bought a used wiper motor from ebay for the '01 (8D1955113C). Then I swapped the motor over to the wiper transmission and put it back in the car. I thought that was the end of it. I put the key in the ignition with the wipers off and the wipers just start running and they don't stop (I didn't put the wiper arms back on yet, but the spindles were moving in the off position). 7 eye rolls later, I check the forums to see if anyone had the problem. Vague responses that it could be the relay, a fuse, or the wiper motor. I had opened up the old wiper motor and discovered how it worked. There's a moving contactor that sits in a pin that is connected to the wiper motor gear. This is how the wiper finds the park position. I suspected that maybe this circuit had gone bad on the used motor that I bought:



    It didn't look like there was anything wrong with the used one that I bought, but I swapped the park position circuit over from my original oem motor and installed it back in the car, and it's working properly now. What a hassle.

    Pro tip. You do NOT need to remove the ECU housing to get the wiper transmission out. The trick is to activate the wiper arm motor until the linkage is clocked towards the front of the car. When parked, the arm on the motor points to the passenger side of the car. You need to get the motor to move so the linkage points towards the front of the car Then the entire transmission is small enough to wiggle it out with only removing the cover to the ecu housing. Key in ignition, trigger the wipers for half a second, then remove the key from the ignition to get them to freeze. You may need to try that a few times until the arm stops in the right spot to slim down the whole assembly enough to get it out.

    Wiper motor needs to be clocked like so:


    I only discovered this because when I originally took the bad motor out, they were clocked in the wrong position since the gears were stripped. The very first time that I removed it to deal with the linkage issue in the thread start, I pulled the whole ECU housing out because in park position, you can't get it out. These cars are getting older so messing with potentially brittle wiring going to the ECU is not something you want to do.
    Last edited by A4Qwattro; 12-04-2024 at 06:15 PM.

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