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240 wiper motor struggling

ktm450

New member
Joined
Apr 18, 2009
Location
Cincinnati, ohio
I have put 3 used wiper motors on my 1991 240 over the years, and all have eventually gotten slower to the point of being too slow for a heavy rain. I also have another 240 and the wipers work way better on that car, almost as fast as on my 1993 940 T. I am beginning to wonder if it could be wiper linkage? I have not tried to lube the linkage up. The motor sounds like it is struggling, laboring, and moaning. This last motor I put on worked great for a couple months and then got slower, and louder. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

KTM450
 
lubing up all linkages will help. The geardrive inside the wiper motor housing also needs to be lubed, it's probably a worm drive. In old wiper motors the grease has often dried out resulting in gunk that does no lubrication at all.
 
No loose magnets in the motors? Many of the newer 240 wiper motors have that.
Extra ground won't hurt, same with some grease. With the motor decoupled from the linkage, how hard is is to move the wipers?
 
Magnets come loose causing the motor to bind, I have re glued them with JB weld with good results.
 
1. Your wiper linkage is likely binding causing the motor to overload. Heat kills motors.
2. Loose magnet.
3. Worn carbon brushes.
 
The ground wire is by far the easiest thing to try first. Mine went from undrivable in the rain to working normally. I also bought a new wiper motor to fix it but the ground helped so much I haven't bothered installing it yet.
 
Ok thanks guys! I'll check the ground first and then the magnets and brushes. The car is a 1991 240 sedan that has the slow wipers. My 1992 is the one that works great. I wonder if 1992 is the year they grounded it better? Also, I did pull the cover and put fresh grease on the plastic gears.

Also, I have a slight clunk on the drivers side under the dash when the wipers are running. And, I haven't tried to move the wipers with the linkage disconnected, the weather here is crap and I don't have a garage:grrr:. I will also get up under the dash, and spray the linkage with motorkote spray. Thanks again!
 
Diagnosis

I have put 3 used wiper motors on my 1991 240 over the years, and all have eventually gotten slower to the point of being too slow for a heavy rain....

Having done this job three times before, you know what quick, dry, and easy work it is to disconnect the motor's crank behind the glove box. Fact is, you don't even need to pull the glove box to reach it with one shorty 10mm wrench. If you're still at all limber, you can do it with the doors closed from inside, even.

So like JW240 already posted, just disconnect and see where the trouble is. Sure, we all have had loose magnets and corroded grounds, but if you've changed the motor 3 times, I'm betting on that left side drive having lost its lube. Not the cables, but the spindle. That's the job you want dry weather for.

http://cleanflametrap.com/wiper.html
 
How good are the aftermarket wiper motors we see advertised by the various online retailers?

I would recommend a good used one over an aftermarket motor. I bought an aftermarket one from either FCP/IPD (I can't remember which) and the intermittent feature would only work sporadically. When it did work, the delay between activating was way too long.

I'm still annoyed that when I was trying to fix the original one (separated magnet) that I dropped the magnet.
 
240 wiper cables scare me. When mine breaks I?m just scrapping the car and buying another Toyota.

:rofl:

Everyone has hit the mark.
1. Add second ground
2. Pull and disassemble, inspect/repair/lubricate, reassemble and reinstall
3. While the motor is out, inspect the linkage. If it moves freely, it's most likely the motor. If not it is probably both. Might as well pull the assembly apart and relube.
 
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