Wipers on classic cars often work slow and struggle to clear the screen
This is usually because they are difficult to get to and so don’t get any maintenance at all.
The wiper motor usally gets the blame but most times, it's just the joints in the mechanism seizing up
On the rx7, it's an easy job. Open the bonnet, remove the self tapping screws that hold on the removable panel just in front of the windscreen that covers the wiper mechanism and the remove the nearside wiper arm and fixing nut. Next, remove the offside wiper arm and then unbolt the wiper mech ( 1 x bolt from above, 2 x bolts through the bulkhead) ... undo the wiring connector then withdraw the mech. It only takes 5-10 mins to remove the mech from the car.
On my project car, I decided to give the whole mechanism the once over…. I’m glad I did!
The ball joints to the whole setup were very poorly lubricated and the pivots were stiff.
The passenger side wiper arm spindle was very stiff with no lubrication but the drivers side spindle was seized solid. I had to soak the spindle with penetrating oil and then work it loose with a pair of grips. Eventually, I had to use a hammer to drift the spindle out of its bushing.
Both spindles were rusted into their sleeves.
All the ball joints in the pivots were cleaned up and then re-assembled with silicon grease.
The spindles were polished up and their sleeves cleaned out and also lubricated with silicon grease.
The whole thing was then re-assembled and bench tested with a spare battery. They now work perfectly, nice and smooth and quiet.
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Thanks 