348 Wiper Arm Tutorial | FerrariChat

348 Wiper Arm Tutorial

Discussion in '348/355' started by Miltonian, Nov 8, 2005.

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  1. Miltonian

    Miltonian F1 Veteran

    Dec 11, 2002
    5,966
    Milton, Wash.
    Full Name:
    Jeff B.
    #1 Miltonian, Nov 8, 2005
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I have seen a few threads on FChat about expensive problems with the driver's side wiper arm on the 348. I called my local Ferrari dealer today, and the current list price for a new arm (Ferrari part #62463400, item #18 in the exploded view) is $472!! In an effort to educate myself and others about this potential problem, I have removed and photographed the arm from my own 1990 348ts (LHD). Hopefully I can save at least one member of the 348 Brotherhood from losing an arm (so to speak).

    Before starting, be aware that you should exercise considerable caution in removing, handling, and reassembling these parts. "If it ain't broke, don't break it!" I strongly suggest that you protect your windshield with some old towels or a blanket before removing the wiper arm. The double springs on the arm are quite strong, and in a moment of carelessness you could whack the glass hard enough to crack it. When the arm is removed, don't put it on the floor where it could accidentally be stepped upon. And don't FORCE anything. It will come apart easily if everything is done properly.

    To remove the arm assembly:
    1) Put some masking tape on the windshield, parallel with the wiper blade, to mark the parked position of the blade. This may come in handy when reinstalling the arm.
    2) Remove the washer hose from the nozzle near the base of the arm. If it won't twist right off, cut it off next to the nozzle. Don't break the nozzle!
    3) Pull the trim cap (#28) off the arm, exposing the nut and washer (#16 & #17) underneath, and remove the nut with a 13mm socket. You can now remove the main section of the arm from the wiper motor shaft, just by carefully jiggling the arm up and down. The arm and the motor shaft are splined together, so you can't twist them, but you can lift the arm upwards once the splines are loosened. Remember, watch out for the spring tension in the arm that holds the arm against the glass. Don't let the arm smack the glass.
    4) Underneath the main arm is the pantograph arm, which controls the angle of the blade as it sweeps across the glass. If you rotate the pantograph arm forward towards the trunk, the stamped arrows will come into alignment. Make sure that the nut at the base of the wiper motor shaft is turned so that one of the flats on the nut is facing the pantograph arm (see white arrow on picture). Once the arrows are aligned, you should be able to pull the pantograph arm straight up to release it.
    5) You can now remove the nut and washer (#1 & #2) from the base of the motor shaft with a 19mm wrench, and remove the "fixing plate" (#30) by lifting it straight over the motor shaft.

    Reading the description of the problem in the previous threads, it seems that the weak point in the arm is the pivot shaft on the base of the pantograph arm. This shaft fits into a bushing which is pressed into the fixing plate, and the bushing is located with a roll pin which is driven laterally into the plate, and aligned with the stamped arrow. On my car, the pin was only driven in as far as the inner diameter of the bushing, but this doesn't seem right. If the pin doesn't extend further inward, the pantograph arm is free to float up and down in the fixing plate, and there is no apparent need for the cutout and the machined groove in the shaft, and no need to align the stamped arrows to remove the arm. Hmmmmm. You certainly don't want the pin pressed in so far that it binds on the shaft or saws the shaft in half. Someone else will have to tell me how far the pin extends on their 348 - does it reach past the bushing?

    Obviously, the bushing and the shaft should be clean and smooth, with no signs of scoring or wear, they should be lubed with an appropriate grease, and the notch on the bottom of the shaft should be aligned with the arrow on the top of the arm. In a nasty scenario, the hole in the side of the bushing would be misaligned with the locating pin, and the bushing would be bent out of round, causing excessive friction on the shaft and premature wear. If the arm is cracked where the shaft is pressed into it, you're in trouble, although you MAY be able to epoxy it all together. If the shaft is broken, chances are that it has seized in the bushing, or some baboon has forced the arm, or the nut on the motor shaft has been digging into the arm.

    Personally, I would think that any good machine shop could turn out a new shaft on a lathe in a matter of minutes, which would be considerably cheaper than a new arm assembly. It would then be necessary to carefully fit the new shaft onto the old arm, with the notch aligned with the arrow.

    Reassembly is the reverse of disassembly. The fixing plate can only be installed in one position. Again, check to make sure that a flat on nut #1 is facing the pantograph arm - you don't want a point on the nut digging into the arm. Make sure the main wiper arm is "clocked" in the same position on the motor shaft, so the blade lines up with the tape marks you made earlier. When it's all together, turn on your wipers and make sure everything is in proper alignment, and not binding. If you did something wrong (not likely) and the arm binds, shut off your ignition switch (NOT the wiper switch) IMMEDIATELY and correct the problem. If you just shut off the wiper switch, the motor will continue to try to turn the arms.

    Has anyone experienced other problems with the wiper arm?

    Does anyone have a broken wiper arm they could send me for an experiment in repairing them?

    Thank you for your attention, sorry this was so lengthy.
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  2. Ricambi America

    Ricambi America F1 World Champ
    Sponsor Owner

    OK... who's been talking? I had a customer call about the same item today. I quoted him $405 on that arm. Shocking, really.


    -d
     
  3. No Doubt

    No Doubt Seven Time F1 World Champ

    May 21, 2005
    72,740
    Vegas+Alabama
    Full Name:
    Mr. Sideways
    Hear, hear!

    Outstanding write-up!

    The Brotherhood says, "Thanks!"
     
  4. evansp60

    evansp60 Formula Junior

    Nov 2, 2003
    384
    Ottawa, Ont. CANADA
    DITTO!
     
  5. PassionIsFerrari

    PassionIsFerrari Formula 3

    Aug 15, 2004
    2,454
    $470 for a wiper arm is insanity!

    I think I have used mine once while caught in one of those accidental storms...After reading the horror stories of users cars melting or having to be totaled out after getting caught in rain, I was very scared. Luckily, my car did not melt and it was short enough the car suffered little trauma.
     
  6. dontknownuttin

    dontknownuttin Karting

    Mar 21, 2014
    133
    Forest Lake, MN USA
    Full Name:
    Jonathan
    Bringing this back from the dead. The pin on mine is broken. Turns out the arm base is aluminum, but the pin is pressed in and is hardened steel. Trying to figure any reasonable way to get it out. I bought a cobolt drill bit set, but that made nearly zero impact. :/
     
  7. Meister

    Meister F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Apr 27, 2001
    5,516
    Duluth, MN
    Full Name:
    The Meister
    Haven't gotten a chance to read the OP. But on the 348 I just picked up the drivers side arm was all welded and cobbled together from a previous break. And as luck would have it, the end broke off on a weekend trip away from home a couple of weeks ago. We had rain the whole weekend, so I moved the passenger side wiper arm over to the drivers side since I had no other options. It seemed to work fine on the drivers side, so since I've been searching for an actuall drivers side arm with no luck, I'm just going to pick up another passenger side arm and reinstall it on the passenger side...thus having 2 passenger side arms. I'll have to wait to see if it actually works, but if there is anything I can add to this thread it is that the passenger side arm works fine on the drivers side...interference will have to be checked later.
     
  8. pnicholasen

    pnicholasen Formula 3

    Jan 14, 2011
    1,357
    South of Philly
    Full Name:
    Paul Nicholasen
    Great write up, thanks! And I used to think people didn't drive their F cars in the rain 'cause they were crazy fanatics. Didn't realize the potential $400.00 cost of turning on your wipers. Take home message for today: buy Rain-X and don't use your wipers.
     
  9. MikeeB355

    MikeeB355 Karting

    Dec 7, 2019
    82
    S Wales
    Full Name:
    Michel Bee
    Resurrecting an old thread for the sake of repetition but I'm guessing this dreaded sight means im now in the market for a new wiper arm?
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  10. brent Lachelt

    brent Lachelt Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 6, 2003
    1,828
    Brownsburg, INDIANA
    Full Name:
    Brent R.Lachelt
    Hill engineering now sells a fix for that. Oh yo there website. I think it’s like $200?
     
    MikeeB355 likes this.
  11. MikeeB355

    MikeeB355 Karting

    Dec 7, 2019
    82
    S Wales
    Full Name:
    Michel Bee
    Cosmic. That'll teach me for spending money on a new stereo instead of keeping it for the next repair lol
     
  12. A348W

    A348W Formula 3

    Jun 28, 2017
    1,741
    North Wiltshire, UK
    Or you can do a real cheeky cheap repair.

    Get a plastic milk bottle, cut out a disc a little smaller that the backing plate. Cut a hole in it. Now, pop of the wiper arm, put the “broken” arm in place, put the plastic disc you just cut out on top of that, now put the wiper arm on. The plastic disc holds the broken arm in place as it’s pushed down by the wiper arm.

    Works a treat!

    I might get around to buying the Hill repair but it’s certainly not at the top of my list at the moment!!!
     
  13. MikeeB355

    MikeeB355 Karting

    Dec 7, 2019
    82
    S Wales
    Full Name:
    Michel Bee
    A cunning plan squire...
     
  14. Carmellini

    Carmellini Formula Junior

    Jul 16, 2019
    814
    This is an interesting question that was never answered. I think roll pin which holds the bushing in the fixing plate HAS to stand proud of the ID of the bushing, otherwise the pantograph arm would float. Can someone report on how far that roll pin extends? Like OP'er, my roll pin is flush with the ID of bushing, and allows the pivot pin to float....maybe that's the reason I have broken 2 in the past year?
     
  15. Carmellini

    Carmellini Formula Junior

    Jul 16, 2019
    814
    Looking further at the fixing plate, and I don't think that roll pin holds the bushing in place:



    [​IMG]

    The bushing is most likely press fit, which means that roll pin is there specifically to hold the pivot pin down, and in place. But I am not CERTAIN.?

    Anyone have some input and confirmation? My pin is flush with the bushing and wonder if this is the problem with the pivot pin breaking?

    With the roll pin flush, there is no need to align the 2 arrows to install the pantograph arm.
     

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