How often do you lube your wiper mechanism?

in all my years since i got my first drivers license at 16 (nearly 60 years ago?? quick guess) and all the cars, pick up trucks and motorcycles i ever owned, and all the big rigs i ever drove, have i ever heard of this being done.

 

@pushbroom
@spsauerland
@Cat sdp
@haycarter

 

I’ve never touched them , except the one time I had to replace the wiper transmission (I believe that’s what they called it) it was all the linkage and it wasn’t cheap.

Might not be a bad idea tho.....

 

I’ve never greased the linkage, I have replaced it though. Might be worthwhile. Whole assembly for my Classic is expensive. Trucks 20 yrs old. Already replaced. Drivers side assembly, rest is sloppy. I’ve had them jam up and burn motor out. Maybe a shot of silicone spray or dry lube for trailer sliders, or garage door dry lube, a graphite spray would work better than grease.

 

sometimes the motor burns out for one of 2 reasons

1) a truck wipers are used for longer periods of time, over the average 4 wheelers, so that uses the motors life considerably.

2) if not enough moisture on the windshield, the wipers do not glide as easily causing the motor to work harder.

if you got 20 years out of that transmission, that ain't too shabby a lifespan.

nearly any lube will wash off, then too, you run the risk of splash up to the glass, and smearing. and if that does not happen, the lube can fall into the cowl area, and run into any drainage holes, and clog those up, backing up water into the cowl and maybe into the vents, and into your cab.

on average, the only thing that wears on the transmission is where the "ball" of the lever on the motor's arm connects to the transmission pivot, as it is softer metal that that ball. but i certainly never had any problems over my entire life of using wipers.

 

I have never messed with them other than replacing them but that's actually not a bad idea. Maybe keep the ends from wearing and getting slop in them ?

 

lube what part of mechanism? the moving parts are metal-plastic pairs. what to put in there? silicon grease? I would not touch it.

 

Fix it when it breaks. Otherwise continue on

 

I have lubed a few of them over the years.
I used white lithium spray grease in an aerosol can.
I would give all the ball flex joints a little spray while I was in there repairing something else and they were accessible.
Never did it as general maintenance.