Hidden rear wiper Dodge Stealth by thestealth
#1
06-12-2007, 04:42 PM
Hidden rear wiper Dodge Stealth by thestealth
If you are at all like me, you tire of seeing the wiper pointing up when not in use. It can also be a pain in the winter when attempting to clear snow from the rear window and having the snow pack up under the banana wing. There is a way to remedy the situation, it just takes a little time.
1. Remove interior piece under the hatch. There are 2 screws on the hooks for the cargo cover and a series of clips on the interior piece. Remove the screws and using a putty knife, gently pop the piece from the clips. This will expose the wiper motor and the bolts for removing the banana.
2. Unclip the wiring harness for the wing brake lamp and wiper motor. Remove the 4 bolt (10mm) from the banana wing, there are 2 on the center support, 1 on each end. There are also a couple of clipsholding the wing in place, be careful when removing the wing you don't break these. If the wing has never been off, it may not pop off easily. Once the wing is removed, you will be able to remove the cover and 10mm nut that holds on the rear wiper arm. The arm may take someeffort to get off Remove the3 bolts from the wiper motor and remove.
3. Open up wiper motor assembly. You will see a worm gear, swing arm and a large nylon gear. Remove the snap rings from the arm (2) and the one that holds inthe large gear.
4. Remove the large gear from the assembly. You'll notice that the gear has a 4 sided star piece on it. You will need to rotate that piece 180*. Using a die-grinder, dremel, or something similar, grind off the nub in the center of the star piece. Once you have it ground down the nub, use a punch and hammer to knock the shaft out enough that you can rotate the star. Once you have rotated the star 180*, you will need to reset it onto the shaft. I used a 1 1/2 socket, set the star on socket, shaft up, and used a brass drift to smack the shaft back into place. It fits pretty tight, if you are concerned about it coming apart in the future, you can use a chisel to "set" the gear in place.
Here is a picture of the partially ground off shaft.
note: I wrapped tape around the shaft on the backside of the gear so I didn't score it up while in the vice.
5. Put wiper motor assembly back together, not forgetting any snap rings. Reinstall motor in the hatch. Have someone run the wiper motor a couple of cycles before you put the wiper arm back on, put the arm on in the down position, run it another couple of cycles to make sure it has the sweep you want. Tighten the nut, put the cover back on the arm. Reinstall the banana wing, use a little bit of silicon sealer on the clips and bolt holes so you don't introduce a leak into your hatch. Carefully reintall hatch cover and you rear wiper is now hidden.
My RT without the mod.
My TT with the mod.
It is a pretty easy task, it took me about an hour from start to finish.
DodgeStealth
1. Remove interior piece under the hatch. There are 2 screws on the hooks for the cargo cover and a series of clips on the interior piece. Remove the screws and using a putty knife, gently pop the piece from the clips. This will expose the wiper motor and the bolts for removing the banana.
2. Unclip the wiring harness for the wing brake lamp and wiper motor. Remove the 4 bolt (10mm) from the banana wing, there are 2 on the center support, 1 on each end. There are also a couple of clipsholding the wing in place, be careful when removing the wing you don't break these. If the wing has never been off, it may not pop off easily. Once the wing is removed, you will be able to remove the cover and 10mm nut that holds on the rear wiper arm. The arm may take someeffort to get off Remove the3 bolts from the wiper motor and remove.
3. Open up wiper motor assembly. You will see a worm gear, swing arm and a large nylon gear. Remove the snap rings from the arm (2) and the one that holds inthe large gear.
4. Remove the large gear from the assembly. You'll notice that the gear has a 4 sided star piece on it. You will need to rotate that piece 180*. Using a die-grinder, dremel, or something similar, grind off the nub in the center of the star piece. Once you have it ground down the nub, use a punch and hammer to knock the shaft out enough that you can rotate the star. Once you have rotated the star 180*, you will need to reset it onto the shaft. I used a 1 1/2 socket, set the star on socket, shaft up, and used a brass drift to smack the shaft back into place. It fits pretty tight, if you are concerned about it coming apart in the future, you can use a chisel to "set" the gear in place.
Here is a picture of the partially ground off shaft.
note: I wrapped tape around the shaft on the backside of the gear so I didn't score it up while in the vice.
5. Put wiper motor assembly back together, not forgetting any snap rings. Reinstall motor in the hatch. Have someone run the wiper motor a couple of cycles before you put the wiper arm back on, put the arm on in the down position, run it another couple of cycles to make sure it has the sweep you want. Tighten the nut, put the cover back on the arm. Reinstall the banana wing, use a little bit of silicon sealer on the clips and bolt holes so you don't introduce a leak into your hatch. Carefully reintall hatch cover and you rear wiper is now hidden.
My RT without the mod.
My TT with the mod.
It is a pretty easy task, it took me about an hour from start to finish.
DodgeStealth
