I have a 98 outback wagon with a noisy rear wiper and need some ideas what might be the cause.

 

The symtoms are that it screaches rythomically(butchered) as it goes back and forth when it is cold outside.:-\ When it is warm, the noise is not there. Also after it has been on for awhile, 1 hour maybe, it is quiet. also is it suppose to operate constantly or is it suppose to operate like a delay wiper, mine operates constantly. Thanks so much for your input.

Have you tried changing the wiper blade?

 

It should operate consistantly.

It's good to scrub the rear window with a "Comet" like cleaner and water(No, it won't scratch the glass) from time to time. Same with the windscreen. Accumulated road grime needs to come off. But replacing the wiper blades every few months is good practice for maintaining non-streaking, quiet wiper sweeps.

The blade material does wear out and degrade over several months.

Only the later model Subes were equipped with rear wiper delay.

Mine, a 2000 doesn't have that feature.

Edited January 6, 200917 yr by axel

Wow, ive never had mine on for maybe more then 15 minutes tops.

 

I think your motor may need to be romoved and the guts re-greased.

 

 

nipper

I agree with Nipper. The rear wiper shaft that goes through the hatch glass to the wiper arm has most likely started to corrode and is on its way to seizing up. Quite a few wagons ( did a Passat wagon a couple of years ago) with rear wipers go the same way as they age. The casting of the motor/gearbox is aluminum or white metal, while the shaft is steel. The two metals will corrode solid as water finds its way into the shaft over the years without relubing. I was able to resurrect one on a 97 OBW. Once I removed the motor from the tailgate, I believe I drilled out the gearbox rivets, opened up the gearbox, cleaned and regreased the gears and the driveshaft and reassembled the unit using small machine nuts and bolts. The unit worked perfectly for the rest of the time I had the car. But that was a long time, and two cars ago, as I recall. Good Luck!

thanks nipper and gbhrps. It does sound like the motor. Once I remove the motor and drill out the rivets, what kind of grease should I use? I have regular wheel bearing grease. Also the shaft for the arm needs some grease also? I thank you guys for your expertise. Also nipper, I drive from saginaw mi to chicago, so When it snows or rains, the build up of snow and water is constant so I will have it on for two to three hours at times.

Edited January 8, 200917 yr by crash321
missing word

Have you tried changing the wiper blade?

 

It should operate consistantly.

 

I have a new blade on it also it wipes fine with no chatter

If you do decide to diassemble the motor...check out my post here...http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=94424

 

I didn't need to drill out any rivets.

Thanks chip, looks informative. I will follow those guidelines.

When I run my rear wiper in the winter, I always put on the rear defroster to heat the window a bit. Seems to help the chatter problem.

I also (per some thread I read here a while ago) use the cheapest blade I can find. Better blades are too straight and don't conform to the rear window as well as would a cheap one. I'm using a real cheapo from Advance Auto on my Forester.

 

~Howard

When I run my rear wiper in the winter, I always put on the rear defroster to heat the window a bit. Seems to help the chatter problem.

I also (per some thread I read here a while ago) use the cheapest blade I can find. Better blades are too straight and don't conform to the rear window as well as would a cheap one. I'm using a real cheapo from Advance Auto on my Forester.

 

~Howard

 

noise is not a chatter, it is from the motor. but thank you for the response

I also (per some thread I read here a while ago) use the cheapest blade I can find. Better blades are too straight and don't conform to the rear window as well as would a cheap one. I'm using a real cheapo from Advance Auto on my Forester.

 

~Howard

 

 

hrmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I finally pulled the trigger and got my wiper motor squared away this week. Chips writeup is great, the only differance on mine was that there was no circlip, difference in the MY's I guess. I cleaned it out really well using brakeclean to disolve the old grease out, put new dielectric grease on the electrical contacts and greased the snot out of all the gears and moving parts and then used a sealant around the parimeter of the back cover. No more noise, quiet as a mouse. The only thing I would add is to make sure you put the "saw" gear back in the correct hole in the round drive gear, or your stroke on the wiper my be to short. It should go in the hole closest to the teeth in that gear. Thanks for the advice guys!