Rear wiper, seals etc

[Brenjacques]

Operation waterproofing boot space will start in a few weeks. The boot has always been a little bit leaky in heavy rain since I bought it but over the last year whichever seals are culpable have deteriorated even more ans on the spring things were starting to get quite bad. I've pretty much narrowed it down to the spolier seals (which I have a replacement set of) and also the rear light seals which, from the looks of things, I'll have to clean up and re-use with sealant as I can't find any available.

Last year the rear wiper stopped working, I've checked that I still have 12v to the motor so either motor has burned out or it's seized, I presume burned out as it always worked faultlessly before - I don't suppose anybody has a spare motor knocking around? I've also noticed in heavy rain that the seal around the wiper spindle leaks a few drops onto the parcel shelf. Are these seals available anywhere as I'm struggling to find one. Hopefully it all goes to plan and I'll have a nice dry boot for the autumn and winter months.

[GT_II]

Re the washer motor, make sure to test the earth wiring before condemning the motor. Check that the resistance reading between the earth wire of the motor and any exposed metal on the car body is close to zero.

[Brenjacques]

I'll give that a double check just to be sure before I go looking for a replacement. Currently looking for any generic seal that will work for the rear light clusters, I'd much prefer to replace them than have to sealant them. I'd have thought somebody would be onto making reproductions by now but perhaps they're not hugely problematic.

[WreckTangle]

There is a good write-up here which might help you fix your rear wiper motor if you haven't been trying to run it jammed too much. Eventually the motor burns out and the fuse blows.

http://www.scirocco.org/tech/misc/rearw ... wiper.html

If you are replacing the motor, be aware that at some point VW changed the diameter of the spindle and corresponding hole in the wiper arm. Earlier motors/wipers had a smaller diameter spindle. Whilst these are interchangeable, you will obviously need the whole caboodle (motor, washers, wiper arm, nut) if you change between the earlier and later types. At the time I did mine it was fashionable for people to remove perfectly functional wipers for misguided aesthetical reasons. This meant such kits were readily and cheaply obtainable. Not sure what the market is like these days.

I think this is the part you need to get a water-tight seal, but not 100% confident as I'm pretty sure I reused my original.

https://www.volkswagen-classic-parts.co ... 811201557A

The rear light clusters and presumably also the seals are no longer available new. You might have luck with generic sealing strips, but I doubt it. If your originals are half decent I would try cleaning them and the bodywork up and then reinstalling using a consistent torque on all the nuts. I think I used 3Nm (27 in lbs) all round. Note that is NOT very tight. I have got a small 1/4" torque wrench which goes up to a maximum of 5Nm. Do not confuse in lbs with ft lbs!! What you are aiming for is consistency, not over-tightening.

[Brenjacques]

Thanks for the advice WreckTangle. I never ran the rear wiper motor much once it stopped working, in fact only once more to check I could hear the relay click and one further time to make sure it had 12v on the contacts. I do think it's likely that the motor has burned out as it used to run really nice and free then suddenly just stopped, unless something has jammed the mechanism. I'll strip it down and get a proper look in before writing it off completely though.

I've managed to source some rear light seals from Joost Eimers in the Netherlands who runs the Scirocco Delen Eimers website, he also had the grommet type washer for the rear wiper so I've ordered that from him too. From what I can find he is the only person who could supply any seals for the rear light clusters, it also saves me a job of trying to reseal them with the originals which I know down the line will probably act up again, the Britax sunroof has already proven that to me.

I'll update the thread with how I get on, once the boot's all done I need to move onto door shut seals and window scraper seals of which I have a pair here waiting to go on. The door seals are so bad that it sounds as though the doors aren't latched properly but surprisingly they don't leak.

[Blueshark]

Thanks for the advice WreckTangle. I never ran the rear wiper motor much once it stopped working, in fact only once more to check I could hear the relay click and one further time to make sure it had 12v on the contacts. I do think it's likely that the motor has burned out as it used to run really nice and free then suddenly just stopped, unless something has jammed the mechanism. I'll strip it down and get a proper look in before writing it off completely though.

I've managed to source some rear light seals from Joost Eimers in the Netherlands who runs the Scirocco Delen Eimers website, he also had the grommet type washer for the rear wiper so I've ordered that from him too. From what I can find he is the only person who could supply any seals for the rear light clusters, it also saves me a job of trying to reseal them with the originals which I know down the line will probably act up again, the Britax sunroof has already proven that to me.

I'll update the thread with how I get on, once the boot's all done I need to move onto door shut seals and window scraper seals of which I have a pair here waiting to go on. The door seals are so bad that it sounds as though the doors aren't latched properly but surprisingly they don't leak.

Door seals I have as well new in stock