C RIMPIN' Some wiper transmissions on the market CRIMP OUR STYLE,
ain’t easy so we upgraded ‘em!
whole line of parts because we know that the failure point is a common one. We don’t fix this issue on every wiper transmission, just ones that have crimped plastic sections, but we’ve done it enough that if our engineers see one, it’s an immediate upgrade area. We have over twenty part numbers that beef up the original design and eliminates plastic under the cowl, where the transmissions are working hard at fairly high speeds. We love to help you upgrade weak wiper transmissions, because it means we probably won’t have to sell you sail panel garnish—but if you need it, we make that too! WIPER TRANSMISSIONS Available for: BMW & GM 1994-2022
PRODUCT SHOWN: P/N 602-208 wiper linkage for Saturn Ion
K a-thunk!
complex, molded polymer sections to vehicles. These are socketed into tubular extensions to span the breadth of the windshield, and then crimped. Somewhat predictably, linkage of this construction has a fairly high tendency toward failure. The metal sections hold up fine, but the crimped area doesn’t. Breaks usually occur right outside of the crimped area, just like a weld might break in the heat-affected zone just outside the weld. Now imagine one of these poor things after a decade in service. Pretend it’s winter, and there’s a heavy load of snow on a windshield. The air is so cold the plastic is as brittle as glass. As soon as that driver puts power to the motor, that linkage is a goner. It’s a wonder these things survive at all. So we fixed it by eliminating the failure-prone plastic bits and making them from metal. You’ll read elsewhere in this magazine about some of our systemic fixes—global redesigns we implement across a
Thwack-thwack-thwack.
Those are the noises a driver usually hears immediately after a wiper transmission lets go, and then he has a first-row seat to watch what was previously a well-behaved wiper blade ding up the paint on the A-pillar. It’s a little horrifying. We found a way to improve a large swath of them so we can spare drivers pained winces and car scars on the sail panels. The wiper transmission, a mechanical device, is an unsung hero. It’s received remarkably little development over the years. The basic design of the wiper transmission from the '60s or '70s really doesn’t look very different than one of today, because the design is generally sound. However, some OEM suppliers tried to reinvent the wheel, and the outcome wasn’t so great. Manufacturers began fitting these wiper transmissions that had
PROBLEM
FIX
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