Gew

Hi guys!

My first post here.
Bought my first Lexus a couple of days ago, it's an RX 300 from year 2001. I've noticed, the rear wiper is dead. Well, it WAS dead. I checked and even replaced the fuse, to no avail, still stone dead. Windshield washer was spraying fine, it's just the motor / arm that didn't function.

I thought I'd try and fix it, since I'm somewhat a DIY guy. I removed the 10 mm nut holding the wiper arm. The wiper arm itself was stuck though, haven't managed to pull it off. However, when I pulled in the arm it suddenly "freed" itself up. The feeling got me curious so I switched key to ACC and tried it. Now, sloooowly, the wiper arm turned. I helped it going, and now it's working properly. However, I have a feeling that the thin 27 mm nut beneath the actual arm has been thread-wacked, or worse. The wiper is giving an awful sound, so I try to not use it.

Look at this video below.


I have a gut feeling that it should be locked steady, not moving like mine is.

If I'm on the right track, is there any helpful DIY fixer out there who could point me in the right direction on next step.?
Since the electrical motor obviously is working it would feel really bad having to replace it. Called dealership and they told me a new one is >$500, I could get one from the scrape yard for ~$100 but still, would of course be much better if I could use this one. Not sure if threaded part is integrated / not replaceable in the motor.

Or maybe, everything looks fine, and I just have to apply new grease under the rubber grommet. That's what I'm trying to find out.

Cheers!

TL;DR (Too-long-didn't-read version) -->
If anyone here owns a Mk1 RX 300, would you pleeease go out and start your rear windshield washer and see if this 27 mm nut moves along with YOUR wiper arm like in the 15 sec video clip above, or if it's in a fixed position. This would help me a lot in my further investigation.

salimshah

You can open up the trunk door panel (large panel that extends from below the glass to the floor) This molded piece is simply snapped into the place. Once you remove it you will have access to the motor inside the hatch.

Lexus uses quality grease and if the rubber seal is not messed up, you should not need extra grease. If it is torn or ripped then countershaft may have lost is grease. Grease is to provide fine lubricant and is not a packing agent.

The larger nut ... the one you can see in your attached photo should be threaded properly and should be snug.

Try to determine why you hear the sound. Is it due to the motor assembly not held securely?

Salim

Gew

Thanks for your quick response @salimshah, much appreciated!

Yeah, I've found the two-part trunk door panels under which the motor assembly is located, held by three Philips screws, IIRC. Anyways, my problem is essentially that the wiper arm has seized on the axle so that I can not pull it off. The actual motor seems to be doing fine, so at least this is good news. What's not so good news is that larger (27 mm across flats) nut. I believe it has seized onto the motor assembly's axle, in some weird way causing the entire thing to turn, instead of just the axle. If this is the case, of course it's causing extra stress on the part. This is why I ask if someone could verify / refute the fact that the nut SHOULD be moving when the wiper arm is, the way mine is. If it's supposed to be "snug" this is obviously the big issue. If I manage to get the arm off the axle I'm hoping for it to be some spline-style-ich end on the axle (where the arm is pressed) which I could get a good tight grip on with e.g. an adjustable wrench, and then have someone hold this steady when I turn with the 27 mm open end wrench. Perhaps with some pre-heating/lubing (and good portion of luck) these two parts will let go of each other. However, if the axle is well integrated in the motor assembly with messed up threads I guess I will need to get it replaced anyways..