Hello

I need to do some repair work to my windshield wipers, to do that I need to remove the air scoop, you know the plastic piece that is under the wiper arms. To do that you need to remove these clips. However I have a problem, I can not seem to get them off. What do I need to do to get these off?

 

a clip tool, or similar forked tool...gotta get on both sides of the clip to take it out without breaking it, i've broken several clips trying to use a flathead, clip tool is cheap and easy to use

 

I think there are 7 screws that run across the garnish that are under plastic caps.
You pop the caps off and then you take out the screws.

Then there are 7 of those plastic push clips hidden under the rubber seal.
The clips are less than a dollar each at a dealership and you can get packs of similar clips from auto-parts stores.
They are old and brittle so breaking a few is expected.
I just use a pair of flathead screwdrivers and hope for the best.
The forked tool that BigD4207 is the right tool, but I never owned one.

 

yeah, i didn't either till i started breaking plastic clips on the interior, used flatheads for forever removing all my clips, but some i couldn't find so breaking them wasn't an option lol...if you can find the ones you need or close to it then by all means don't worry about breakage, they are cheap, but a tool is a little easier than prying side to side with a fh

 

Thank you for your responses

Its weird, the clips seem like they are brittle at the head. I was thinking of just buying 7 of them. Once I take the panel off should I replace the other rubber seal underneath it?


Also for the wipers, I just want to inspect them to be sure that I don't buy something I don't need. The drivers side wiper has a lot of slack in it. I was assuming it is the rod, but I want to be sure it is. Did anyone else have any problem like this?

 

Not sure what seal you are talking about.
There is only one rubber seal that runs along the edge of the garnish and is held in place along with the garnish using the plastic clips.
I think it's purpose is to seal the hot air into the engine compartment so it doesn't get mixed into the outside air when you run your interior vent system.
No need to replace that unless it's torn and beat.

the edge of the The rod has plastic cups (#7) that connect the rods to motor and wiper.
There are also a few screws (#24)that hold the pivot assembly on.
The pivot assembly (#12) itself could be worn.
Seems like the right things to look at.

 

okay so no need to physically replace number 11 then. Sweet!

Okay I thought I saw another seal on the schematics but maybe it was something else. So there is really no big deal then if that seal is up in a few places, good.

Do you think it would be okay if it rained and that seal wasn't really held in that good? Like would it hurt anything in the engine bay?

Again thank you for your responses!

 

It generally doesn't hurt the engine to get wet...unless you have exposed wiring or open intake filter, don't want to get water in the intake, but if yours is stock air box by the headlight or cai you should be fine, main thing to keep in mind is you don't really want to drench your alternator either, so running without a seal purposely wouldn't be advisable, but if it just has a few leaks it'll be ok for now

 

Okay, I mean it is there, its not like its going to be gone, I just wanted to know that if I can, could I leave it off so I don't waste those clips. Hopefully it won't rain. If worse comes to worse I will just try to jury rig it in there.

I am a bit concerned about taking off all those clips...But ill just try to work on it. Ill keep everyone posted.

 

If it comes down to it...just silicone it in with some black rtv or something that'll blend in, if you can buy new clips i would just go ahead remove it, if not then it should be fine...if the rubber is in good shape you could silicone it, but if you know you're gonna have to replace it before long anyways i'd just leave for time being.

 

Rubber is beginning to rip but it isn't that bad...Not too worried about it. Thanks to all that helped!

 

Just so you know - it's typically referred to as a "Wiper Cowl"... (the "air scoop" or whatever you called it".

 

I knew there was another word. Thanks, it just said Air scoop in the shop book and I was lost with words at the time.

thanks again

 

For the wiper dust seal, how would I go about replacing it? Is there a guide out there? There is no information on the manual. I am very nervous doing this for fear that something may break.

I was going to just replace number 12, pictured above, since that comes with everything that I could possibly need. Is there a fear of breaking anything on the rod?

 

The #7's are plastic. With their age they might have become brittle and might break when you pop them off.

 

okay but they are simple enough to put on right? I am just going to replace all three, looks like the other arm has play in it aswell.