XJ Rear Window Wiper (Rebuild, Repair or Writeup)

I've searched and can not find a writeup for the repair and/or rebuild of the Rear Window wiper motor and drive shaft for the 1997-2001 XJ unit. If anyone has done this and has been able to repair this wiper motor, please help out. If there is a link available to another thread please post it. Thanks.

Considering mine is also shot, kinda curious too.

I haven't done the later models, I have done the Renix. The gearbox was full of grease the consistency of really thick putty and everything was rust. The switches that park the motor were rotted. I threw the park switch inside the gearbox away, jumped it, soldered the wires direct and parked it with the rear wiper switch from then on. I did that around seven years ago, been working fine since.

I have no idea if the newer models are the same, but they may be.

Start by inspecting wires and testing continuity in the tail gate wire harness. Broken wires are common. Apply 12 volts directly to the wiper motor. I would test a few motors at the junkyard, and bring home one that works.

Like he said, they are bad for braking wires in that harness bend point between the hatch and roof.

I have done both. The usual cause for death is a corroded main shaft or an iced up window. The motor slows down, finally stalls, and if it stays un-parked for long it will either burn out the motor, strip the gears, or if you're lucky, blow the fuse or kill the park contacts inside. If you forget and turn the wiper on when it's icy and it does not travel and park properly, do not just turn off the switch. Turn off the ignition immediately and lift the wiper so it parks. If it starts stalling and slowing down, immediately turn it off, jump out and manually help it to park, and do not use it until it's fixed. If you can't make it park, pull the fuse or disconnect it. If you just turn it off, it will burn out trying to park.

First of all, if the wiper has jammed too badly, there is a good chance the plastic crown gear will have become stripped, in which case you're out of luck. If the wiper still moves, but is getting slow, or if you're just plain lucky, you can fix it.

The earlier wiper is held together with common screws. All you really have to do is take it out, open it up, and then drive the corroded shaft out, clean it up and relube it, and check lube etc. in the motor. It's a pretty conventional unit. As in most wiper motors, it has a commutator built into the crown gear, and brass wipers that keep current to the motor while it parks. If it's had difficulty parking, those contacts might be dirty, and the wiper curled up or burned out. Make sure if you can that the contact is good. If the park contacts are fried but the motor still works, you can put it back, making sure the park contacts are fully disabled, and in use just turn it off at any point. However, make sure not to burn it out when the window is very icy.

The later wiper (at least on my 99) is riveted together, and not as easily serviced, but otherwise it's similar. You can, if you're careful, mill or drill the rivet heads off, separate the motor, and service the corroded main shaft in the usual way. You then have to find very small screws to put the motor back together with. If you have (as everyone should) a little bucket of assorted little screws, you can do this.

The output shaft is powered by a little crank pin on the crown gear, and this is just a loose fit, so you can drive the shaft right out once the case is open.

Once the shaft is cleaned up and greased, it will go for a long time again. But you should keep your eyes open so that when it starts slowing down, you can relube it.

I am sorry I am XJ-less for the foreseeable future, so I cannot provide pictures or writeup, but it's a pretty straightforward motor.