Wiper motor problem

[Reaper450128]

While I wait for my transmission to arrive, I thought I would start troubleshooting the rear wiper. Starting with the symptoms:
-Clicking noise when turned on, click repeats on a short interval in intermittent, not in constant mode
-No motion of wiper arm under any conditions

Now, I took the assembly apart today, inspected it and took some pictures. I can see a small chunk of one of the parts sitting in the grease just above the primary drive gear, but I can't tell what it came off of and what it may or may not be stopping the function of. Pics (warning, somewhat large, and slow connection (only 576K DSL)):

Close up
Full view

Any idea what might be wrong here? I can post more pics at any time, just let me know if you need to see different angles.

Let me know if the links are broken, I unfortunately can't test it properly within my LAN because of how the DNS resolution works on my network.

[Aredubjay]

I must be missing it (happens a lot with age ), but I don't see a "loose" part, nor anything out of the ordinary in the pics. Could you point me in the right direction?

[kuoh]

From what I can see in the pic, the main gear appears to be cracked in at least two places. The click you're hearing is probably the main gear skipping on the worm gear. There's too much grease to clearly see the other broken part you're referring to.

KuoH

[Reaper450128]

Yeah, I figured the piece would be hard to see, and after I looked again I saw the split gear. Worse yet, when I took the motor off inside I was greeted by a very nasty odor, which tells me that it burned up too, and probably that is related to the cracked gear. So, the easiest solution at this point is my original solution of replacing the whole assembly, since the washer part doesn't work either (the hose connection point snapped off, and the plastic around the nozzle is cracked as well). So, after I get the driveability and safety issues fixed, that will be my next concern.

[kuoh]

Yup, that rear washer nozzle gets pretty brittle and cracks easily after 10 years in the sun. The rest of it does appear to be a lost cause as the rack appears to be stripped too.

KuoH

[Reaper450128]

I'll bet what killed it was the state I found it in when I got the car. The wiper didn't work, so I checked the fuses, and sure enough it was blown. I replaced it, then found out the resting position for the wiper arm had made its way beneath the trunk lid, thus causing it to be unable to complete its motion. It must have done this too many times, and burned the motor out in the process, while at the same time when the motor burned it pushed enough on the gear (which couldn't turn because of the trunk lid) to snap it in half. Ah well, at least my visors don't droop!

[Aredubjay]

Originally posted by kuoh
There's too much grease to clearly see the other broken part you're referring to.

KuoH

Good. I thought it was just me, getting old. But, now that one of our "youngsters" has confirmed . . .

You're probably right, Reaper. The resting position of the wiper, when you got it, probably did the motor in. My first one was similarly goofed up, but, not as bad. The wiper just "tapped" the rear deck. Luckily, I caught it before it did any damage to the motor. There is a slight scratch on the rear deck, though. I don't understand how people screw that up. Get in touch with Green95 (Mike Davis). He can probably find you an inexpensive replacement unit.

I can sell you a wiper motor if you're interested. Let me know.

Mike