E30 Wipers (running in reverse?)

This is has become a serious problem in the past couple of weeks. My 1987 325e's windshield wipers park in the upright position. They run flawlessly when in use, but just don't complete the half a rotation to go back to the normal "down" position and stop right in front of my face when not in use. I've tried pulling the motor and replacing it (as I have an donor from my 318i), but can't figure out how to get it off so I convinced myself it probably wasn't a motor problem and stopped trying to pull it off. Please if anybody has any suggestions, let me know!

Ben Earle
85 318i (RIP)
86 735i (cracked cylinder head)
87 325e (messed up wipers)

I'm not sure about BMW wipers to be honest. But I know on Mazda's, Honda's, etc. you can adjust the "swing" of the wiperblade with a flat head screwdriver on the side of the motor. (i.e. when people do single wiper conversions, they need to make the swing of the arm longer...)

I'd play around with that.

If that doesn't help, then it has to be a motor problem...

To remove the motor:

1) disconnect battery
2) remove wiper arms
3) raise the hood
4) remove rubber seal from the top of the heating/ventilation system
5) remove retaining clips securing the wiper motor cover panel
6) remove the release grilled from the top of the inlet and remove the cover panels
7) remove retaijning screws and free the wiritng hardness duct from the inlet duct
8) loosen and remove the retaining screws and retaining plate and remove the inlet duct from the firewall ... (if it's a 6 cylinder you may have to remove the injector and spark plug covers to allow the inlet to be removed)
9) unscrew the large nuts from the wiper spindles and remove the washers
10) loosen and remove the retaining bolts and remove the wiper motor support bracket
11) release the retaining clip and disconnect the wiring connector from the motor
12) manuever the motor and linkage assembly out of position. recover the rubber grommets from the spindles, inspect them for signs of damage or deterioration, replace is necessary.
13) mark the relative positions of the motor shaft and crank, then release the wiper motor balljoint

or you can take it in to a certified bmw mechanic to do. :)

NC

BWAH! As if Hendrick Imports (my dealer) up in Charlotte would even look at it without laughing in my face and "inviting" me to buy a new one. I finally pulled the motor from the 318i and am probably going to get it cleaned up (as there are gobs of 15 year old grease on everything) and install it this weekend... Not looking forward to the heater blower removal because it was a real pain taking it out of the 318, but I may be able to get around it now that I know where all the bolts are and everything.

I spent all last weekend replacing the wiper relay, giving everything a good rub down and regreasing, cleaning off any contacts I came across, etc. All to no avail. Once I get the "new" motor installed I'll let you know how it came out.

I have finally fixed everything with just a simple reseating of the motor on the linkage... Apparently it had just gotten messed up and was seated somewhere other than where it needed to be. Thanks for your help though.

good to hear.. :)