Wiper Pivots

[Grimmace]

Recently stumbled across an '81 HB that I couldn't pass up - now a 1G Accord owner again almost 20 years after trading my '77 in on an '85 Civic S.

I'm wondering if the sloppy wiper pivots on my car are common? The passenger wiper sweeps about 30 degrees and the driver's side about 35 to 45 degrees across the windshield depending on how fast I'm driving. I've checked all the linkages and everything is tight except for the pivots (the "posts" coming up through the cowl.)

I'm going to be hitting some junkyards this weekend but it appears that the slop is pretty common. Maybe something about the constant drizzle in the Pacific Northwest?!

Any suggestions for repair if I'm unable to find a tight set?

[2ndGenGuy]

Dude, I don't know what to tell you. Mine are like that too... The 1g Accords are hard to find in the wreckers. Actually, shit you're not too far from here! If you can make the trip, Nisqually Auto Wrecking has a 76 in the yard that you might be able to scavenge the parts from. I don't know the condition of the arms, or if they'll interchange, but the car is complete.



They also have a 1g Prelude I've taken lots of bits off of here and there. The wiper arm pivots may be the same, since it's an 82.



It's cool to have another 1gee owner so close! Glad you found your way to 3geez!

It's funny, just a 2-3 years ago there were WAY more of these cars around in the wreckers and such than there are now. They seem to have all disappeared. Got any pictures of your car, I'd love to see!

[Hazwan]

Post your car PICS!

[1GCustomAccord]

It's funny, just a 2-3 years ago there were WAY more of these cars around in the wreckers and such than there are now. They seem to have all disappeared. Got any pictures of your car, I'd love to see!

Its incredible, but here is the same, 2-3 years ago i found a whole lot of 1st gen Accords in junkyards, now is very hard to find one.

[79cord]

Not sure how it would affect the angle of total wiper travel but I have found wear in the bushes of the front windscreen wiper pivots pretty common on the earlier Accords & Preludes leaving the wiper arms wobbling about loudly, especially the middle one. By '81 Honda was using metal rather than plastic pivot bushes so last a bit better, though even they aren't immune if not lubricated.
On my '77 I removed the wiper assemblies & dis-assembled the pivots. Filling the worn plastic pivot bushes with a metal-filled epoxy before re-drilling their holes oversize to allow for a thin sheet of polyethylene as a bearing surface against the wiper pivot shaft -which was also surface rusted & required some clean-up before everything was thoroughly greased & re-assembled.



Not sure how well it will hold out over time yet though...
Obviously some people might be able to make them with a lathe & Nylon rod.
Honda parts books seemed to suggest the pivots were only sold as an assembly making them much more model & location specific, expensive & now rarer/ harder to find.

With the wiper motor out I'd also have a good prod around the metal of the plenum area. Honda placed a bituminous pad over this area as a sound-deadener which sometimes doesn't adhere closely to every bump in the surface.. trapping water beneath for rust to develop. Unfortunately I found some rust so chipped the pad away to reveal a few holes on my '77 & my Prelude...


Glad I caught it early!

[1GCustomAccord]

With the wiper motor out I'd also have a good prod around the metal of the plenum area. Honda placed a bituminous pad over this area as a sound-deadener which sometimes doesn't adhere closely to every bump in the surface.. trapping water beneath for rust to develop. Unfortunately I found some rust so chipped the pad away to reveal a few holes on my '77 & my Prelude...


Glad I caught it early!

Yeah, that area is one of the rust pockets of the car, also take a close look of the area where the air duct goes to the cabin, there is a steel dam to avoid water to enter in the cabin, and the base is an area where rust builds.

[Grimmace]

Thanks for the replies, guys - I'll get some pics of the car up soon.

I found an '80 in a wrecking yard in Portland that I managed to pull quite a few good parts off of. I'll probably go back for more. Unfortunately the wiper pivots were already gone. Still many good parts to be had though.

I appreciate the head's up on the 76 in Nisqually. I'll try to get up there in the next week or 2 to check it out - from the pics it looks like the wiper pivots are still there & I see a wheel trim ring that I need. If those are as bad or worse than my pivots I may try 79cord's suggestion.

BTW 2ndGenGuy, the '80 is an LX hatch the same color as yours. The interior is pretty complete and in decent shape. I know seats, center console, etc won't interchange with an 81. The body is straight (except the hood and front fenders) and very rust free. Let me know if you need anything or want info on where it's at.

[2ndGenGuy]

Dang! Thanks for lookin' out. I'm actually looking for a set of 81 seats still. I've got some seats from an 84 Hatch in mine that are red, and look great, but they sit too damn high. The 80 seats don't swap in? I thought 80 and 81 were identical. Damn Honda always changing little things year to year!

EDIT: Oh so that hatch is an LX? If you're headed down that way, I'd LOVE to get the steering wheel. They were color-matched in the LX and look pretty sweet. I gotta figure out what other LX goodies there were. Oh man, how about the door panels? I believe they were cloth, I'd love to get some if they were really nice! I'll get back to you in a bit.

[Grimmace]

I could be wrong about the seats not interchanging - I thought that the '80's had a more rounded center tunnel. IIRC, the 81 is the only year with the "squared" tunnel to accomodate the catalytic converter. I believe the seat mounts are different because of this. Perhaps the seat tracks can be unbolted from the bottom of the seat frame and switched to fit the earlier seats to an 81 if they are different?

The door panels looked to be in good shape. They are cloth, along with the rear seat side panels. I'm not sure if the steering wheel is still there. I know it was removed from the column, but it may be on the floor.

My sister had a green 81 LX at the same time I had my 77. From what I remember, the LX had the cloth door panels with a puddle lamp in them, the seats are full cloth on the face and the headliner is color matched suede instead of vinyl. Like you said, the steering wheel and column are color matched. The LX also had power steering, a digital clock and A/C. My sister's (and the 80 in the junkyard) also had aftermarket cruise control added.

I'll let you know ahead of time when I'm going back down.