Hello all

When I bought my 2009 3.6 TDV8 Vogue, one of the issues was the rear wiper wasn't working - no movement, no wash. A search on here and evidence of water leakage confirmed the potential for a motor and gearbox full of water.

Well when I removed said motor and gearbox and then removed the cover, it confirmed the worst. Seized solid although no sings of water ingress into the actual motor itself. The linkage in the gearbox was however proper seized.

Another search on here and an idea that an E46 Compact 3 Series BMW shared the same motor gave me an ideal. I found one on eBay for £30, ordered the seals mentioned in the rear wiper thread in the wiki and set about having a play.

I can confirm that an E46 Compact 3 Series rear wiper motor and gearbox are the exact same as a 2009 L322. The part numbers are slightly different (see below). The mounting plate that the nozzle for the wiper hose sits in is slightly different and the gearwheel magnet for the park position is 180 degrees out.

All I did was to swap the gear wheel from my old L322 unit into the new BMW unit. Fit two lip seals to the nozzle for the washer pipe as described in the wiki and refitted. Working wash wipe all in for £38.

To fit the gear wheel the hollow shaft for the wiper fitting/ washer nozzle needs to be gently pressed out. This can be done without damage using a large vice and should come very easily.

Sadly I didn't take any pictures but I would be happy to guide anyone else who might need to do this repair.

How long this set up will last I don't know but so far so good after a week.

Cheers
Ben

L322 part number - 0 390 201 571
3 Series part number - 0 390 201 574
Wiki thread for wiper motor seal repair - https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic9924.html Current vehicles:
1944 Fordson Standard
1982 Land Rover Series 3 88" petrol
1984 Ford 4610
2009 3.6 TDV8 Vogue
2017 CLS Shooting Brake

Thanks, useful info, i'll be doing the same to mine I think - once the priority jobs are out of the way.

I got hold of one of these rear wiper motors, I wouldn't describe it as 'slightly different' - dimensionally, the mounting points vary quite a bit both in distance from the screen (wiper arm too close to the screen) and alignment with the tailgate brackets (12 - 36mm depending on which of the three points) although I did note that the nylon drive wheel has the magnet mounting point moulded but 'blanked', essentially, I use the motor, casting, drive wheel (with the magnet moved) spindle and flex gear from the E46, which had not suffered any water ingress, cleaned & re-greased everything using Ford clutch-spline grease as the nearest viscosity and 'feel' I could find, along with replacing the screenwash inlet seal with a 9mm i/d x 3.5mm cross-section Nitrile 'O' ring rather than the oil seal alternative. I think the longevity of the repair isn't down to which type of seal is used, more the condition, abrasiveness and lubrication of the wiper spindle. The one I took out was pretty ropey where the seal was in contact, pitted, just, well, not a smooth surface. The one I replaced it with was a lot smoother, despite being a 'used' item - and over 12 years old. If I had to, I would have ground away the corrosion, built up the metal with Bronze brazing rod, turned down to size, polished and chemically blackened to keep the screenwash from attacking the metal.