PDQ OWNERS FORUM

THANK YOU JAMES

We bought and installed a AFI-1000 motor with 2.5” shaft - includes arm kit w/blade @ Fisheries.com <https://www.fisheriessupply.com/afi-mar ... -wiper-kit>. It is available in a choice of two sweep angles: 80° and 110°. We use 80º.

Another watchout. The wire connectors on the motor are unusual right angle spade connectors. For some reason they were really loose when connected to the connectors on the wires coming from the breaker. They would literally fall off as soon as the motor was mounted. We had to glue the two motor wires to the motor housing and then attach spade disconnects.

It's our turn to replace one of our wiper motors and this thread has been very helpful in pointing us in the right direction. That said I'm still unsure whether to go with the AFI 34000 or AFI 71082 model, both of which I can source at a competitive price in Canada. Their performance specs appear to be identical, with the only difference being that the 71082 is in a sealed unit and the 34000 is not. Given that the motor is mounted in a protected space I'm not sure that it's necessary to spend the extra $70 for the sealed unit. I'd welcome feedback from anyone who has already been in this postion and selected one or the other of these two choices.....or for that matter, from anyone else who has an opinion.

Also, I'm struggling to remove the wiper arm from the shaft, which appears to be a common challenge. I've located and removed the set screw and sprayed the part with copious amounts of Blaster, but so far no joy. I'm considering applying heat from a small butane torch, but don't wan't to take that step if there are better methods to apply. Again, any feedback would be most welcome.

Thanks!

John

If I recall, there are two set screws on the wiper arm. With both removed, I tried many things to get the arms off for replacement with no success. I finally used a Dremel cut-off wheel to carefully saw a cut through the arm parallel to the splined shaft. before cutting too deeply and scoring the shaft, I used a small chisel and hemmer to widen the cut slot until the metal failed and the arm popped off.

Obviously, that is fine only if you intend to replace the entire arm. You might be able to find a puller that will fit and help you get it off intact, but I knew I was replacing all the arms, so did not bother trying to find one.

Good luck!

Thanks for the comments Duane. I removed the second set screw and banged away for awhile today, but unfortunately it was not enough to free the arm. I have a feeling I may have to cut off the existing arm and replace it, as you did.

We had to cut ours off with a hack saw.

Hi Mac, you too eh. I guess that settles it. Did you have much difficulty cutting it with a hacksaw blade?

hi john&ria,

which model did you decide to go with? i'm facing the same decision.

Hi John,

I went with Marinco/AFI, model 34000 for the motor, and model 33037A for the wiper. Although this is the 'unsealed' (and less expensive) version of the motor, I think it's totally adequate given the protected mounting locations on the PDQ. Because my starboard side unit has now also failed, I bought a second motor and wiper set in October. The best price I could find for the motor this time was via Amazon.com, at $172 US. Untypically, both times the wiper was less expensive from Canadian suppliers ($87 CDN), so not sure what the current US price for the wiper would be.

FYI, I ended up using a dremel tool to cut away the frozen arm. This was fairly quick and easy.

Hope this helps.

John

hi john,

thanks for the info. i'm going with the 34000.

i replaced arms 4 years ago. when i re-assembled the new arms i used lot's of anti-seize on the splines and the base of the arm and allen screws. i also used waterproof grease where the shaft exits the brass housing. when i removed the arm this time everything came apart with no damage.

Hi John,

That's a wise idea with the lubricants. I more or less did the same with mine. Hopefully it will make the process easier next time.

By the way, are you planning to attend the PDQ owners gathering in January? Although it's a bit of a long hike for me, I'm thinking about making the trip. If you are, I may see you there.

Cheers,

John

hi john,

we may be there. we have a 2 week cruise from stuart to miami area and back planned and the gathering is right in the middle. we're still thinking.

hi all,

i just finished replacing 2 of the 3 wiper motors on our 2003. duetto came with the afi wipers with the 4 bars on the cover. i decided to go with the afi mrv (mod 34000). this was based on the fact that a) john&ria had already installed a set b) it was available at defender whereas the equivalent enclosed model was not. i ordered the 2.5" shaft and 80 degree sweep. once the old motor is removed it's basically a direct replacement. there is one thing which is not spelled out in the install instructions: the parking position. our pdq had wipers parking on the right. unfortunately i found out that the default on the mrv is parking on the left. the good news is that the current line of motors allows for easy configuration changes even after the motor is installed.

Mostly confirming what others have said regarding windshield wiper motor replacement (based on my 2006):

The correct motor (see below) is the Marinco #34000 MRV Heavy Duty Motor w/ 2 1/2" shaft & 80 degree sweep angle
The correct arm (if pantographic) is the Marinco #33037A Deluxe Adjustable Pantographic Arm 17" - 22" long (extend to the full 22")

- As long as you're replacing the wiper motor, there is no reason to be gentle cutting off the old arm (if frozen on) or fool with a Dremel. Simply hacksaw horizontally 3/4+ of the way thru, then insert a screwdriver & twisting by hand will crack the arm right off the shaft.

- The Marinco #1000 motor PDQ installed is technically the improper motor for pantographic arms (according to tech help & the fine print in the specs). The correct motor is the #34000 which has no cover (not needed anyway), is more powerful, slightly cheaper, is 2-speed (I'm just using the slow speed) & most importantly the access to the gears is right on the back of the motor. This means you can easily change the parking position and/or sweep angles after installation (with the 1000 you have to completely remove the arm & motor for changes).

- As Mac noted, check the straightness of the drilled hole for the shaft. The hole on mine was so crooked the new motor couldn't even sit flat.

- Don’t re-use the motor mounting screw! You’ll need a much shorter one into the fiberglass due to the bracket vs. case thickness.

- Instead of the spade electrical connectors, you'll need to install with butt connectors. There are no instructions of any kind with the motor, so look at/print out from on-line before you start (the wires are just numbered).