RS6 Rear washer repair and Aero wiper conversion.

[RichRS6]

As the washer jet in My rear wiper had begun following the wiper arm around instead of pointing straight up and was making nasty grinding noises I thought I’d better get in there and fix it before it started filling the tailgate up with water and shagging all the electrics in there.

This is a well known problem due to the tube inside the washer arm spindle which carries water to the jet seizing up, then the jet starts to follow the arm twisting away until it snaps off inside the spindle causing leaks into the rear panel.

There’s a repair kit available from Audi Part No 8LO 998 711 which has all the necessary parts and is (amazingly enough) reasonably priced at about £30.00. I got mine from Grizz at Unit 20.

As this involves pulling the motor out and partially stripping it down it would also give Me the chance to swap the parking mechanism over from Left to Right to suit an Aero wiper to match the Aeros on the front.

It will take about Two Hours to do the job (excluding swapping the parking over).

If you don’t want to do the parking swap/Aero wiper mod then just follow the first set of instructions.

First it’s worth getting some WD40 on the wiper shaft a couple of Days before You plan to do this job as it can be a bugger to get the arm off the shaft.

I did this and it still didn’t want to come off without a fight so I had to use a small puller.

Don’t use too much force !

Don’t forget the shaft goes through the rear screen and that will be a fortune to replace if You crack it !!

Once the rear panel (see other thread) and wiper arm are off the motor is held on by Three 10mm bolts.

Unclip the wiring, water supply pipe and remove the bolts, it should come away easily.

Follow the instructions supplied with the repair kit and replace.

Worth mentioning that the back plate screws are not too tough and I snapped one off when I was tightening it back up so if the back plate will not close up fully stop and check everything is in there correctly don‘t think you can use the screws to pull it together.

To change the parking of the wiper from Left to Right is fairly easy (a couple of Hours plus Epoxy drying time) and would not keep the car off the road but it will depend on how handy and confident You are with DIY repairs.

A big thanks to Golfather for his help with some of the following, I searched the forums for info and found He did this Years ago and He helped Me out with some missing info !

Once the wiper is out and You have the back plate off and wiper spindle out pull the big Yellow gear out and turn it over.

You will now see the brass contact plate which is clipped into the gear with Three spikes.

Using a thin bladed knife pry the contact plate off the gear, careful not to bend it, note the raised section on the gear where the brass plate ends.

The Contact plate needs to be rotated around 180 Degrees and re attached to the gear.

The gear already has marks where You will need to drill the Extra Three holes, I can’t remember the drill size but I’m sure You can work it out !

I drilled mine free hand but guess it would be better if You’ve got access to a drill press.

One of the holes goes through into the locating hole for the wiper spindle gear on the other side and You will need to shorten the spike which protrudes into this locating hole or it will foul the locating pin on the gear.

If You do a trial refit of the brass plate to the gear You will see that it is no longer flat as the raised section on the gear is now 180 Degrees out and interferes with the fit.

Using a piece of 180 grid wet and dry on the edge of a flat surface like Your wifes best work top rub the gear back and forth until this lump has gone.

There is also a tang on the contact plate sticking inwards where the cut out is and this will need a small groove cutting into the gear to accommodate it.

Make sure You are completely happy with the fit and that the contact plate sits flush on the gear then mix up some epoxy and glue the plate onto the gear.

Don’t get any glue on the teeth of the gear !!

Some of the glue may run through the holes, this is not an issue as it can be rubbed off when dry, EXCLUDING the hole which is for locating the Wiper spindle gear on the other side.

It may be a good idea to fill this hole with blue tack or something easily removable before gluing the plate to the gear.

Or once it’s set use a drill or a small router bit to remove any glue which has leaked through.

It may also be a good idea to make a small hole in this location to allow the air out when the locating pin goes back in as there was one here originally.

Once the epoxy has dried fully mix up some more as You will need to fill in the gap in the gear which corresponds with the raised section You ground off earlier, if You don’t do this the contacts will catch on the ends of the contact plate and make a click every time they move and probably snap off fairly quickly.

I had to do this twice as the glue ran into the gear and ended up below the level of the plate.

Once the glue has fully dried (overnight is best) and is above the level of the Contact plate rub it down using the same technique You used to level the raised section earlier and check that there is no glue on the top surface of the brass plate which will act as an insulator and stop the motor running, use the wet and dry to clean it off if You find any on there.

Now put it all back together re-fit the motor (don’t replace the interior panel yet in case there are problems) and run it to let the arm find its position before putting the new aero arm on.

Its worth changing both of the bulbs inside the back panel before re-fitting it as it’s a sure thing they’ll pop shortly after if you don’t !


Aero Rear Wiper Arm & 16 inch Blade VW Touran 2003 - 2009. £23.99 Plus £4.49 P&P.
Ebay No: 220495710431. Bolt On Bits 01274 869955
Ask them and They’ll supply a smaller wiper blade for the same price.


Rear Wiper repair kit, (I think this is the correct one but make sure before you buy !)

Ebay No: 370269756757. £35.95 Plus £3.95 P&P from VW Teeside.
I got mine from Grizz for less but thought if You are doing the egay thing it may be useful.

[Golfather]

Great write up Rich !
Although from your description, it may appear daunting to some but its not as difficult as it sounds..

A must do mod for any RS to get rid of that 70's look and smarten up the back end no end

Pic courtesy of Pau1

[Golffather]

Love that back end !

Black avant is simply awesome.

[RichRS6]

Nice pic H.

And thanks once again for all the help.

Yes I did go a bit over the top on the details but if anyone is planning on doing this job it's best to have as much info as possible as once its in bits all over the floor You don't want to have to do any guessing about how it all goes back together.

What I do if I'm looking for info here or on other forums is cut and paste the relevant bits into a word doc, delete the useless info and print it out.

I'll get a pic of mine up soon but am waiting for the extra rear fog bulb holder to arrive before I put the trim panel back on.

[Golffather]

Any pics Rich?

[RichRS6]

Finally managed to get some pics of the Aero wiper (and both the rear fogs !!)

I used a Touran wiper as it had a cut out for the jet so made it a simpler swap.

Golfather looking at Your pic You used a different wiper arm which looks better than the Touran one, did You have to modify the jet or cap on the arm?

[Golfather]

Rich, I used the B7 A4 arm on both my RS6 and RS4's:





Its not aero but looks so much tidier.

As to the jet, no I didn't modify it as it ruins the clean look with the gaping hole in the cap.

[Golffather]

Have to agree that the B7 arm is tidier and more sleek.

[RichRS6]

So how does your rear washer work ?

[Golfather]

So how does your rear washer work ?

it dribbles rather than squirts

[RichRS6]

It Dribbles rather than squirts !!

Ohh Err Missus etc etc !!

So You've sacrificed practicality for good looks then !

The wiper arm You've fitted is the one where the jet is meant to follow the arm ?

Is there no way of making the washer jet work correctly as it really is a better look than the one I used.

If not then I think I'll stay with what I've got for now as its a good compromise between function and form !