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Wiper Cowl

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Crusader10143

Passed Driver's Ed
Hey all, I'm already tired of winter as I'm writing this post. I unfortunately broke my wiper cowl today trying to chip the ice away so the wipers would go down. Now the wiper motor is exposed and i don't wanna leave it like that for long. Anyone know if i can get this from the dealer in stock, and also is it pretty easy to get the old one off?
 
ImitationMan

ImitationMan

Passed Driver's Ed
It is easy to get it off. Pop the caps on the wiper arms and then remove the nuts under the caps on the wipers and they come right off. Then pull the foam piece off at the bottom of the cowl. That should be all you need to get the cowl off.
 
Carlosfandang0

Carlosfandang0

Autocross Newbie
The Cowl also has a small lip that runs its length that slots into a channel at the base of the windscreen, easy to get off of if you’re careful but as it’s already broken you’ll be fine, just make sure the new one is slotted back in the channel properly or it will rattle/vibrate!


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Tony48

Tony48

Go Kart Champion
Yup, work from one side to the other with the cowl. It can be difficult to get started but then comes off easily.

You might need a windshield wiper arm puller to get the arms off of the splined shafts. Mine were on tight and I couldn't get them off by hand. Whatever you do, don't pry against the glass. Also mark your wiper position on the windshield with masking tape or something (shown below) before you pull them off because the wiper arms can go back on the splines in different configurations.

 
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Crusader10143

Passed Driver's Ed
Okay awesome, got one ordered through VW will be here tomorrow morning and will try and get it swapped out tomorrow evening.
 
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GertieGTI

Ready to race!
My shop broke my cowl and didn't want to take responsibility. I can understand how they did it because removing it is difficult if not wanting to break it. The windshield wipers can be a PIA to get off. Press down at the hinge point to get them to release.

My local VW online store was actually the cheapest price I could find because they didn't charge shipping if I picked it up.
 
Carlosfandang0

Carlosfandang0

Autocross Newbie
Removing the cowl without damage is easy, as long as you remove the rubber seal first and then push up from underneath along the channel (with one hand) starting at one end whilst pulling up from above (with the other hand), once it’s started you’ll have no problems as long as you’re careful, but as the OP has a broken cowl they will be fine with a bit of trial and error!


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AM407

Autocross Champion
Tony48 said:
Yup, work from one side to the other with the cowl. It can be difficult to get started but then comes off easily.

You might need a windshield wiper arm puller to get the arms off of the splined shafts. Mine were on tight and I couldn't get them off by hand. Whatever you do, don't pry against the glass. Also mark your wiper position on the windshield with masking tape or something (shown below) before you pull them off because the wiper arms can go back on the splines in different configurations.
Click to expand...

Solid advice. Mine were stuck on there stupid tight, and the first thing I did was break the windshield by prying against the glass. The wipers still didn’t come off.

The second thing I did was go buy a wiper puller, but that broke too and the stupid wiper arms still wouldn’t come off.

Finally had to buy a bigger puller. Barely got it to fit over the wiper arm, but did manage to finally pull off the wipers.

So, PSA: it might be smart to pull your wipers before they get rusted/welded/stuck on there. Then apply some anti-seize to the splines before you put them back together.
 
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Crusader10143

Passed Driver's Ed
Thinking of doing the soundaktor unplug while i have the cowl off, anyone recommend this for better engine sound?
 
Tony48

Tony48

Go Kart Champion
Crusader10143 said:
Thinking of doing the soundaktor unplug while i have the cowl off, anyone recommend this for better engine sound?
Click to expand...

Yes absolutely. Gets rid of the garbage fake exhaust noise and let's you hear the turbo. There's a few ways you can do it but the gist is that there's a control module and the actuator. Unplug/remove either or both. You have to have the cowl off to remove but you can manage to unplug with the cowl on. They're not the easiest things to get to but not too bad either. Control module is on the passenger side of the ECU while the actuator is on a bracket on the driver's side of the ECU.

Let me know if you have any questions since I just recently did this. Make sure to zip tie the connectors so they don't make any noise. There's pictures of the soundaktor pieces in my build thread.
 
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Crusader10143

Passed Driver's Ed
Hey all so just got the cowl swapped and got it all back together and hit my wiper blades and nothing happened. Checked the fuse under the hood (the 30a green one in F19 which I read online that was the wiper one) and swapped with a good one and still nothing. Tore it back apart and check plug to motor and it was plugged in. I'm not sure if having the cowl broken water may have got onto the motor, they worked a few days ago. And ideas?
 
Tony48

Tony48

Go Kart Champion
Crusader10143 said:
Hey all so just got the cowl swapped and got it all back together and hit my wiper blades and nothing happened. Checked the fuse under the hood (the 30a green one in F19 which I read online that was the wiper one) and swapped with a good one and still nothing. Tore it back apart and check plug to motor and it was plugged in. I'm not sure if having the cowl broken water may have got onto the motor, they worked a few days ago. And ideas?
Click to expand...

Is your hood closed? I believe the wipers won't work with the hood open.
 
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Crusader10143

Passed Driver's Ed
Yup just read that a little bit ago and put it back together and closed the hood and they work haha rookie mistake
 
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