Hi all,

About two weeks before my WOF was due I noticed a suspension clunk on my B6 A4 Avant. Unfortunately I discovered that my front upper control arm bushings were torn and that new upper control arms were needed. Shouldn't be too big of a deal to fix. 034Motorsports arms are on their way and hardware has been bought from the dealership. Now while I'm waiting for these arms to arrive, I thought I'd make sure that everything else is in correct working order.

A few months ago my rear wiper started to have a mind of it's own and I discovered that it was water damaged internally. Quite a common issue on Audis that share this part (A3s, S3s, Q5s, etc). Over time it got so bad that the internal plastic gear seized and some of the teeth sheered off. Now I thought that I should go to the wreckers to buy a new to me motor, but because its such a common issue almost all of the wiper motors I found have internal leaks. For the meantime I've unplugged the wiper and it hasn't been too big of a deal. The rear glass is ceramic coated so it never gets too dirty and I wash the car often.

My question is; do I need to buy a new wiper motor/fix my current wiper motor for when I go for my WOF? Plenty of cars do not have rear wipers (including cars with a upright rear glass like a Hyundai Ioniq 5) but I'm not sure if the fact that my car has one as standard means it's required. If I do need a new one I'll probably end up buying one from VAGparts or a Valeo one from somewhere else online. (I've attached a photo of my poor upper control arm bushings and also a yucky wiper motor I found online)

Cheers everyone!

Rear wiper isnt needed. If it's there it needs to work but if not there then no issue

Thanks Brett. Wiper is still there but just unplugged. I have time to sort it so I guess I might as well. Not a big fan of wiper deletes so maybe I'll get a centre cog in good nick from the breaker yard.

do a check and see if other VAG, or even if other makes use to part, some model specific forums might be a good source

The Mk4 golfs have a very similar part but the washer jet stays in one place. The Audi part that has the washer jet follow the wiper. I think I could grab a cog and motor from a golf and have that work Frankenstein style. Otherwise the Valeo part isn't that expensive. Heres a listing on Ebay for one. Part number 8e9955711e

https://www.ebay.com/itm/404272842235

Heres the Amazon listing too. Probably less sketchy as it's from the official Valeo shop. You can see some of the people who reviewed it noted that its a common issue. Mine was caused because the previous owner/owners used just water for the washer fluid and mold built up in the reservoir then clogged the jets. Had lots of fun trying to clean it all out, then realising I could have easily bought a clean reservoir from the wreckers. Bar's bugs is now being used.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Valeo-579603-Wiper-Motors/dp/B0068M88A8/ref=sr_1_6?crid=XGRJ3SL306SW&keywords=8e9955711e&qid=1702602959&s=automotive&sprefix=%2Cautomotive%2C453&sr=1-6#customerReviews

BTW Valeo are the supplier of this part so the quality is the same as OEM.