Heck yeah I've fitted then with a bolt, there should be a very complete
writeup in the archives by me. It works GREAT. If you are like me, that $60
part you now own will reside in the little cubby above the rear cabinet. I
have pulled the dash a couple of times since the bolt was installed, but
never had the inclination to change back to a stud.

The deal is to drill and tap right into the exact center of the stud. To do
that, you need to file it down flat, get a 5X loupe in your good eye, and
place a punch in the exact center of the stud. The rest is just careful
drilling and tapping.

It sounds like GoWesty copied my writeup, or else somebody there was also a
machinist at some point in their lives...

Jim

On Thu, Aug 16, 2012 at 2:45 PM, Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@cox.net> wrote:

> A few days ago I mentioned that the passenger side windshield wiper
> threaded stud of the shaft on my 1991 Volkswagen Vanagon GL Campmobile had
> snapped.  Well, I have a new shaft in hand from Van Cafe.  Now I realize
> that the conical pressable piece that the stud and splines of the shaft fit
> into has stripped.  Evidently this requires a new wiper arm, as the damaged
> piece seems not to be replaceable.  Is that true?
>
> A couple of other questions:
>
> 1.  Does anyone know for sure that the dash must be pulled in order to
> replace the shaft?  Is it possible that it can be reached and replaced
> through the top grill opening?  That might be easier to do, if indeed it
> can be done.
>
> 2.  GoWesty has a procedure on their web site for drilling and tapping the
> stud in the shaft, and then fitting the wiper arm on with a bolt rather
> than a nut.  Has anyone ever done this, and was the fix successful?  That
> might be easier than replacing the shaft, especially if the dash must be
> pulled to do so.  But, there is not much there to drill and tap.  The
> GoWesty procedure says to file the stud off flat, punch the center, then
> drill it, then tap it.  Interestingly, I mentioned such a possibility to
> the shop I consulted in Burlington, Washington a couple of weeks ago, and
> the guy just looked at me as if I was kidding, and said, "Never work, not
> enough metal there to hold anything even if you could drill and tap it."
>  GoWesty's page seems as if it is something done with some regularity:
> http://www.gowesty.com/library_article.php?id=1512
>
> Given my skills and general lack of patience, this may be something I
> should hire done, but it should be cheaper in that case than hiring someone
> to remove the dash to replace the shaft.
>
> Comments?
>