Is a PITA at some points but it can be done with some elbow grease and patience
I've had to do it on my '89, have now done it on my 92.. Did not take pictures, but next time I do one I can to supplement this
My '89 had 181k miles on it when the motor failed, my '92s failed saturday evening with only 112k, it'd all be cake if the cowl panel came up easily, and if the wiper assemblies seperated from the motor easily.. and if my rebuilt wiper motor hadn't been flawed
Anyhow..
Here's how to do it.. step
1) with hood closed.. lift wiper blades off window (pull them as far upright as possible)
A) pull out on clip that faces windshield,
B) while applying pressure on clip pry up on wiper blade right at the base.. watch your fingers, if the arm snaps back down it can hurt pretty badly
(my wiper arms fought me pretty badly, as they'd not been removed in 14 years)
2) Remove screws in cowl panel, lift panel off (I used this time to sand certain spots on this panel smooth and spray paint it bbq black..)
3) Remove bolt that goes between wiper assembly and wiper motor (this is in the cowl.. and it was a phillips 'screw' on my car.. I ended up using one of those magnetic-phillips head inserts for the easy swap screwdrivers, and a 1/4" socket on a 1/4" ratchet)
4) seperate assembly from motor (do not loosen window motor first, learned this the hard way.. thought it'd slide right out.. ) I used a thin screwdriver and a small hammer to tap in between it.. once I got a little room in there.. I pried til I bent the tool, after getting some leverage on it, I finally broke it free (without breaking it.. key point)
5) Remove electrical connector to wiper motor
6) Remove the 3 bolts (mine had only 3.. 2 visible, one underneath) holding the motor in (these are under the hood at the firewall)
7) Clean the assembly where it meets the wiper motor with a small wire brush.. makes it easier to get back together
8) Reverse to install
I know to some it may sound simple but others have never had to remove their cowl panel or are just starting off doing their own maintenance...
A tip :: Keep a can of nut-buster or PB blaster on hand and soak down where the wiper motor meets the wiper arm assembly, let it sit for 30ish minutes before trying to break it free..
Also when you put your wiper arms back on.. you can turn them to rest a bit lower in the 'park' position (where they sit when the wipers are turned off..) I did that on my '89 and it helped the looks.. just my opinion though.. didn't affect performance in the rain, either..
Hope someone finds this helpful!
But Ill be getting a smooth cowl panel and deleting them alltogether soon. (keeping mechanicals in the cowl itself and wiper will be in the hatch for just in case freak rain storms)
