Why is it that I cannot find a simple wiper arm for my 2002 Gem? Has anyone ever sourced the arm in the after market? Anyone have a used one they will sell me?
Thanks for any help.
Jeff
NAPA does supply some wiper arms. You may also want to check tractor suppliers. I’ve never had one fail on a GEM. If you find a suitable replacement, I would like to post the information in my list of after market parts.
Daniel
[QUOTE=GEMmechanic;9348]NAPA does supply some wiper arms. You may also want to check tractor suppliers. I’ve never had one fail on a GEM. If you find a suitable replacement, I would like to post the information in my list of after market parts.
Daniel[/QUOTE]
It did not fail, it is missing.
Thanks for the ideas.
Jeff
Jeff… I guess by now you have probably found an arm some where… if you or anyone needs a part or reference to one… I have found these guys no not only have everything but to know GEMs inside and out… you can also down load and copy their manuals for your car…
Gem Car Parts Direct | The Nations #1 Source for Gem Car Parts
Bob
I have the same problem, a missing wiper arm. Has anyone come up with a junkyard replacement that will do the job? Surely there must be one.
Posting the measurements of the arm and the wiper from an existing one would be a big help.
If you guys come up with something, I would like to add it to my master list of alternative parts. I do know that Cushman, EZ-GO, and the smaller John Deere wiper arms do not fit the GEM. I am about to come home from deployment. I do not believe there is a single GEM in all of Iraq.
Daniel
I did a wiper arm search at a “pick and pull” junkyard and found a fairly close fit from an older GM Chevy Blazer pickup truck. It will require machining and inserting a thin wall bushing to mate the female arm to the smaller diameter of the wiper motor and drilling a hole through the arm at the proper angle so as to run a cotter pin through the assembly to hold it in place on the motor shaft. The Chevy arm has a total length of about 20 inches and is straight. The GEM arm has a couple of bends near the wiper blade to bend the blade down more to the glass, but perhaps they aren’t needed.
I just sold the car to a guy with the wiper not yet installed, so I won’t know how it turns out.
What really annoys me is why GEM would use a non-standard wiper arm in the first place. Surely they could have used the exact same size as one that Ford or GM uses and therefore made all future purchases of spare parts easy. They did the same stupid thing with their ignition key - the blank just isn’t available except by very special order. Dumb engineering!!
The idea of using mostly proprietary parts is not dumb at all for GEM. It’s just annoying and expensive for us owners of GEMs. The unique parts aren’t available anywhere else, so we have to buy them from GEM and pay their typically high prices. The OEM parts companies have agreements with GEM prohibiting them from selling parts and even servicing parts for the end user. Delta Q will not service GEM battery chargers. You must send them to the factory to be tested. Monroe will not sell the shock absorber assemblies. Dana will not sell transmission parts. GE will not sell motor parts. Comex (the Italian company that makes the brakes) will not sell parts. Some of us have found good alternatives. What I have found over the years is posted here: http://www.electricforum.com/cars/neighborhood-electric-vehicles-hev/2626-lists-alternative-superseded-parts.html The factory key switch is about $155! But, you can use part number KS6040 from NAPA that is only about $16.
Daniel
Thanks for the list of non-GEM replacement parts… I am wondering if parts will change over time under the new ownership of Polaris… can’t see them having two vechicals the wouldn’t use a standard part… I’m old enough to remember Dodge… Plymouth… De Soto being stand alone companies as well as Mopars… seems in the later years what fit one fit all…
Bob
There are already a few common parts just by happenstance. One of the Polaris Ranger ATV rack boots is an exact fit on the GEM steering rack. The part number is there on my list. This was significant because GEM did not sell the boot as a separate part until recently. For many years, I was told to replace the whole rack at a cost of $330! Some genius discovered the match and I posted it on my list. The original boots dry rot after a few years. I still use the Polaris boot because I believe the rubber is higher quality, the cost is less than GEM, and I can get it faster than through the GEM dealer. Many companies have faced this sort of production consolidation. Until the seventies, GM’s divisions each produced their own redundant engines which were installed in a mostly common body style. What a waste of inventory and engineering resources! The Germans have done things quite differently. Many VW, Audi, and for a long time Porsche vehicles share parts including engines and transmissions. Polaris is a company with many product lines. Maybe they will do the same thing with GEM?
Daniel
I have found GEM part number 0310-00979, a wiper arm listed for 2003 and newer. The older 2002 arm looks the same to me, however. I post new numbers, which are not in the manual here:
If the dealer tells you these number are no good, tell them to call GEM. GEM likes to add numbers and not tell anyone.
Daniel