Wiper Arm Pressure

[88_AHB]

Hey guys,
This one is a little hard to explain so bear with me. So a few months back I replaced my wiper linkage bushings.Everything as far as that is working fine now.. Recently started to notice the driver side arm doesn't seem to wipe the same(poorly) brand new blades. So I pulled back the arm away from the windshield and there doesn't seem to be much pressure or tension that applies to the windshield compared to the passenger side. Did I maybe mess something up when re installing the arms back on to cause this issue? Or do the inner springs on these arms lose tension over time? Trying to think of anything that would cause such a issue. I can take some pics tomorrow if that'd help. Thanks

 

[volare 77]

only one spring that I know of on each arm and it is probably shot.

 

[BudW]

I drove my wagon today and decided to go look at the wipers. I would guess there is about 10 pounds of pressure to pick up the blade from the glass (no measuring tool – so only a guess).

Before removing a wiper arm, take a piece of tape (or two pieces if removing both and place tape on glass to mark the location that wiper blade sits at.
To remove the wiper arm, a person needs a flat blade screwdriver (pink arrow) and insert at location shown and pull tab out about 1/8” of an inch (or so), after you pickup up on the arm.

Once tap is out, you can let arm rest against the tab – as shown by black arrow.

The spring (yellow arrow) is the only thing that holds the blade to the glass. I have seen that spring rusted to nothing, very weak or sometimes rusted to the metal sleeve. The only way to fix that is to find new wiper arm(s).

I hope this helps.
BudW

 

[volare 77]

i wonder if these would work. the spring tension may be different
QRP® CH29147 - Wiper Arm Springs

 

[Aspen500]

If you enter the year, make and model (I used '79 Aspen), it says that part does not fit.
Make sure the pivot moves freely. At work I've seen quite a few where the pivot corrodes so the arm will get bound up and not press on the glass. Usually some PB Blaster and working it back and forth does the job and it's good as new. Just something to check anyways, for what it's worth.

 

[BudW]

I would remove the arm and turn upside down (like my picture, above, with yellow arrow) and look. If the pivot moves free good. if not, then clean/lubricate the dickens out of it. If spring pressure is weak (or broken) then I guess one could try a new spring. I would look for another arm, myself. There should be several of them out there to find.

Replacement arms (new or used) came in either silver (like above pictures) or in a dull black.
The drivers side arm is slightly different between F-body and M-body for M-body has an extra arm to keep the blade from rotating. The two arms might interchange without much issue - if you can't find the correct arm.
The passenger side arm is the same for all F & M-bodies (except for color).
BudW

 

[88_AHB]

So I grabbed another set of arms off a similar year fifth ave installed driverside. Passenger side is fine does it's job as it should,The driverside still has almost no applied pressure to the glass while operating. The springs in both arms (old & new) seem to be ok. Is there a way I might of install these wrong that would change the characteristics? Thanks

 

[volare 77]

Not that I know of. I still feel the arm is bad. If you know the passenger side is good then try the passenger arm on the drivers side to see if it is any better. What type wiper blades are you using?

 

[88_AHB]

One question I did have is on the driverside arm, the small arm off of the main that clips onto the numb near the base of the arm. Would this have any effect on arm pressure which way its connected? I'll try to get a pic later.

 

[Camtron]

Is the wiper arm pressed all the way down? Maybe give it a love tap with a mallet to make sure it’s seated all the way down. I can’t think of many other things with new springs and arms installed.

 

[volare 77]

Yes, please post some pics. I assumed the wiper arms were the same as the F body. I see after reading the post they are different.

 

[Mikes5thAve]

You can also bend the thin end of the arm slightly towards the window to give it a bit more tension.
I've never had arms go bad, only the little finger thing wear out that help hold the pivoting bar in place on the drivers side. Sometimes they can also get corrosion in the hinge at the base of the arm but not likely when you've tried two.

 

[BudW]

I have seen a few spring failures but I see (more often) corrision where the the wiper arm shell pivots on the wiper arm pivot part. Usually a bit of oil and several movements will free it up (see pictures, below).


The passenger side wiper arm is the same between F's and M's (with bright or blackened out versions).

There are two different versions of drivers side wiper arms:
Most F-bodies have an arm similar to passenger side (or might be identical to passenger side - not looked to verify). I haven't seen a black version of an F-body Drivers arm (yet).
Most M-bodies have a thin washer that goes between the nut and body. the thin washer has a stud for the second wiper arm that makes the wiper blade move at a different angle than the wiper arm when through its arc. There are bright and blackened out versions of both, but a majority are black.

A person can use an drivers side single arm in place of a dual arm without problem. The reverse can be done if you remove the wiper pivot nut and insert that washer - or otherwise the second arm will damage the paint and blade will flop around when moving through its arc.

These are from my '77 Volare.

You can see a hole for the washer stamped into the cowl.

From my '86 Fifth Ave.

If you look close, you can see clear coat finish failure (wait, did I say that out loud?)

I hope this helps,
BudW

 

[Rattle Trap]

Is your driver side secondary arm locator in place? I would think if not, that the entire drive section would be moved outward to where you'd have less pressure on the glass from a more compressed spring to reach the glass. Assuming the arm from similar year 5thA had good tension to glass when removed, and isn't a weak springed arm? I suppose you could try adding a washer to the transmission drive on back side of cowl to move it into the cowl deeper, if that doesn't interfere with wiper arm mounting and operation.

 

[88_AHB]

Sorry guys for the late response been busy the last few days. Here's a few pics of my setup,I've been thinking maybe the driverside arm isnt all the way down? It does seem to have some play in it up and down,cant remember if it has this prior to the linkage disassemble.


Drivers side

Passenger side

 

[Rattle Trap]

Your driver side seems to be resting on the secondary arm instead of the windshield. that would keep it from applying pressure to the blade. I know that down leg help keep the secondary arm in place, but I'd be making a slight modification of it toward the pivot shaft to allow the sprung arm better range of applying it's force.

 

[Mikes5thAve]

It looks pretty normal. Unless the main arm has been bent back the second arm doesn't have enough strength to hold it off the windshield. If they don't touch or almost touch the secondary one comes off it's stud.