Windshield wipers?
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Bert
- Posts: 59
- Joined: Thu May 02, 2002 1:01 am
Windshield wipers?
Does anyone have any tricks for tightening up windshield wiper arms ? My wife was out in the bus yesterday in the rain and the wiper arms slowly rotated down and started wiping the bottom front of the bus....Can they just be tightened up or is there something else I can do , Thanks again
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Marc
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- Joined: Thu May 23, 2002 12:01 am
Windshield wipers?
What year is it? The splitties and early bays used a setscrew to secure the arm to the spindle, not the best design in the world - if run with the screws loose, a ditch gets cut into the spindle that makes it hard to ever secure them again. The newer cars with splined, tapered spindles use nuts to secure the arms and it's a big improvement. I think you can graft those spindles and arms onto the early baywindows.
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Marc
- Moderator
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- Joined: Thu May 23, 2002 12:01 am
Windshield wipers?
You should just be able to reposition them and tighten down the nuts then.
The only problem I've seen on late-model buses is the plastic gear inside the transmission stripping when the wipers aren't turned off before the key is in freezing weather.
(Always a good idea to make sure the blades aren't frozen to the glass before turning on the key - it's an expensive fix).
The only problem I've seen on late-model buses is the plastic gear inside the transmission stripping when the wipers aren't turned off before the key is in freezing weather.
(Always a good idea to make sure the blades aren't frozen to the glass before turning on the key - it's an expensive fix).
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TomB
- Posts: 231
- Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2001 12:01 am
Windshield wipers?
The usual problem I see with later knurled / tapered wiper/shaft joint is cats...
Cats like to sit on top of vans, then slide down the windshield to the wiper arms. A 15-lb cat WILL turn the arm on the shaft, and gradually ream out the taper on the arm against the knurled shaft until the arm taper is too large to tighten against the shaft. Try hard enough and you'll ruin the shaft.
If you tighten "reasonably" and the arm still slips, pull the arm off and curl a strip of brass or aluminum shim stock into the arm; then put it back and tighten it. It works for a time, but new arms are usually in order. (And a new cat...)
Cats like to sit on top of vans, then slide down the windshield to the wiper arms. A 15-lb cat WILL turn the arm on the shaft, and gradually ream out the taper on the arm against the knurled shaft until the arm taper is too large to tighten against the shaft. Try hard enough and you'll ruin the shaft.
If you tighten "reasonably" and the arm still slips, pull the arm off and curl a strip of brass or aluminum shim stock into the arm; then put it back and tighten it. It works for a time, but new arms are usually in order. (And a new cat...)