Help with wiper arms please...

[Chris52]

The bottom of my left wiper does not make contact with the windshield, this makes driving in the rain difficult without leaning to the right. Anyways I replaced the blades and that didn't help. My brother said that this is a common problem with camaro wipers and his friends z28 has the same problem. I asked my step dad to get me new arms while he was at my uncles junk yard and he said that they are cannot be taken off which I find hard to believe. So is there any truth to what I have been told and how would I got about fixing this problem. Thanks a lot.

[96RS Alex]

Have you done a Search? It would be a helpful start to find the solution to this all too common problem.

[Chris52]

I searched for "wiper" on the archive board. Sorry, I should have checked this one too. I was hoping it wouldn't be a common problem. bah

[Last RS]

If your problem is that the wiper is simply not making enough or strong contact onto your glass, I've had the same problem.

On my car, there was a bind in the wiper arm where it pivots at the base. I sprayed some WD40 in that area and worked it in by raising and lowering the wiper arm by hand about 20 times. That did the trick.

Hope this helps you too. Let us know how you make out.


Mike

[95FirebirdConvertible]

I have the same problem, my wipers do not come in contact with the windshield. I did a search and I found that you need to get wiper blades from the dealer because they fit the shape of the windshield. I have no idea if that is true or not, let me know how you make out.

[97camRS]

I have the same problem. I can't see out of the bottom left corner when it's raining. The passenger one doesn't do $hit really, my wife is always complaining about not being able to see out the window when it rains. It's annoying, that's for sure. Let us know if you find a solution.

[HokieBird]

Are you guys buying replacement blades for the GM arms or are you buying replacement arms? You can't go to walmart and just pick up any pack of arms that are the right size. Go to autozone and look up your car. They have a set made for our cars and they work fine. If you are too lazy for that I can look at the brand and number when I get out of work. I have a set sitting in my hatch right now.

[97camRS]

I think I bought replacement arms, I looked up the ones for our cars. Maybe they are just a cheap brand or something I got. I don't even remember where I got mine from.

[95FirebirdConvertible]

Why are you guys talking about arms, I thought blades was the problem?

[camaroman1181]

ok.. heres the solution. if this problem just started randomly and you have had the wiper blades on there for a while with no problem, it is probably the wiper arm. the spring in the arm loses tension after a while and cant keep the blade tight against the window. you usualy wont notice this until one day you pick the wiper off the windshield for somereason and it misses spots ever since. the arm will eventually settle onto the window if you dont touch it and youll be fine. however, i recommend buying a new arm for the car. they run approx 25-30 each at autozone.
however, if you just recently changed wiper blades and now the problem is occuring, you got the wrong blade. our cars use this stupid wiper blade that must be extra tall. if you do not use this special blade, the wiper arm contacts the little arms in teh blade, thus lifting the blade off the window as the wiper travels throught its range of motion. replacement blades can be bought at autozone for approx 12-15 each. they are special blade!!! they are made by a company called Anco and have a red tag towards the top of the package saying "for use on late model F-body" or something of that nature. the packaging itself is yellow, so the tag will stand out. if you have trouble finding the correct blades, ask the guy at the counter. If he's any sort of competant employee, he'll be able to help you. If not, tell him to look it up and make sure you get the correct part number (not just correct length) example 22-24 rather than 33-24.. the first two numbers are the serial number that anco uses to define what series blade that is. those two numbers given above are just examples and are incorrect. the last two numbers are the length of the blade. Again, ask the sales guy and he should be able to help ya.
i have replaced many arms on our cars for my friends and myself.. they seem to be a common issue with our vehicles.

[camaroman1181]

oh, and to answer the other part of your question... tehy are hard to take off. the cover at the base has to be removed and the nut has to be taken off. the arm will then pry off with lots of force. be careful to not break anything. teh arms press onto the motor shaft, and coupled with age and rust, they tend to stick on. it can be an annoying job. oh and never trust junkyard parts for these things. you probably will just end up gettin a set with the same problem you currently have.

[HokieBird]

Originally posted by 95FirebirdConvertible:
Why are you guys talking about arms, I thought blades was the problem?

Sorry I was thinking of the metal structure that hold the actual blade, but called them the arms. Which they clearly aren't. Anyway, Autozone sells Trico Exact Fit wiper blades for our care code 24-9R they work like a champ.

[camaroman1181]

no, advanced auto sells trico along with walmart.. autozone sells Anco.. i used to work for autozone while i was in college so im quite sure of this...

[HokieBird]

You are probably right... I couldn't remember if it was a autozone or an advanced.

[95FirebirdConvertible]

Well I need the blades, I live right by Advanced Auto, and I live far from Autozone. So which place has them?