How do you keep the rear wiper from getting stuck?

[kythri]

How do ya'll keep the rear wiper from getting stuck between the rear window and the gate?

Has anyone devised some kind of plug or T-moulding that can ride in there to keep the wiper from binding in that location?

 

[budwich]

I don't think that its a problem IF someone hasn't bent the wiper arm, the motor mount hasn't been broken, AND the arm "joint" is FULLY operational meaning clean.

 

[Varsity]

I don't think that its a problem IF someone hasn't bent the wiper arm, the motor mount hasn't been broken, AND the arm "joint" is FULLY operational meaning clean.

Agreed. There's actually a ton of threads on rear wiper problems. If the wiper wasn't making good contact before, maybe the previous owner or shop looked for a quick and cheap fix and bent the arm resulting in weird lineup positions for the wiper.

 

[koda2000]

+1 sounds like someone bent the arm to get better contact on the glass and now there's so much tension on the blade, it pop's into the crack between the lift-gate and the window.

these rear wiper's are nothing but problems. it's just a ****ty design. the main problem is that the motor mount grommets are too soft and once they age, the entire motor is pushed out alignment by the wiper arm's tension. bending the arm just makes it worse. i've got 4 of these vehicles and the wiper arm doesn't work 100% on any of them.

 

[kythri]

Grrr.

New motor and arm, then. YAY!

Thanks!

 

[koda2000]

Grrr.

New motor and arm, then. YAY!

Thanks!

the motor is fine. it's the bushing the mounts set on that are worn. you'll need to bent the arm back to it's original position or replace it, but i suggest you do what the rest of us do and just don't use it.

 

[1998Exp]

Does anybody have a source for the 2nd gen rear wiper arm? The OEM ones have gone extinct a long time ago -- not that they were problem free... Mine kept twisting, with the blade refusing to stay perpendicular to the glass for longer than a week at a time, and making this annoying chatter noise once that happened. I ordered the Chinese replacement from Rock Auto and it didn't even fit correctly -- not to mention the shoddy quality.

 

[kythri]

Actually, I think my motor is hosed, too - it keeps wrapping around towards the driver's tail light.

 

[Varsity]

these rear wiper's are nothing but problems. it's just a ****ty design. the main problem is that the motor mount grommets are too soft and once they age, the entire motor is pushed out alignment by the wiper arm's tension. bending the arm just makes it worse. i've got 4 of these vehicles and the wiper arm doesn't work 100% on any of them.

Did you try grinding the little "arm" inside? My rear wiper didn't work well either so after a little investigating, I pulled off the arm and took a little dremel to the little nub inside and now my rear wiper works 100%. It's amazing. Now it has alot more tension pushed against the glass. Not trying to be an ass, just a friendly suggestion. I agree that these wipers aren't Ford's best design.

 

[koda2000]

Did you try grinding the little "arm" inside? My rear wiper didn't work well either so after a little investigating, I pulled off the arm and took a little dremel to the little nub inside and now my rear wiper works 100%. It's amazing. Now it has alot more tension pushed against the glass. Not trying to be an ass, just a friendly suggestion. I agree that these wipers aren't Ford's best design.

firstly,i don't think you're being an ass for voicing your opinion. i tried this fix on my XLT. it worked slightly better, but trust me, i've studied this wiper problem at length. look at the wiper motor where it protrudes though the lift-gate, and you'll see the nose of the motor is pushed to the left and the rubber seal around it's neck is also being pushed to the left. this happens because the rubber bushings (3 of them) that mount the motor to the lift-gate are too soft and allow the motor to become twisted by the pressure exerted by the wiper arm spring. if you remove the wiper arm, the motor will return to the center of the hole. i've stated that if Energy Suspension made replacement bushings for the motor mounts, the problem would be solved. i also think that the motor really requires 4 mounting points (not 3). that would prevent it from twisting. bending the arm, or grinding down the stops on the arm, is addressing the symptom, not the problem. i have a lift-gate apart at the moment, and i'm going to try adding another mounting point to the motor this week. i'll let you know if that helps. might also need to eliminate the rubber bushings altogether (it would be noisy, but as little as i use the rear wiper, i could live with the noise). maybe adding a spring to the motor to counteract the pressure of the wiper arm spring... hmmmm, that's an interesting idea.

 

[ponkotsu]

I just got done disassembling and analyzing this crappy design. The real weakness is the tailgate. The motor mounts have a little flex, but the sheetmetal supporting it is much too weak. If you take off the inside trim panel, you can see it pretty clearly.

From what I can see, the main issue issue is that the design is really dependent on having an exact fit wiper blade. If the blade is too week or low, the hook will get jammed on the rest block. If you don't have the correct wiper blade, there is no chance of it working correctly.

I bought a new cheap blade, and its horrible. Not sure if I'm going to just abandon the rear wiper or try to find another brand that works better.

 

[fowlwater1]

i ended up shimming the plastic stop up with a peice of rubber cut to fit. lifts the wiper up at rest about half inch. also heated that plastic kick stand attachd to the wiper blade and bent it towards the vehicle a little more. now it works pretty damn good

 

[ponkotsu]

i ended up shimming the plastic stop up with a peice of rubber cut to fit. lifts the wiper up at rest about half inch. also heated that plastic kick stand attachd to the wiper blade and bent it towards the vehicle a little more. now it works pretty damn good

For a while....

 

[koda2000]

For a while....

i fiddled with the truck i had apart. and you're right the weak metal of the tailgate contributes to the problem. i added a spacer (a nut) between the right hand mount and the tailgate. doing this centered the wiper motor's snout in the opening, which then keeps the arm in contact with the glass thoroughout it's sweep. no other mods were made. we'll see if it lasts.

 

[fowlwater1]

For a while....

agreed

 

[Ksprague994]

Did you try grinding the little "arm" inside? My rear wiper didn't work well either so after a little investigating, I pulled off the arm and took a little dremel to the little nub inside and now my rear wiper works 100%. It's amazing. Now it has alot more tension pushed against the glass. Not trying to be an ass, just a friendly suggestion. I agree that these wipers aren't Ford's best design.

Which little"arm" and nub inside are you talking about??? Can you please explain I'm a little confused

 

[Mr. Alligator]

This is an eight year old thread…. But I believe the “arm“ is the wiper arm, and the “nub” is the stop on the inside of the arm that limits the motion of the blade toward the rear glass.

Good luck.

 

[Pete Deering]

I remove my wiper arm and when I install the new arm the wiper blade fell into the gap between the window and glass. It then got stuck in the gap. I remove the wiper arm and reposition the arm. No problem anymore

 

[EB4X]

Off topic, but when I activate mine it sounds like an angry female Ostrich protecting her siblings from predators....is this OEM intent ?
Other then that it works great.

 

[Mr. Alligator]

Yes, you can hear the OEM motors grind and churn away. But I tried to replace the OEM with rebuilds from Cardone, the three aftermarket motors lasted between one week to a few months. I gave up on the aftermarket (Chinese?) motors and found a working OEM at salvage yard. No problems yet, and it has been about seven years.

I also changed the rubber mounting hardware for small bolts with nuts that were captured in rubber, from ACE Hardware. The OEM rubber mounts had sort of fell apart, causing excess play in the wiper motor which translated to poor coverage from the wiper arm. That substantially improved the wiper functioning.

if yours works also, with adequate coverage, keep it.

Good Luck.