Rear Wiper Arm WTF

[koda2000]

what gives with the rear wiper arms on the gen II's. i have three of them and they all have the same problem, in that the blade doesn't contact the glass without some sort of arm modification. is this the way the all leave the factory?

 

[deweyville65]

what gives with the rear wiper arms on the gen II's. i have three of them and they all have the same problem, in that the blade doesn't contact the glass without some sort of arm modification. is this the way the all leave the factory?

Hi koda, I have a different problem with my 96 XLT. The wiper blade makes contact the full length. But, mine quit working the other day. Don't use it very much, like just a few times a year. So, I take the motor out, clean the contacts inside the housing, reinstall the motor, doesn't work. Couldn't move it with a pipe wrench, said screw it and put the arm on so it would not interfere with the glass. Went out a couple hours later to wash the truck, hit the key, damn wiper started working! By the way, there was power to the motor all along. Go figure.

 

[Chikar]

Same problem on my 99, it lifts off the glass as it wipes and misses at least half of it.

I read somewhere there is an updated Ford arm that's stamped AB I think it was. No idea what changes are incorporated in the updated arm but I'm going to the Ford dealer to get one. Aftermarket arm didn't work for long and it rains here all winter long.

 

[koda2000]

good morning deweyville65. sounds like you may have a dead spot on your armature, but it's weird that you couldn't turn it with a wrench. that sounds like the transmission was jammed... i'm replacing the wiper motor in my Mountaineer today (dead as a door nail, but has power and a good ground) then i'll have to modify the arm so that it hits the glass. the best way seems to be to grind down the two little fingers that stop the arm from folding up under the spring tension. what blows my mind is how these arms ever worked they can't all be bent, because if they were they wouldn't park themselves in the rubber thing under the glass. on my XLT it looked like the rubber mounting grommets allowed the motor to twist slightly on it's mounts, causing the partial contact problem, but on the Mountaineer the arm is not even touching the glass. on my EB i'm afraid to even turn the wiper on as, at one point in time, it chipped the paint between the door and the glass. i don't know why i care about these things, but i've always been a bit **** when it comes to having everything work on my vehicles. ttyl

 

[wmdpalmer]

I just purchased a 98 Exploder and the rear arm does the same thing. The motor works fine but the blade only touches about 20% of the glass area. IDK if it is a spring tension issue or what. I imagine it worked when it came from the factory quite well, but over the last 14 years the arm has been sitting off the window on the rest and rarely gets moved. Does anyone know if you can purchase the spring separately?

 

[gonenuke]

Dont get the Dorman replacement it will do the samething. I dont use the rear glass much, so I just have the blade sitting on the edge of the glass. Works great this way.

 

[IAmTodd]

Clip the two claws off at the pivot point. Mine worked great after that.

 

[budwich]

if you search you will find your answer.... some with pictures. One is as suggest, removing the claws... BUT throughly cleaning the joint so that it moves freely is also the "trick".

 

[koda2000]

well, i think cutting the claws is the best fix for partial contact, but i don't know why it should be necessary. after replacing the rear wiper motor today, i just bent the end of the arm until the blade stayed on the glass throughout it's sweep (just easier to do). i think the real problem with these wipers is the flimsy way the motor is mounted.

speaking of changing the rear wiper motor... I AM SUCH A DOPE! the old motor was bad, i know that for a fact. so i get a reman from AutoZone today, and i figure i'll test it before reinstalling it. it doesn't work. i check the plug and i have power with the switch full ON and a good ground. i then check the reman motor with my battery charger. it works fine. i check ALL the fuses. all good. i switch the relays around. still nothing. i test the plug with the switch in the OFF position and i'm still getting 12V out of one wire. then i remembered the blade PARK position function. i'm starting to think i have a broken wire somewhere, but the other two speeds don't work either. i take a break, drink a beer, and think about what i'm doing and i realize i'm trying to run the motor with the rear glass open. it won't work when the glass is open (of course!). i close the glass and guess what? the motor starts running. duh... that wasted about 90 minutes of life. it's all back together and works great. i guess you're never too old to learn that failure is always an option...

 

[toypaseo]

I just cleaned my wiper arm, and used some PB Blaster on it...

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=231267