Rear wiper fix?

[MO_GUY]

Just wondering if anyone has figured out some way to get the rear wiper to touch the whole window like it should? I've messed with mine bending the little arms but I've had no luck.....I've actually made it worse than it was.....if anyone has an idea on how to fix it...please post.

 

[bluedemon]

umm

not sure about the answer to your question.. sorry

but my friend who has a 91 X somehow modified the hting that squirts out the window cleaner in the back so that if someone is tailgating him, he just squirts it and it goes all over their hood and windshield!
i might have to do this too

 

[aldive]

I for one, have never been able to fix mine.

I sure hope someone has a fix/

 

[Stephen]

I'm going to move this on over to the General Explorations forum.

Have you tried replacing the wiper arm? Its tension mounted against the glass, with age the spring may have stretched.

 

[bippy93]

I work at ford, and we just replace the arm. Works fine.

 

[aldive]

Mine has been bad since the day it was new.

 

[MO_GUY]

Originally posted by Stephen
Have you tried replacing the wiper arm? Its tension mounted against the glass, with age the spring may have stretched.

Hmm...it's 3 yrs old now....the problem is that when the wiper goes over the back glass it doesn't touch all of where it should. The glass is at an angle and the arm is designed to only touch a flat surface. So I don't see how replacing the whole arm would help any.

 

[MontanaGT]

I bought my Ex when it was 2 years old and the rear wiper used to do the same thing. The dealer replaced the arm for free and it worked fine for about 2 months and then it's back to only hitting 1/4 of the glass. I'm thinking of maybe changing the spring to one with greater tension. I don't know if this will end up helping it but, it can't hurt.

 

[poconosms1]

I like the idea of squirting the guy behind you. All you should have to do is pull the sprayer out and flip it 180 degrees. When I sprays, it should go up into the slip streem and that will do the rest.

Can't wait to try it.

 

[Rydin Dirtay]

mine has always worked fine, however my friends 92 had the same problem, we fixied it by putting one of those big blades on it after that it touched all of the windshield no problem, though the bigger double blade does slow down the speed of the wiper its better than nuttin right?

 

[woodychitwn]

I just started having this problem again, because I changed blades. Although the arm itself doesn't flex, the wiper blades do. And different brands will flex more, allowing them to fit the curvature of the rear window differently. So next time you change blades, try a different brand.

In the meantime, I've been getting my blade acclimated to the curvature of the window by turning the blades on and removing the keys mid-stroke. And by leaving the blade in a vertical position, over the past week it's gone from missing half of the window to getting all but the top inch.

 

[Stephen]

I see this issue moreso with the new hatch like MO has than on the old flat window. My advice would be change the blades as Woody suggests to find one with a greater pliability, if that doesnt work, try changing the arm.

 

[anchored]

I just fixed mine. I grabbed the wiper arm and bent it. Pulled toward me in the middle right where it gets narrow, and pushed in on the end where it attaches to the blade. Works fine now.

 

[TAS98xlt]

I agree with Anchored, you have to bend the arm a little 'til it works right.

 

[Bottomlesspit]

My 99 rear wiper is as bad as most of yours. It hardly touches the glass anywhere. I have bent the arm to every angle possible without good results. In order to get the blade to wipe even 1/2 the window I have to bend the darn thing until it practically flattens the whole rubber flat against the window. This won't work because the blade then snaps down into the space below the window...and starts to scratch the paint. The wiper stays stuck in the window gap until pulled out by hand. This is the worst design I've ever seen.
I too would like to hear positive results from those who try firmer springs, new arms, new wiper blades...etc. Good luck to all of us on this.
Ken

 

[Chew_12]

I have the same problem, but I dont drive in reverse that often, and when i do, thats what the bumber is for. Just drive by touch. lol

 

[MontanaGT]

I had posted earlier stating I had the same problem. I tried bending the arm as far as I could with it still falling into the holder "thingy" when in the rest position without only a minor effect. I was going to change the spring when I had an idea. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the most effective.

WD-40 THE HINGE. I sprayed it on, moved the wiper about a dozen times to work the oil in into the hinge, and problem solved. This was 3 days ago and it's still working fine today. I hope this solves everyones problems.

Now I don't get nervous going 100-MPH in reverse anymore.

 

[Bottomlesspit]

montanagt,
That is a really strange cure, but I'll give it a try. Do you have ANY idea what that WD40 stuff is doing to help? I tried to reason with the idea, but can't see how it would help. I'll try anything though, since nothing else has worked.
I guess I should also quit driving around so much in reverse. Actually, I had to drive to San Antonio (3 hrs each way) and it was rainy most of the way. (it is very dusty, grimey here in SouthWest TX) and I could not see out the rear at all during the 6 hrs of driving. It was like a wet, mud smear all over the back. I had never before thought about using a rear wiper, but I wish it had worked that day!
Ken

 

[SWLathrop]

The problem of the rear wiper not wiping the whole window is due to the wiper arm not being at the right angle. All it takes is for somebody or something to bend the arm just a hair and the wiper will be out of wack. Due to the window being rounded towards the top, you'll notice that your wiper motor actually flexes outward when on an upward swing. This moves the wiper downward on the top portion of the window when wiping. The only cure is to replace the wiper arm unless you're lucky enough to get the correct angle. We replace them all the time.

 

[Rydin Dirtay]

acutally i tried montanagts solution on my buddys 92, remember when i said that we just put a double wiper assembly on it and it worked but slower, we sprayed wd 40 in the joints and now it works fast and catches all the corners, i tried it on my x that has no problems and it actually makes is sound better. before wd 40 it sounded like metal was twisting inside of it now it sounds like a women screaming histarically. when i find out which is worse ill let ya know but try the wd 40 it does improve it. and as far as turning the squirter to squirt someoen it works. though i almost got shot