Rear Wiper Out of Alignment

[xj220]

My rear blade lifts up and skips a part of the rear window when it wipes. I jiggled (very scientific word) the mount and it felt loose and looked like it was at an angle. However, when I opened up the tailgate everything was bolted in properly and all I was doing was moving the metal mounts for the motor. Have any of you had this problem and what's the best way to fix it?

 

[n3m3s1s]

if you search around, you'll find out that this is a very common problem.
seems that when ford changed the rear windows in 2nd gens, they made them curved.
they also neglected to modify the wiper accordingly.
i think you can go to a dealership and get the fixed wiper for $20-30. i think it has an "A" stamped on it.
others have just bent their wiper blades until it worked well enough, i've tried that, but it has never wiped the whole path.

 

[mesa 33]

Mine does the same thing it only wipes a little part of the window took it to the a ford dealership and they told me they would fix if for free. Works for me.

 

[aldive]

I have had the same problem on my '99. The only resolution, and I tried all the tricks, was to replace the arm and the motor.

Take a look at http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135863&highlight=rear+wiper+motor and post # 6 of http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1164355#post1164355

Good luck .......

 

[exploded99]

Had that problem on my 99 and Ford replaced the tensioner spring on the arm under warranty. You may be able to just get the spring at the dealer.

 

[Lee S.]

Had the same problem ...Tried bending but it didn't work. I was about to order the new and improved version described by Aldive in his link above when I ran across this post:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136248&highlight=rear+wiper

In post # 8, gijoecam outlines his fix for this problem with pictures. I followed his procedure and trimmed part of the 'ears' off with a dremel and a cutoff wheel. The wiper now does it's job as it's supposed to. Kudos to gijoecam.

Lee

 

[gijoecam]

I was just about to chime in.... I'd've never found that thread in a million years though!!

Mine hasn't missed a swipe since then.... well, at least not until the motor went south.

I'm also running a 16" blade on the rear, so I'm sure that didn't help with the motor longevity.

-Joe

 

[boominXplorer]

I did the dremel mod about 2 months ago and it worked decent. Now if the damn thing worked more than 20% of the time I would be good

 

[gijoecam]

I did the dremel mod about 2 months ago and it worked decent. Now if the damn thing worked more than 20% of the time I would be good

$40 from Advance Auto, 3 philips head screws in the trim panel, one nut holding the arm to the motor, three screws in the mounting bracket, two screws in the motor, and you're halfway there. The last time I did mine in the parking lot in 15 minutes. Piece of cake job! Scale of 1-10, it's about a 0.75.

-Joe