Product Review - GoWesty Front Wiper Arm

[Ollie W]

Hey all,

Thought that I'd share my experience with the new wiper arms I bought for my van. I couldn't get the old one's to stay in place, they'd been augered out over time. So I thought that I'd buy a new set.

Well, they hold tight at the splined shaft, but they have a definite problem in quality. I've let GoWesty know too.


Link


Anyone else have this issue?

[PDXWesty]

So how do they work when operating? Does the play affect the performance? That's what should really matter.
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89 Westy 2.1 Auto

[Ollie W]

The driver's side hits the window seal rubber both at the bottom and top side when on at full speed.

[E1]

Sounds like yet another under-tested part from GW. The hits just keep on coming with these guys.

We as the source of their success deserve a lot better, *we* built their customer list with our trust. They owe us working parts, period.

I've never seen a similar scenario like theirs in 40 years' car ownership. Sorry if offending those having better experiences, I really am, but this perpetual issue has to stop, for the good of us as owners.

For me, that starts with my supporting those who better support my interests, and they do exist.

Rant over, at least until the next time.
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‘84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
— Colin Chapman

[Ollie W]

[Wildthings]

What I would love to see is a wiper shaft that wasn't designed to work with a 10" beetle wiper blade. There might well be something out there that is an easy enough conversion, but I don't know what.

If you are buying the OEM style wiper arms be sure the get the washer kit and clean the metal out of the splines in the shaft. You local hardware store may have the needed 7mm SS washer.

[VicVan]

[PDXWesty]

Haters love to hate, don't they (E1).

I don't know what you guys think GW is as a company. It's a couple of guys running a local shop. It's not some global conglomerate that has multi-million dollar deep pockets. It's a small business that specializes in a niche market. I've been there and have been buying from them since all they had was a paper catalog 20 years ago. They try to find replacement parts to help our community. I think they do a good job.

Guaranteed whoever makes that wiper arm, it's the same one Van Café sells too or any other vendor. You could take the time yourself to source the parts from whatever manufacturer makes them by trial and error, take weeks of research to do it. Or, take the parts someone else says fit what you need. No one is custom making these arms. If they were, I'm sure the complaint would then be how expensive they are.
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89 Westy 2.1 Auto

[E1]

[syncrodoka]

[jamin307]

Thanks for posting, I have the same flex in my GW arms too - one worse than the other and it makes contact with the frame/seal every cycle. I thought it was just user error (as is usually my case) and that I needed to adjust the "home" position. I've had them installed for 6 months so I'm not sure if GW would do anything for me. I'll reach out to them but may make an attempt to decrease the flex first.

[Zeitgeist 13]

That's clearly a QC issue with the design and manufacture of the part.
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Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[Ollie W]

Looks like Kevin at GoWesty is going to make this right for me. I want to say that I'm glad to see their level of customer service.

He's going to exchange the arms I received for some new old stock SFW's. I'm not sure what they will or can do about the quality issue in general? I feel for them when even the reputable German and American aftermarket parts manufacturers have reduced their quality.

[jamin307]

I had the same flex issues with my GoWesty wiper arms. I reached out to GoWesty after reading this thread and Mike gave me a credit via their "gobucks" to go towards a new version of the arms that were expected to be in stock late 2018/early 2019. I ordered them and on initial inspection it's clear that these new versions do not suffer from too much flex at the hinge - very solid. That being said, FYI it looks like they're painted/powder coated after they're assembled. When installed on the van, unpainted metal is exposed that was previously hidden. I reached out to GoWesty to let them know.