Windshield wiper woes - what am I looking at?

[skalathamus]

Alright guys, I'm back with my latest self-inflicted van troubles, this time in the windshield wiper department.

I pulled a couple of real bonehead moves last week: I went out to a very snowy Yosemite without a scraper/brush for snow. Bonehead move number 1. One morning I had a bunch of snow on the windshield, and I decided to take a risk and see whether a swipe of the ol' wipers could get it off for me. Bonehead move number 2. One of the wipers followed through and got it off, the other did not move (the driver side, of course). Panicking, I brushed the snow off with my glove, got back in, tried the wipers, and now the driver side wiper is alllll messed up. First it's rotating all around, off the windshield, then I try to put it back in place and now it's sort of working for a few strokes, then just not working at all, then both eventually stop working. So now I'm at the tail end of rainy season in central California with two non-working wipers. They try to move a little when I turn them on, but don't get very far.

I haven't had a chance to get in there and assess anything yet, but from this synopsis, can anyone tell what I've done to them? They worked perfectly well before this debacle. Couldn't really find anything similar searching through old forums. Any idea what part of the system I may have damaged? Really hoping I won't have to pull the dash to resolve this.

Thanks,
A moron

[syncrodoka]

Remove the wipers and turn on the motor, if the wiper pivots are moving normally(likely) then you stripped the wiper arms. It is an easy fix, you clean the wiper pivots of metal with a pointy pick and reinstall the wiper arms with washers under them to give them more bite.

[skalathamus]

[syncrodoka]

Yeah, that is what you need to do. Make sure to get the additional washer under your wave washer to put more pressure on the wiper arm, even if yous are bad enough to need replacement.

[dobryan]

Sometimes you can get away without the extra washer for a while, BTDT. It may get you going until you can add the washer.
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

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[Merian]

Just a heads up - my vanagon sat thru a snow dump here (unusual to get snow at all), and a wiper arm is either bent badly out of shape, or has stripped at the mount.

So, it can happen even if the wipers are NOT operated.
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[danfromsyr]

they are stripped on the splines from the snow load sliding down the glass.
fyi can also happen from cats or random people in parking lots.

you'll need to remove the wiper arms and clean the splines then reset, hope you haven't lost too much material from the cone in the arm to get a good bite.

here in snow country we tip up our wipers off the glass (or remove them) to prevent this from happening.

[zastrow_qr]

GoWesty has provided a great summary and recommend adding a 7mm flat washer and 6mm spring washer to help with contact. https://www.gowesty.com/tech-article-details.php?id=145

Also:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=440572
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=359352
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Ryan
'87 Westfalia

[Merian]

before & after...

my picks were not small enough nor was a regular knife blade - I used an X-acto knife and a freakin' magnifier...

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[shagginwagon83]

Awww man! That does that look nice!
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Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan

[IdahoDoug]

Well done. When I got my van they must have been abused as I cleaned the splines and used washers and all was well for a year, then one failed. I ended up getting a pair of new arms from Van Cafe and recleaning the splines before install. It's been great ever since and they were not too expensive. In winter, I keep a couple of orange "tell tales" which are neon orange strips to hang off the wiper tips and warn pedestrians. Then the wipers are pulled up off the glass and sit like that. Without the tell tales, someone will walk into them as they protrude out crazily without a hood in front of the windshield.

Anyhow, new arms are available and reasonable.
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1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1988 Toyota Supra 5 speed targa, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader