Are windshield wiper arms side specific?

[atalarico]

Hey all, I had to take my windshield wiper arms off today to clean under the cowling. I realized I didn't mark which side came from which side, but the arms do look a bit different. One looks a little longer than the other.

Is there a driver's and passenger's side specific arm? Any way to tell other than just re-attach them, spray some fluid and see if it matches the old pattern?

 

[Unner]

I believe the arms are side specific, they should have a mark in the casting that says L and R I believe.

 

[xspsi6]

Correct^^

 

[atalarico]

Dang! I could have sworn I looked all up and down the inside of the wiper arms at the markings. I thought all I saw were numbers (that were the same between the both of them), but I'll go check again for an L and R. Thanks!

 

[atalarico]

So, funny story, there aren't any L or R markings on the inside of the wiper arms. They both have the same markings. Thoughts? Is one supposed to be longer than the other/can i just go off of that?

 

[TheDurk]

My '99 calls for p/n 85211-35080 on the right side and p/n and p/n 85221-35080 on the left. When the blade is on, you can see the driver's side blade makes a greater angle to the arm. The blade on the passenger side is closer to a straight line with the wiper arm.

 

[atalarico]

My '99 calls for p/n 85211-35080 on the right side and p/n and p/n 85221-35080 on the left. When the blade is on, you can see the driver's side blade makes a greater angle to the arm. The blade on the passenger side is closer to a straight line with the wiper arm.

Do you think those part numbers are stamped somewhere on the arms? I guess that's the trick of living in a dry environment like Denver, I've been waiting for it to rain or snow so I can see if there's that big of a difference. Maybe tomorrow...

(also, Durk, I noticed the Brazilian references in your signature. I lived in BH for about 9 months in 2005-2006. I would *love* to off-road there. Thanks for giving me the saudades.)

 

[TheDurk]

Do you think those part numbers are stamped somewhere on the arms? I guess that's the trick of living in a dry environment like Denver, I've been waiting for it to rain or snow so I can see if there's that big of a difference. Maybe tomorrow...

(also, Durk, I noticed the Brazilian references in your signature. I lived in BH for about 9 months in 2005-2006. I would *love* to off-road there. Thanks for giving me the saudades.)

I've had a lot of fun off-road in Minas Gerais, at both ends of the State (towards São Paulo and towards Goiás). Well, actually, much of it was 'on-road' in places where that is tougher than a lot of American 'off-road.' BH itself is too civilized, but I spent a lot of time there on business.

I didn't see the p/n's on the arms. I looked. But I think if you put them on the wrong sides, the angle of the blades to the bottom of the windshield will show to be dramatically wrong. Just do it, you'll see.

 

[jeremyc74]

Do you think those part numbers are stamped somewhere on the arms?

The one in that photo has a 5521 on it, see if the other one has a 5511. Based on what Durk posted I'd bet the 11 goes on the right and the 21 goes on the left. The part number has probably just incremented due to a revision or some other minor change.

 

[atalarico]

I've had a lot of fun off-road in Minas Gerais, at both ends of the State (towards São Paulo and towards Goiás). Well, actually, much of it was 'on-road' in places where that is tougher than a lot of American 'off-road.' BH itself is too civilized, but I spent a lot of time there on business.

I didn't see the p/n's on the arms. I looked. But I think if you put them on the wrong sides, the angle of the blades to the bottom of the windshield will show to be dramatically wrong. Just do it, you'll see.

Oh, sweet! I went climbing in Cerro do Cipo state park while I was there, but yeah, it's a neat country and it was a big part of my life for a few years there. I still want to go back. I definitely remember some of the "roads" while I was there being prettyyyy gnarly for being normal "roads".

I did spend some time in Goiania visiting my ex g/f's family. Such a dramatically different part of the country, and a great reminder that the country itself is as big as the contiguous US.

Annnnyyyyway...

The one in that photo has a 5521 on it, see if the other one has a 5511. Based on what Durk posted I'd bet the 11 goes on the right and the 21 goes on the left. The part number has probably just incremented due to a revision or some other minor change.

Now that's some logic! Good call. I could have sworn they both had matching numbers, but I'll pull 'em off again to check. Other than that, I'll just look at the angles I guess. I kind of think I have them backwards now. Hah. Trust me, I'm going to label them with a sharpie once I figure this out.

Thanks!

 

[TheDurk]

The one in that photo has a 5521 on it, see if the other one has a 5511. Based on what Durk posted I'd bet the 11 goes on the right and the 21 goes on the left. The part number has probably just incremented due to a revision or some other minor change.

Well, you have a good idea, but it's backwards. Now that it's daylight, I can see mine is marked 5521 on the right (passenger) side, and 5520 on the left (driver's).

 

[jeremyc74]

Well, you have a good idea, but it's backwards. Now that it's daylight, I can see mine is marked 5521 on the right (passenger) side, and 5520 on the left (driver's).

Hmmm....strange that those numbers don't correlate at all with the actual part number. I wonder if that PN is just for the section of the arm it's stamped into.

Either way, I guess that's problem solved.

 

[atalarico]

Sweet, so I put the 5521 on the passenger's side and the 5520 on the driver's side. I think that's actually backwards from what it was before, so I wonder if that explains some of the funkiness I've had with windshield wiper performance.

I cracked the stupid windshield wiper arm nut cover thing though, so I get to add that to the "small parts to replace next time I get to a dealership" list.

Thanks for the help all.

Just in case anyone runs into this in the future...(and to help the SEO terms in this thread)

Driver's side windshield wiper arm is 5520 and the passenger's side windshield wiper arm is 5521.

 

[atalarico]

After some research online it looks like most parts suppliers list 5520 as the passenger side. Whoops.

 

[atalarico]

Anyone else have any insight on this? I still can't quite make heads or tails of this and it seems so damn simple.