MidwestT4R
Member
Remove/Replace Rear Wiper: Tips and Tricks
I just replaced my rear wiper. I did this because my rear wiper was not cleaning the rear window anymore. It was barely touching it. But based on the threads it appears that there are two schools of thought on how to fix this.
Some folks fixed this by removing the existing wiper arm and modifying it so it presses harder on the glass. You can find a variety of threads on this approach.
Others have just said screw it, I am going to get a new wiper arm with a new spring in it and replace the old one. Since you can buy one on ebay for about 34 bucks some people may just go this route. If your wiper arm is broken or breaks when you remove it then you have no choice. This is your fix.
I thought I would summarize the process of how to remove/replace the wiper arm. Some folks may have tried something else or have a better way to do it. This is just what I experienced. Also, in my case the arm was broken and frozen on so I had to do some extra work. With all this in mind here are three potential scenarios you may have to deal with.
Scenario One: Wiper arm comes off easy!
Remove cover over nut holding wiper arm on. This is just held on by four small notches. Grab the sides and gently expand the cover. It should come right off. Get out your 10MM socket or wrench and remove the bolt holding the wiper on. Wiggle it off or just use a bit of pb blaster to loosen it. Pull it off and, lube, modify or replace (see below for replacement add on info). Follow the attached instructions to put it back on.
Wiper mounting instructions:
View attachment 050006.pdf
Scenario Two: Arm not broken but frozen on and PB Blaster ain't helping.
Remove cover and nut.
In this situation it helps to understand a bit of what it looks like under the wiper.
Here is the motor shaft without the wiper. The threaded part is for the nut holding on the wiper. The tapered spline is where the wiper sits.
This is the rear view of the wiper arm (the brand new one I bought). Note that the metal grommet that holds the wiper arm on is pretty thin and sits towards the front of the tapered spline when mounted.
If the wiper is frozen on and PB blaster won't loosen it then you will need a puller. Using a wrench or screwdriver to lever the arm off may break the plastic on the arm.
This is a pretty common windshield wiper puller. I could not use one like this as my wiper was broken. But this should fit around the wiper motor shaft and around the edges of the wiper arm. You will have to be a bit careful, but it seems like it should work fine.
Pop the arm off, clean the motor shaft with a wire brush, modify/lube the arm if that is your goal and then mount back using the instructions attached above. Some folks on other threads commented how they put some dielectric grease on the motor shaft. This may be a good idea as the embedded grommet in the wiper arm appears to be aluminum. Your call.
Scenario 3: Broken Wiper arm that has to be replaced, but still frozen on.
This is what I had to do. My wiper arm was cracked at the attachment point and frozen on. Some folks on other threads ended up breaking their wiper arm trying to get it off. In my situation the plastic portion of the wiper just broke away and all that was left was the metal grommet embedded in the wiper arm. It was totally frozen on the wiper motor shaft. This changes things a bit as the standard windshield wiper puller may be too wide to grab the grommet. It was in my case. So I had to try a different puller.
So remove the cover and wiper nut.
This is the three arm puller I used. Note that the puller bolt you tighten has a point on it. This was really hard to get to sit on the end of the motor shaft. So I just put the wiper nut back on a few turns and used it as a cup to hold the puller bolt.
With the nut on you can easily rest the puller bolt on it so it won't slip. With the metal grommet being the only thing left you will have to rotate the three arm puller around a bit to get the best grip behind the grommet. You should also use your dominant hand to hold the three arms tight and then slowly tighten the puller bolt. This gives you the best chance to keep the grip long enough to pop the frozen grommet off. Just remember to leave a bit of space between the nut and grommet so the grommet has room to pop off. Since the spline is tapered that is what will happen. It just pops loose. You can then take it off by hand after you remove the nut.
Replacing the arm with a new one
If you order a new arm on ebay this is what you will get.
This is not the entire wiper arm. It is just the biggest part that attaches to the motor shaft.
This is the outside part that you will have to pull off of your broken wiper arm to reuse. You can certainly buy a new one, but why?
The attachment point between the inner wiper arm and outer wiper arm is just an open ended clip. To take the outer part off of your old wiper just pull the outer part down so it s perpendicular to the wiper attachment arm. You can then just pop it out of the clip and pop it on the new wiper mounting arm by doing the reverse.
Mount the arm using the instructions attached above.
I did all this and tried the wiper. It works perfectly. Crystal clear across all areas even in the cold weather we have here. ONE NOTE ON PULLERS: Autozone will lend you tools to use for free. Just put a deposit down, use them, and then bring them back. I could have picked up either of the pullers I referenced. Don't buy them if you don't want to!
Good luck. If you have any other suggestions on how to make this easier just tag them below.
I just replaced my rear wiper. I did this because my rear wiper was not cleaning the rear window anymore. It was barely touching it. But based on the threads it appears that there are two schools of thought on how to fix this.
Some folks fixed this by removing the existing wiper arm and modifying it so it presses harder on the glass. You can find a variety of threads on this approach.
Others have just said screw it, I am going to get a new wiper arm with a new spring in it and replace the old one. Since you can buy one on ebay for about 34 bucks some people may just go this route. If your wiper arm is broken or breaks when you remove it then you have no choice. This is your fix.
I thought I would summarize the process of how to remove/replace the wiper arm. Some folks may have tried something else or have a better way to do it. This is just what I experienced. Also, in my case the arm was broken and frozen on so I had to do some extra work. With all this in mind here are three potential scenarios you may have to deal with.
Scenario One: Wiper arm comes off easy!
Remove cover over nut holding wiper arm on. This is just held on by four small notches. Grab the sides and gently expand the cover. It should come right off. Get out your 10MM socket or wrench and remove the bolt holding the wiper on. Wiggle it off or just use a bit of pb blaster to loosen it. Pull it off and, lube, modify or replace (see below for replacement add on info). Follow the attached instructions to put it back on.
Wiper mounting instructions:
View attachment 050006.pdf
Scenario Two: Arm not broken but frozen on and PB Blaster ain't helping.
Remove cover and nut.
In this situation it helps to understand a bit of what it looks like under the wiper.
Here is the motor shaft without the wiper. The threaded part is for the nut holding on the wiper. The tapered spline is where the wiper sits.
This is the rear view of the wiper arm (the brand new one I bought). Note that the metal grommet that holds the wiper arm on is pretty thin and sits towards the front of the tapered spline when mounted.
If the wiper is frozen on and PB blaster won't loosen it then you will need a puller. Using a wrench or screwdriver to lever the arm off may break the plastic on the arm.
This is a pretty common windshield wiper puller. I could not use one like this as my wiper was broken. But this should fit around the wiper motor shaft and around the edges of the wiper arm. You will have to be a bit careful, but it seems like it should work fine.
Pop the arm off, clean the motor shaft with a wire brush, modify/lube the arm if that is your goal and then mount back using the instructions attached above. Some folks on other threads commented how they put some dielectric grease on the motor shaft. This may be a good idea as the embedded grommet in the wiper arm appears to be aluminum. Your call.
Scenario 3: Broken Wiper arm that has to be replaced, but still frozen on.
This is what I had to do. My wiper arm was cracked at the attachment point and frozen on. Some folks on other threads ended up breaking their wiper arm trying to get it off. In my situation the plastic portion of the wiper just broke away and all that was left was the metal grommet embedded in the wiper arm. It was totally frozen on the wiper motor shaft. This changes things a bit as the standard windshield wiper puller may be too wide to grab the grommet. It was in my case. So I had to try a different puller.
So remove the cover and wiper nut.
This is the three arm puller I used. Note that the puller bolt you tighten has a point on it. This was really hard to get to sit on the end of the motor shaft. So I just put the wiper nut back on a few turns and used it as a cup to hold the puller bolt.
With the nut on you can easily rest the puller bolt on it so it won't slip. With the metal grommet being the only thing left you will have to rotate the three arm puller around a bit to get the best grip behind the grommet. You should also use your dominant hand to hold the three arms tight and then slowly tighten the puller bolt. This gives you the best chance to keep the grip long enough to pop the frozen grommet off. Just remember to leave a bit of space between the nut and grommet so the grommet has room to pop off. Since the spline is tapered that is what will happen. It just pops loose. You can then take it off by hand after you remove the nut.
Replacing the arm with a new one
If you order a new arm on ebay this is what you will get.
This is not the entire wiper arm. It is just the biggest part that attaches to the motor shaft.
This is the outside part that you will have to pull off of your broken wiper arm to reuse. You can certainly buy a new one, but why?
The attachment point between the inner wiper arm and outer wiper arm is just an open ended clip. To take the outer part off of your old wiper just pull the outer part down so it s perpendicular to the wiper attachment arm. You can then just pop it out of the clip and pop it on the new wiper mounting arm by doing the reverse.
Mount the arm using the instructions attached above.
I did all this and tried the wiper. It works perfectly. Crystal clear across all areas even in the cold weather we have here. ONE NOTE ON PULLERS: Autozone will lend you tools to use for free. Just put a deposit down, use them, and then bring them back. I could have picked up either of the pullers I referenced. Don't buy them if you don't want to!
Good luck. If you have any other suggestions on how to make this easier just tag them below.
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