Quick Wiper Question(s)

Hi all,

Further to the subject, I have a couple of questions regarding the wipers on my 93' Sport....

1) When I turn my wipers off, they often do not return to the "parked" position on the windscreen. Usually, they either stop mid-screen as soon as I turn them off, or they keep sweeping for another half a turn or so.

2) My intermittent sweep cycle seems to only have 1 variable speed setting - not variable sweep speeds (e.g: with slight pauses in between ranging from slow to fast) like it has indicated on the control stalk.

3) I just purchased some new wiper arms and blades, and now my driver's side blade seems to be catching on the metal trim at the top of the windshield, wearing away the black paint (no big deal), but more importantly, making the blade catch and stick on the trim, sometimes staying there for a few seconds before releasing, which could potentially be dangerous for me as I do a lot of highway driving, and in a big storm at highway speeds, it could lead to trouble....

Any ideas as to what it might be ?

FWIW, there is a bit of play in the wipers, and I'm sure that it's just the bushes, but I'm not too concerned about that yet....

Thx as always,

Quarterwave

Before you can address the problem of the blades catching on the trim, you have to get the slop out of the mechanism. Which means replacing the bushings under the cowel. HELP! part number 49445 from Auto Zone, Pep Boys, Advance, or ...

Once the play is gone, you can install the arms on the splined hubs in a position that will wipe the glass and not catch on the trim.

Hi all,

Thx fr the info Eagle. I just finished the job and all is well. Although unfortunately, during the re-installation of the motor and arms, the little "T" joint that links the wiper washer hose from the main line onto the two squirters for the windsheild, broke sometime during me putting it all back together.

Does anyone know of the replacement part name and/or number for this ? It seems relatively easy to put a new one in (just a push/pull thing I think), and I'd really like to get my washers working again....

Thanks again,

Quarterwave

If you can't find a plastic one in the HELP! section at the local, you can probably find one in brass at the hardware store. Measure the old one, the ID of the hose, or just take the old one or a bit of the hose in with you.

It may not be a bad idea to replace the hose if it's over 10 years old, since you're in there anyhow.

5-90

P/N J3210891 "Tee connector". You could maybe find a generic tee at a parts place.

Quarterwave said:

2) My intermittent sweep cycle seems to only have 1 variable speed setting - not variable sweep speeds (e.g: with slight pauses in between ranging from slow to fast) like it has indicated on the control stalk.

3) I just purchased some new wiper arms and blades, and now my driver's side blade seems to be catching on the metal trim at the top of the windshield, wearing away the black paint (no big deal), but more importantly, making the blade catch and stick on the trim, sometimes staying there for a few seconds before releasing, which could potentially be dangerous for me as I do a lot of highway driving, and in a big storm at highway speeds, it could lead to trouble....

Click to expand...

2) Your intermittent wiper delay module may be going out - the one in my '92 stopped delaying - after a short time, as soon as the wipers parked they'd sweep again regardless of how the delay interval was set. I got a new module from a '96 at the local boneyard for $25 and all is well. The dealer wanted $75 for a new one, and the parts lady said she'd seen a lot of them fail over the years.

3) I know you already fixed this one by doing the bushings, but I'll mention it anyway. I had this problem as well right after my windshield was replaced. I got new blades at the same time(glass guy recommended new blades on the new glass), and had the same "catch and release" issue. I solved it in about 30 seconds by taking each wiper blade assembly off the arm, swapping it end-for-end, and reinstalling it. No more grabs. It seems that the hole for the pin on the arm is not centered, and when initially installed the new blades were oriented so that the longer span was to the right (as seen when sitting inside the vehicle and looking at the blades in their parked position). Turning them around so that the longer span was to the left (same point of view) gives you a good 1/2 inch of clearance between the end of the wiper and the windshield trim. Take a good look (bonus points to anyone who can name the TV personality who used that phrase as the name of a quiz show) at your blades and see if you've installed them "backwards" - a little extra insurance never hurts.

If I remember correctly the drivers side wiper is a slightly shorter one than the other. Did you maybe install two of the same size?

Sarge

Sounds exactly what mine were doing [1990 Pioneer] The dealership went throughly over the car when I had the recalls done, and told me that the wiper linkage was worn out, causing them not to operate correctly, exactly as you discribed. I ended up pulling one from a '93 at the wreckers that I found had virtually no play in. Put it in yesterday, and all is well. Pretty easy to do. Just have to have patience getting the assembly in and out. Comparing my original one with the '93 after I got it out, one could see how much play it had that it shouldn't have had. All is good again.
As for the delay wipe, I would think it's a module as well.
When getting blades for mine though, it shows as the front being the exact same size. The '93 when I pulled the assembly out had blades as well, exact same size if that's any help. Where I bought mine I just went buy what they're catalogue said to get size wise.

Hi All,

Actually Rob, I was looking at the wiper blades just last night and I noticed that there were 2 holes on the wiper blade assembly for the pivot on the wiper arm to mount on - naturally, I had just copied the passenger side arm when I had installed them. So, last night I changed over the driver's side pivot and it isn't catching anymore !

Re the "tee-joint", I'm off to my local auto parts store now to get a replacement - looking on line, it's a cheap part (sub $1) so hopefully they've got something that matches. While I'm there I'll check out their prices on the wiper relay modules as well.

Thanks again all,

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

Quarterwave

For anyone interested : just a quick update - the "tee-joint" that I found was a generic part @ my local Discount Auto store for under $2 and was a 3/16" connector at all ends that fits nice and tight.

Rgds,
Quarterwave