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positioning front wipers "up" off the windshield like other cars?

snail

snail

NAXJA Forum User
Location
North Jersey
okay so on most other cars you can pivot the entire wiper arms up so they are up in the air off the windshield. do this before an impending snow/ice storm or when squegeeing your windshield..

but this isnt exactly the case with our xj's. my question is has anyone ground down part of the arm or modded them in anyway so they stay up in the air?

its not really a big deal, but got me thinking since winter is back here in full swing on the east coast and i remember ice storms and such of previous winters where it was a nuisance to lift up each wiper individually and scrape out the ice. maybe im just looking for an easy way out it :D
 
I gave it some thought, the tj arms do this, I just never measured my tj or xj to see if they would swap out.
 
Fwiw, I used that Prestone "Ice and Frost Shield" spray (basically watered-down antifreeze in a windex bottle) during the storm two weeks ago and I didn't have much ice to deal with compared to what I've experienced in the past. The blades were frozen as expected, but not frozen to the windshield.
 
There is a small flat blade-like metal at the base of the arm that I use to hold the arms up. When removing the wiper arm, this same piece of metal is slid across so the arm could be lifted off.

Sorry I could not give a better discription of the procedures, I am in the Caribbean and the XJ is in the US.
 
X2 - Use a windshield cover. They are all long enough to fit XJ's and will tuck inside so you can slam the door on them. Plus, doing that helps open the door if you have freezing rain. Put a plastic shopping bag over the mirror and hook it on the adjuster knob, they get covered, too.

So far we've had over 13 inches of snow and freezing drizzle since Christmas. I don't scrape the windshield at all now. As for the rest of it, I spray them down with icemelt if there is any.

Finding wiper arms that 1) are the correct length for the blades, 2) fit the studs, and 3) actually in stock as a pair will be a challenge. Its a mod. My Anco wiper arm parts book doesn't list stud type or length.
 
ROKTOYXJ said:
I put a blanket over my windshield and wipers and put the ends in the door. Go out in the morning, open doors and no ice on the wipers or windshield.
Click to expand...


i completely forgot about that! :twak: i used to use a small tarp

i just looked at my wipers quick, and it seems that if i grind/cut away about 1cm of the inner part of the arm it will clear the piece it contacts that keeps it from pivoting up in the air. maybe ill take the plunge and try it
 
I know this isn't relevant to XJ's and I do own one but this reminds me of a cheap little car I used to own that had a great feature. I had a 1989 Ford Probe.....stop laughing Joe. One day when I was under the dash chasing a short I noticed a switch under the dash labeled "Winter" and "Summer." Out of curiosity I flipped the switch to "Winter" mode and when I turned the wipers on and then off again, the arm pulled back off the glass a few inches so the blades didn't make contact with the glass. I thought that was the coolest feature, and it wasn't even noticable since you had to have your head up under the dash. I wish our XJ's had something like that.
 
98NWCherokee said:
I know this isn't relevant to XJ's and I do own one but this reminds me of a cheap little car I used to own that had a great feature. I had a 1989 Ford Probe.....stop laughing Joe. One day when I was under the dash chasing a short I noticed a switch under the dash labeled "Winter" and "Summer." Out of curiosity I flipped the switch to "Winter" mode and when I turned the wipers on and then off again, the arm pulled back off the glass a few inches so the blades didn't make contact with the glass. I thought that was the coolest feature, and it wasn't even noticable since you had to have your head up under the dash. I wish our XJ's had something like that.
Click to expand...

For sure a cool feature, winter and summer parking positions. Good idea, someone was thinking, hats off to whoever came up with the idea and actually got it through Ford management.
 
I just went out and measured the wiper arms, the TJ arm is one inch shorter than the XJ, however the base part, that stamped steel part is the same length and as I don't feel like freezing my ass off right now it looks like the base would fit. Now just maybe if someone was interested in doing it you could drill out the rivet that holds in the S shaped bent steel arm part on both bases, remove the metal extension part and stick it in the TJ arm then rivet it in. Might work and it may be something to pursue in the spring or on a warmer day.
 
RichP said:
I just went out and measured the wiper arms, the TJ arm is one inch shorter than the XJ, however the base part, that stamped steel part is the same length and as I don't feel like freezing my ass off right now it looks like the base would fit. Now just maybe if someone was interested in doing it you could drill out the rivet that holds in the S shaped bent steel arm part on both bases, remove the metal extension part and stick it in the TJ arm then rivet it in. Might work and it may be something to pursue in the spring or on a warmer day.
Click to expand...

something you can do in the winter is find a manufacturer for the arms, lookup the part descriptors for the TJ arms, and see if there is an equivalent arm in a length that is suitable for the XJ
 
so i followed up on this i got mixed results. i was able to grind away about 1mm of metal on the wiper arm so that the entire arm can now lift up. however, the spring on the underside of the arm which helps keep the blade pressured against the glass makes the arm want to pull back down, so you have to hold it in place. it took 2 seconds with a dremel, and i decided to repaint the arms while i was at it since they were rusty.

you can see the color difference of the metal where i ground it down
GOPR0062.jpg


new range of motion.
GOPR0075.jpg
 
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