Menu toggle

Windscreen wiper arms

Charles, strange response from OPC Exeter I have just brought a pair of new wiper arms from OPC Colchester 3 weeks ago they had 1 in stock and ordered 1 in for me.

True they no longer make the arms for a 1987 model but the 1988 ones are exactly the same (only shiney !!)[:D]

I unfortunatly don't keep the car at home nor the spares, I have the old ones in the new packeging at the garage let me know if you would like the part nos of them, might not be able to get there untill Sat. though.

Andy
 
Okay, really daft question here, but how do you get the arms off?

I keep meaning to take mine off to refurbish them, and tried to get the rear arm off. I took the plastic cap off, undid the nut, then pretty much expected the arm to come off.

I jiggled it around but it didn't budge, and I didn't want to force it as it's mounted in the glass.

I've taken them off other cars before so am I just being really stupid and missing something fundamentally simple in this case or do I just need to exercise a bit more brute force?
 

ORIGINAL: psi

I noticed the wiper on the back of my 944 says FORD. Looks like a late 80's Escort arm to me. thought somebody had been a cheapskate or lazy...so proved right but now on the search for an original or happily accept a non OEM rear wiper if anybody has one.
Click to expand...

I do definitely have a spare rear wiper arm, if you want it. It'll be an awkward bugger to post, but far from impossible.


ORIGINAL: Wigeon Incognito

I jiggled it around but it didn't budge, and I didn't want to force it as it's mounted in the glass.
Click to expand...

My memory is fuzzy on this, but I think I had to attack it from beneath as well as on top"”take the plastic cover off the motor assembly and undo everything under there too. Mind you, I wasn't worried about putting it back because I was deleting the whole shebang.
 
The wiper arms, as per most cars, are mounted on splined and tapered spindles. Remove the nut, but put the nut back on by just one thread, so if the arm does come off suddenly, you dont go flying accross your garage. Brute force is required in a sort of rocking/pulling action. Although tempting, dont twist off, as you will damage the tiny splines. If they are really seized, you may need a little two legged puller fit for purpose.

I took the refurb route. Sand with wet 1200 grit paper, dry off, use panel wipe, prime and spray satin black. Satin being halfway house between gloss/matt. I found the best way to spray wiper arms is to suspend from wire through the spindle holes. Watch for paint runs, just loads of repeated thin coats in a warm and dust free environment.

With the arms off, soak the nut caps in ArmourAll so they are black again and not scorched grey!

Finish off with some new Bosch wiper blades; naturally [;)]
 
The problem with refurbishing the current arms is that the springs have slackened off considerably over the years leading to much reduced performance at high speed. I've currently replaced my passenger side arm with a brand new arm off a VW Lupo GTI in an attempt to upgrade to a modern arm with the new flat blade (not the ebay ones). The difference i've noticed with the new arm is that it works so much better at high speed as the spring is noticably and significantly stronger than my original ones.

The only fly in the ointment in my little wiper arm project is that last time I use the wiper blades in the wet at high speed I noticed that the spring ever-so slightly scrapes on the windscreen - it just catches it and makes a bit of a squeaking noise. I had noticed there wasn't alot of clearance with the spring and the windscreen, but it did clear, however it seems that at motorway speeds it does sometimes catch. This doesn't happen at low speeds but does at high speeds as I guess the aerodynamic forces are pushing the arm onto the windscreen enough to use up the slither of clearance I had. I'm currently still testing the arm out before going the whole hog and replacing the drivers side arm. I'm hoping the drivers side arm wont suffer the same problem as the angle of the arm to the windscreen is different due to the curvature of the windscreen. I'm constantly looking out for other alternatives on modern cars and my scrutiny of cars windscreen wipers as I walk through the car park at work could look quite suspicious to a passer-by!

The biggest problem with finding other wiper arms that are suitable to use is the 45 degree kink right at the bottom of the arm where it bolts onto mechanism. This seems to be quite a unique feature on the 944 which i've not seen on any modern cars.
 
Thanks for the advice, more force required then!

Refurbing the arms was meant to be an easy little job, but as with most things that involve undoing things on a 17 year old car it's throwing up a couple of obstacles.
 
Scott,
What is the rationale behind getting a VW Lupo arm instead of a brand new 944 ones? Are they any better I wonder?
 
Charles, there are two reasons for my experiment with the new wipers. Firstly asthetic - i thought the stock 944 wipers look dated and mine were looking a bit tatty and in need of a refresh. I personally think the modern wipers look better as they are more low profile and windscreen hugging.

Secondly I was dissatisfied with the performance of the stock wipers, especially at speed. I noticed that the wipers have a tendancy to lift at speed which I think is due to the fact the wiper arm comes over the top of the wiper blades and the airflow off the bonnet gets under the arm and tries to lift the arm which reduces the pressure of the blade on the windscreen at motorway speeds. Rainex improved the situation a bit but I was still unsatisfied. I firstly tried the Ebay flat blades discussed on the other wiper blade topic thinking that the blades might be aerodynamically better than the standard ones and counteract the lifiting of the arm. This wasn't the case and they brought no real improvement. I personally think that the modern arms and blades will get around this problem due to the fact the arm is paralell to the blade rather than over the top of it therefore not in the airflow as much. I chose the Lupo wipers as they seem to be the best fit in terms of the length of the arm and the fact there is an almost 45 degree kink in the arm at the root, which you need on the 944 for the arm to clear the bonnet.

The arms are off the VW Lupo GTi (the non GTi models use conventional wipers) and for the 944 you would need two drivers side arms as the Lupo passenger side arm is longer and a different shape and use a longer blade. The arms are about half an inch or so longer than the 944 but use the same length blade (19"). This means the sweep of the wiper blades is translated to the left by about half an inch but there is plenty of clearace.

Currently I have a Lupo wiper on the passenger side and it does work much better than the standard arm/blade, probably as much due to the much stronger spring as the aerodynamic properties, but i've now encounterd this slight scraping problem. Not decided if it is a problem in terms of damaging the windscreen or not as the spring is only just ever-so lightly glancing the glass rather than gouging into it and only at motorway speeds, so have holded off completing the mod and buying an arm for the drivers side as well until I decide what to do or if I spot the wipers off another modern car that might be a closer fit.
 
Scott,

Sounds like an interesting project - you have mentioned it elsewhere as well. I have no major issues with the operation of the standard wipers on my S2, but have always kept the hinge mechanism lightly oiled, so it pulls down onto the windscreen as firmly as possible.

Keep us all posted with your progress.

The scraping-spring problem; I presume this is more complex than could be solved by simply bending the arm a little?


Oli.
 
Oli, I have already thought about that and it could work. There is already a kink in the arm so if I were to bend it at that point another degree or so that might be just enough to give me the required clearance. I'll give it a go sometime.
 
ORIGINAL: sawood12

Charles, there are two reasons for my experiment with the new wipers. Firstly asthetic - i thought the stock 944 wipers look dated and mine were looking a bit tatty and in need of a refresh. I personally think the modern wipers look better as they are more low profile and windscreen hugging.

Secondly I was dissatisfied with the performance of the stock wipers, especially at speed. I noticed that the wipers have a tendancy to lift at speed which I think is due to the fact the wiper arm comes over the top of the wiper blades and the airflow off the bonnet gets under the arm and tries to lift the arm which reduces the pressure of the blade on the windscreen at motorway speeds. Rainex improved the situation a bit but I was still unsatisfied. I firstly tried the Ebay flat blades discussed on the other wiper blade topic thinking that the blades might be aerodynamically better than the standard ones and counteract the lifiting of the arm. This wasn't the case and they brought no real improvement. I personally think that the modern arms and blades will get around this problem due to the fact the arm is paralell to the blade rather than over the top of it therefore not in the airflow as much. I chose the Lupo wipers as they seem to be the best fit in terms of the length of the arm and the fact there is an almost 45 degree kink in the arm at the root, which you need on the 944 for the arm to clear the bonnet.

The arms are off the VW Lupo GTi (the non GTi models use conventional wipers) and for the 944 you would need two drivers side arms as the Lupo passenger side arm is longer and a different shape and use a longer blade. The arms are about half an inch or so longer than the 944 but use the same length blade (19"). This means the sweep of the wiper blades is translated to the left by about half an inch but there is plenty of clearace.

Currently I have a Lupo wiper on the passenger side and it does work much better than the standard arm/blade, probably as much due to the much stronger spring as the aerodynamic properties, but i've now encounterd this slight scraping problem. Not decided if it is a problem in terms of damaging the windscreen or not as the spring is only just ever-so lightly glancing the glass rather than gouging into it and only at motorway speeds, so have holded off completing the mod and buying an arm for the drivers side as well until I decide what to do or if I spot the wipers off another modern car that might be a closer fit.
Click to expand...

Thanks Scott. Nerd [:)][:)][:)]
 
I refurbed my front arms,easy enough. I used paint stripper, then treated the rust then used fine sandpaper, grey primer then painted them satin black(personal preference) 3 coats.
As for the rear, I got rid & shoved a promax delete bung in there.
IMO it looks smoother. Wasn't the rear wipe designed for lhd anyway? It never seemed to sweep right for me. I put Rain X on the rear screen which works fine(at speed!)apparently the rear wiper lifts at speed as well?
 
What did you do about the hinge on the front wipers? It looks like a rivet-design (i.e. the ends are brayed over.) Did you take this out and replace it, or just paint 'round it?


Oli.
 
My wipers could do with a re-furb too. Aesthetically and functionally they are pretty poor. Anyone know where to buy replacement springs?
 
The problem with refurbishing the current arms is that the springs have slackened off considerably over the years leading to much reduced performance at high speed.
Click to expand...

Aesthetically and functionally they are pretty poor. Anyone know where to buy replacement springs?
Click to expand...

I fitted a wiper arm spoiler (from a Mini One IIRC) to the drivers side, it looked good and stopped all lift at speeds into silly figures (on autobahns of course)




 
To be honest,the springs are in good condition so i left them.
I masked the cavity were the springs are,then cleaned around the rivets with paint stripper & the blunt end of a needle.It took the best part of a day to prep for paint,but it 's worth it for the final result.
I've got a full set of wipers/motor for front & rear if anyones interested? don't know how much there worth though?
I'm breaking my black S2 as the o/s jacking point went through the floor through last week! so it won't go through the MOT, shame really as the car is in quite good condition,but I'll get more by breaking it
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Posts made and opinions expressed are those of the individual forum members

Use of the Forum is subject to the Terms and Conditions

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed on this site are not necessarily those of the Club, who shall have no liability in respect of them or the accuracy of the content. The Club assumes no responsibility for any effects arising from errors or omissions.

Porsche Club Great Britain gives no warranties, guarantees or assurances and makes no representations or recommendations regarding any goods or services advertised on this site. It is the responsibility of visitors to satisfy themselves that goods and/or services supplied by any advertiser are bona fide and in no instance can the Porsche Club Great Britain be held responsible.

When responding to advertisements please ensure that you satisfy yourself of any applicable call charges on numbers not prefixed by usual "landline" STD Codes. Information can be obtained from the operator or the white pages. Before giving out ANY information regarding cars, or any other items for sale, please satisfy yourself that any potential purchaser is bona fide.

Directors of the Board of Porsche Club GB, Club Office Staff, Register Secretaries and Regional Organisers are often requested by Club members to provide information on matters connected with their cars and other matters referred to in the Club Rules. Such information, advice and assistance provided by such persons is given in good faith and is based on the personal experience and knowledge of the individual concerned.

Neither Porsche Club GB, nor any of the aforementioned, shall be under any liability in respect of any such information, advice or assistance given to members. Members are advised to consult qualified specialists for information, advice and assistance on matters connected with their cars at all times.

Porsche
Lockton
Pirelli
Officially approved
Oracle Finance
WEX Esso
Collecting Cars
Archant Dialogue
Back
Top