Droopy wipers

[TeamReif]

Had a tiny chip on my windshield. Repair guy caused it to crack across the windshield. I know that can happened and not blaming him. So I had to replace the windshield. When I got the RV back, the wipers were drooping. I’d never noticed this before. So I looked back at photos. 2 years ago the blades were exactly parallel to the ground, straight across. A year or so ago, the blades drooped so that the bottom one was below the window. The window repair guys could not straighten them. Apparently the connection to the RV at the bolt is notched and only has so many positions. They could only set it either too low (drooping) or too high. I tried myself and cannot get it to go back to parallel. What am I missing? Both sides drool at the same rate.
Thanks,
Doug

[CoreyinWP]

I have the same issue.

[snowhawk2]

Originally Posted by TeamReif

Had a tiny chip on my windshield. Repair guy caused it to crack across the windshield. I know that can happened and not blaming him. So I had to replace the windshield. When I got the RV back, the wipers were drooping. I’d never noticed this before. So I looked back at photos. 2 years ago the blades were exactly parallel to the ground, straight across. A year or so ago, the blades drooped so that the bottom one was below the window. The window repair guys could not straighten them. Apparently the connection to the RV at the bolt is notched and only has so many positions. They could only set it either too low (drooping) or too high. I tried myself and cannot get it to go back to parallel. What am I missing? Both sides drool at the same rate.
Thanks,
DougAttachment 245756Attachment 245757

Anytime you wipers are removed you need to replace the arm. The spindles create a unique grove in the soft metal when married to the wiper and it is near impossible to get it to work properly afterwards. We had the same problem on two Newmar's and Newmar technicians explained why.

[Dutch Star Don]

You have to adjust them at the linkage. On my 2014, mine drooped since new. After trying and failing to adjust them by pulling them off and resetting (there was just not enough adjustment to move them small distances). I then learned you shouldn't do it this way and can ruin the splines which should only be set once.

The way to adjust them is from behind. You have to go to the arms, disconnect each side and adjust the arm. They have a turnbuckle type adjustment. You have to remove a circle clip to remove the arm, twist the turnbuckle, check the fit and then reinstall the arm and circle clip. One side is easy to access and adjust. The other is inside the framework that holds the motor. Getting the clip and arm off was easy.....there was a lot of "blue" air putting that one back on.

Once done, lube all the joints.

[TeamReif]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

You have to adjust them at the linkage. On my 2014, mine drooped since new. After trying and failing to adjust them by pulling them off and resetting (there was just not enough adjustment to move them small distances). I then learned you shouldn't do it this way and can ruin the splines which should only be set once.

The way to adjust them is from behind. You have to go to the arms, disconnect each side and adjust the arm. They have a turnbuckle type adjustment. You have to remove a circle clip to remove the arm, twist the turnbuckle, check the fit and then reinstall the arm and circle clip. One side is easy to access and adjust. The other is inside the framework that holds the motor. Getting the clip and arm off was easy.....there was a lot of "blue" air putting that one back on.

Once done, lube all the joints.

Thanks DSD,
I’m going to have to try your steps. Just in case anyone is interested, ]I’m including photos of the parts in question per Don.At least I think these are all the right parts. It’s not an easy fit getting to these parts so I need to study a. It before I start taking things apart.
Doug
[ATTACH]245853[/ATTACH

[Dutch Star Don]

The third pic out of your four, is the tough one. You can see the round clip, it's easy to get off, but a bear to get back on.

You can see the turnbuckle adjustments. Once the arm is off, back off the lock nut and adjust. Play with both, get them where you want them and then reinstall both clips. I held the tougher clip with a set of needle nose pliers and then pushed it on with a wooden dowel.

[TeamReif]

Thanks for the tips. I might take this on in a week or two. I will update the post once I tackle it.

[RetireeKeith]

Before you start messing with the linkages (all due respect to Dutch Star Don since it could also be a linkage problem) you need to make sure the wiper arm drooping is not caused by play beteen the wiper arm mounting socket and the drive shaft splines. I had wiper drooping and it was caused by this play or looosenes between the wiper arm socket and the drive shaft. As others have mentioned the drive shaft has steel splines and the wiper arm has an aluminum socket with no splines. As you torque the wiper arm socket down onto the drive shaft splines (using the mounting bolt), the hard steel splines on the drive arm cut grooves into the soft aluminum wiper arm socket to marry the two together. When the windshield repair people removed my wiper arms (my windshield has been replaced three times) , I have observed them rock the wiper arm up and down many times to get them off. This enlarges the grooves that were cut into the soft aluminum wiper arm socket. The proper way is to use a gear puller (a stadard wiper arm puller is too small for the large RV wipers) or some other method rather than rocking to cleanly pull the wiper arm straight off. I purchased new wiper arms (from Newmar) since mine had been taken off and put back on so many times and I could see there was play. The part numbers for my 2016 DS wiper arms were Newmar #119624A and B with a cost of $148. It is only recommended that the wiper arms be taken off and reinstalled twice at most. After that they must be replaced. IT IS CRITICAL TO USE A TORQUE WRENCH WHEN INSTALLING WIPER ARMS. The bolts should be torqued to 65 ft lbs and then retorqued again within 2 hours to 24 hours. The nuts on my arms are 19mm. Replacing the arms eliminated the drooping I had and they have been fine for the last year.

Good luck.

[Dutch Star Don]

Keith, you're absolutely right. If someone has destroyed the arms on their coach, it will be obvious that they flop around by just moving them and watching the splines. I doubt most people have done three windshield replacements or had their wipers removed that many times. I learned from reading threads in the past, that it was a mistake to remove these arms and try to relocate them on the splines.

After replacing yours, saying you eliminated the drooping arms is kind of a misnomer. What you did was reset the new arms in the proper position after your other arms were damaged.

On my 2014, the wipers had ever been removed (before I did it) and they drooped from the factory. After trying to reset them by removing and readjusting them, I found it just didn't work and then read it was a mistake to even try. They were never adjusted correctly from the start. I'm also a little OCD. Mine were not that bad, but it made me crazy to see them not lining up, perfectly horizontal.

[RetireeKeith]

Yes it was unusual to have my windshield replaced three times. It was only a single crack caused by a stone hit but it took them three replacements (at two different service locations) to get the windshield correct. I never once saw them use a torque wrench to reinstall the wiper arms but unfortunately I did not know it was required at the time. When I discovered the problem at first I thought I had a problem with my wiper linkage too. It was not until I looked closer that I realized the drooping was caused by the arms being loose on the spline.

[TeamReif]

I think perhaps mine have been removed twice or 3 times. I took it to the AAA approved windshield place and they replaced the windshield along with removing the wiper arms. They did a really poor job of caulking the edges around the entire windshield so I took it to their other location that apparently has more skilled caulkers. They did a fair job fixing the caulking but that is when I realized the wipers were dropping and the technician showed me that he could not get it to drop into the spline at the correct position. While showing me, he pulled off the wipers. So technically they have been removed at least 3 times. I don’t have a lot of play in the different positions but I cannot get it to drop in at the correct position. That kind of makes me think Dons solution might work. Alternatively I could buy new arms and if they work, I’m golden, if a bit poorer.

[Dutch Star Don]

Yes.....once the spines are created, they're not fine enough to move the wipers in small enough increments to get the correct adjustment. They end up being either too far one way or the other. The only way to get the small adjustment is with the turnbuckle adjustment. Once you're sure you're not going to remove the wipers again. Torque the wiper blade nut to keep the wipers set. Sorry, but I don't have that torque number handy.

Even though the wiper arms are aluminum, I believe, even if you remove them 20 times, if they're placed back in the same position (original spline position) you should be able to tighten them and not have an issue. It's when you try to place them in a different spot, you ruin the splines and make them sloppy.

[Webz]

Left Nappanee a few weeks ago with my 4th windshield installed. (A story for another thread) I asked about the splines lining up and wiper arms slipping. The tech said they now torque the wiper arms to 62 FOOT Pounds. Let it sit for an hour and torque again. I asked him how he held the shaft while torquing? He said the linkage supports the torque.
I've used my wipers several times since then and show no sign of slipping.