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Old 03-21-2022, 05:35 PM   #1
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19-22 Dutch Star windshield wiper alignment

I know this has been covered in the past by DS Don and others, but since I just did mine today I thought I would go over the procedure for most 19-22 DS. There are most likely some differences between other models and years.

I opened the hood and slid out the generator for optimum access but it still would help to be a monkey to perform this task.

Both arms can be adjusted up or down so they are parallel to each other on the windshield and not hitting the lower rubber part of the windshield when parked. Each side has a round arm that has spherical rod ends and retainer nuts locking them in place. First for the easy side (drivers side)-just loosen both nuts at each rod end using an 18mm wrench for the nut and a 3/4" to hold onto the flat of the rod end. The outer nut is a right hand thread and the inner is a left hand thread. Once I had the nuts loose, I just turned the rod about one turn to get the drivers side wiper arm up a little so it is parallel to the base of the windshield. Then tighten each nut and move to the passenger side arm. The passenger side arm has the same two rod ends that you need to loosen the nuts-again, with the same thread sequence. This is where it gets tricky. On my coach the passenger side rod between the rod ends has a bend in it in order to clear the air conditioning box. Because of this, you cannot just turn the rod because the box interferes with this process. I first tried to remove the nut and screw that hold the outer rod end on and it was impossible to break loose, thus I went to the inner rod end and it is held on by a snap ring. To remove the snap ring, I rotated the notch in the snap ring(opposite the open end of the snap ring) so it was facing up. Then I was able to insert a small screw driver into the notch with the screw driver coming in from above the AC box and popped it off. There were two thin washers behind this snap ring. Once the snap ring is removed, just pull back on the rod end to remove it from the shaft. After that, I rotated the rod one turn and it came up perfectly parallel with the drivers side arm and was not below the bottom of the windshield any longer. I put the rod end back on the shaft, installed one of the thin washers (I lost one) and I was able to press the snap ring back in the groove with my fingers. Finally, tighten the rod end nuts making sure the bent rod has plenty of clearance from the AC box and test wipers. Don't do this with the DW around because there will be many four letter words expelling from your mouth during the process.
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Old 03-21-2022, 06:19 PM   #2
"Formerly Diplomat Don"
 
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Howard....I've done this adjustment three times before I realized what was causing them to droop. I would make the adjustment you described, until they were level, and 6 months later they were drooping again. The problem......the nut that holds the arm on is not tight enough.

My last adjustment, I retorqued the large nut to 70 ft pounds. The first day, I torqued them to 60 ft pounds. I went out 24 hours later and torqued them to 65 ft pounds. The third day I torqued them to 70, pushing closer to 75 ft pounds.

The reason for the three-day process is that the splines on the arm are soft and have to set. Adjusting them each day allowed them to set, before I torqued them again. It seems like the issue is solved, as they haven't moved in quite a while.
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Old 03-21-2022, 09:37 PM   #3
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Thanks for the heads up Don. I will check the torque again-did basically same procedure as you did a few months back. My wipers were not properly aligned from the get go so it was just bugging me how it looked. I wish we could follow these things through the production process on the line and tweak everything as it gets built. It's getting better but still chasing down a lot of random noises when going down the road that just bugs the *&$&() out of me.
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Old 03-22-2022, 03:36 PM   #4
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Same as you, the drooping isn't a huge issue as long as they're not hitting the rubber, but the uneven look makes me nuts.
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Old 04-20-2022, 06:20 PM   #5
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Anybody have their intermittent wiper controls not work?

I have a 2020 Dutchstar on a Freightliner chassis
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Old 08-22-2022, 11:00 AM   #6
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I have a 2020 Newmar Ventana with the same issue. When I was at Freightliner I saw several Newmar’s with the same problem. I thought I was doing something wrong tightening. Freightliner said he thought the linkage was out. Talked to Napanee and they sent me to Wiper Technologies. Here is what they told me.

There could be a couple of issues....

1. The crank arm is slightly out of alignment at the park position. (See #5, 2nd page). It should be facing directly at 3:00 when in the stopped position.
2. The arms were installed improperly. The arms possibly were installed parallel with the bottom of the windshield. When installing Dinn Style Wiper arms of this length it is best to position the most outer blade tip 3/4-1'' above level and then start the torque process. Possibly the arms were pulled down during initial torquing creating the union between the pivot and the arm head at this position. Once the pivot/arm head has created the splines into the wiper arm, even if removed and reinstalled, the arm head and pivot will still find the previous splines and you won't be able to reposition after initial installation. You would have to replace the wiper arm to get a good reposition.

There is never a reason why a repair facility should be adjusting linkages. The systems are adjusted, set, and tested during assembly. Any unapproved adjustments will void warranty due to the timing assembly controlling the passenger side delay to clear the driver side blade.
Thanks,
Sean

Still waiting to have a conversation for him to explain. Don’t really believe this.
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Old 08-22-2022, 11:16 AM   #7
"Formerly Diplomat Don"
 
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I've been messing with mine for three years. I adjusted them via the linkage and they would droop a few months later. We're in California, so they never get used.

Finally, after the third or fourth time I adjusted the linkage, I went with adjusting the wipers. I removed and repositioned them level. I torqued the nuts to 60 pounds, waited a day and torqued them to about 65 pounds and on the third day torqued them to about 70-75 pounds. (I held the wiper and torqued as far as I thought safe without stressing the mechanism.)

The soft metal splines on the arms are what I believe are causing the issue. After this last adjustment, we took a trip to Oregon/Washington and hit four days of rain while driving. The wipers are still in the same position I set them.

Unfortunately, we cracked a windshield on our last trip and get it repaired this week. I'm going to disconnect the linkage and let the arms drop while they do the repair. It's a bear to remove the clips on the linkage but I would rather do that than pull the wipers off the spline.

I know they "say" you have to replace the entire arm, once your remove it, as the splines are soft and can't be reused. I disagree. If the splines were damaged, yes, replace the arms but I've moved them to the next spline position without damaging them.
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Old 08-22-2022, 12:18 PM   #8
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Hmmm. Very interesting. I have had no timing issues since adjusting my linkage and they are still holding fine and I have used them many times since adjusting. Sounds like they are basically saying Newmar needs to learn how to install the arms properly from the get go and I would agree with that. Turning the threaded rod ends on the linkages should have no affect on the "timing" as they are suggesting-it is only making the link a little longer or shorter thereby turning the lever arm on the wiper arm pivot a little one way or the other.
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