wiper problem

The wipers on my 1995 escort do not park when turned off. Also they touch each other when in use. I have a 20in wiper on drivers side and a 18 in wiper on passenger side. Any suggestions?

I think our 92 Escort has a 16" or 17"' blade on the short side, a 20" on the long side. Even so, if they touch its an indication one of the arms is mounted on the pivot at the wrong angle. It may have gotten skewed if someone turned on the wipers when one blade was frozen to the windshield. With a little prying up while holding the arm 'socket' down on the end of the pivot, I think the arm will slide up and off. The pivot and the inside of the arm are probably splined. If the splines are worn away from the arm, its probably time for a new arm. The non-parking problem would probably be a dirty contact (or covered in hardened grease) inside the little gear case at the end of the motor.

Ditto on previous suggestions. Be sure that the blades are the right length. Even the right length blade sometimes needs to be reversed if it is longer one way than the other. I've been told there is a clutch on some of these assemblies that slip so that the wipers are parking in the wrong place. Or are yours not even parking but just stopping dead on the windshield?

My son now tells me that he "tried" freeing his wipers to work when they were frozen with about 2 inches of ice on the windshield. I will try to adjust them back to where they belong. It does not appear that they are worn at the spline, I tried to remove them already and it is very tight. Also when I said the wipers do not park they stop at the bottom of the windshield always, but about 3 inches high. Thanks for the advice!

If it was too high at the bottom of the windshield, was it also going too far to the side? Hopefully repositioning them on the drive shaft will get it.