Windshield Wipers

[njbip]

Driver's side wiper stopped workign and went limp (wind moves it when vehicle moves, had to secure it), passenger's side works perfectly. Is it just the arm or ????

[yogi_123rd]

Your problem is most likely that the wiper arm mount has stripped out (very common).

The windshield wiper arm is made of aluminum. It is mounted (pressed) over a SPLINED shaft made of steel, and held on with a nut. To access the nut, there is a tin cover clip at the end of the wiper arm that needs to be lifted off with a small screwdriver.

To repair, you have two choices.
1. Obtain a replacement arm at the junk yard. Be mindfull that when removing the replacement arm, that the arm comes off clean and doesn't strip too. Use a screw driver and lever that arm straight off the shaft cleanly. The junkie should only charge $5 for this, the dealer may ask for your first born son.

2. Repair the wiper arm:
The aluminum in the mounting area of the wiper arm has stripped out and is now the mounting hole is too big to fit over the splined shaft. Smooth it out. Apply masking tape to the inside of the hole as needed to replace the metal lost. When you remount the arm, the metal splines will cut new grips into the tape.