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I have a set of stock appearing arms and set of Trico 33-101 blades on my wife's 52. The problem I am having is the arms don't provide enough pressure to keep the blades against the windshield. At 80 MPH they flutter pretty good, at 90 they are bouncing all over the place and around 100 they just stay airborne. Ross recommended the Trico 51-062 arms and I was wondering if they had a stronger spring to hold the blades tighter to the windshield. Of course this is all hypothetical as anyone knows a F-1 won't go that fast, and to do so would be wrong.
Mike, I think the stock wiper arms are garbage. Here is what I did, I went to a junk yard with my battery sawzall and sawed off the drive ***** from a 1988 ranger. I wanted the hook mount wipers as well so I took the ranger arms and some arms off a newer ranger as well. I pried off the 55' ford drive ***** to measure the shaft size. I took the ones I sawed off at the yard and drilled the ***** out to the size of the shaft, then drilled them thru the side and tapped for a set screw to install the newer wipers with a bigger spring.
I got the 51-062 arms at O'Reilly's, they have a strong coil spring in them that holds them down at all speeds. I can take a pic if you need it.
Edit -- here is a pic. The arms are also adjustable for length. I assume your wipers still have the stock knurl diameter (1/2")? are they original electric wipers? I believe the stock arms just use a leaf spring and it isn't worth a darn.
PS -- no flutter at 65, can't say above that. With the barn-door windshield there's a ton of turbulence at all speeds.
Before I drive in the rain at Mike's speeds I have to figure out how to get the cowl vent to hold closed, rain tight. Any experience/suggestions welcome. No, I will not weld up/permanently close the cowl vent, I want it!
Mike, I think the stock wiper arms are garbage. Here is what I did, I went to a junk yard with my battery sawzall and sawed off the drive ***** from a 1988 ranger. I wanted the hook mount wipers as well so I took the ranger arms and some arms off a newer ranger as well. I pried off the 55' ford drive ***** to measure the shaft size. I took the ones I sawed off at the yard and drilled the ***** out to the size of the shaft, then drilled them thru the side and tapped for a set screw to install the newer wipers with a bigger spring.
I may need to try that but since I have a stock electric setup I prefer not to modify it.
Originally Posted by ALBUQ F-1
I got the 51-062 arms at O'Reilly's, they have a strong coil spring in them that holds them down at all speeds. I can take a pic if you need it.
Edit -- here is a pic. The arms are also adjustable for length. I assume your wipers still have the stock knurl diameter (1/2")? are they original electric wipers? I believe the stock arms just use a leaf spring and it isn't worth a darn.
PS -- no flutter at 65, can't say above that. With the barn-door windshield there's a ton of turbulence at all speeds.
Thanks Ross it looks like those will work, I'll give them a try.
Originally Posted by 49willard
Before I drive in the rain at Mike's speeds I have to figure out how to get the cowl vent to hold closed, rain tight. Any experience/suggestions welcome. No, I will not weld up/permanently close the cowl vent, I want it!
Best speed I can do in rain is about sixty as the wipers are near useless. Don't get rid of your vent, even with air conditioning We use ours all the time. You do know when you pull the handle closed it get tight then cam over to lock it closed. If I don't pull ours to the cam lock position it leaks like a sieve, fully locked it just drips a little.
I got the 51-062 arms at O'Reilly's, they have a strong coil spring in them that holds them down at all speeds. I can take a pic if you need it.
Edit -- here is a pic. The arms are also adjustable for length. I assume your wipers still have the stock knurl diameter (1/2")? are they original electric wipers? I believe the stock arms just use a leaf spring and it isn't worth a darn.
Ross, do you think these would fit on a '56? I've hat the fluttering wiper problem for a while, and in fact it was on my mind lately when it last rained. My wipers work well enough to safely drive, by my last blades had to be custom fit with scissors and about an hours work. It'd be nice to have arms that could accept pre fashioned blades.
Do you have part numbers for the wiper blades? Do they come ready to pop on, or did you have to do any work? What is the wiper blade length of the units on your truck?
I may need to try that but since I have a stock electric setup I prefer not to modify it.
Best speed I can do in rain is about sixty as the wipers are near useless. Don't get rid of your vent, even with air conditioning We use ours all the time. You do know when you pull the handle closed it get tight then cam over to lock it closed. If I don't pull ours to the cam lock position it leaks like a sieve, fully locked it just drips a little.
Mike,
I agree with keeping the vent. It does feel like it is closing properly. A trip behind the dash is overdue. With AC and seats installed, such a trip has been on hold, something about not being young!
Do you have part numbers for the wiper blades? Do they come ready to pop on, or did you have to do any work? What is the wiper blade length of the units on your truck?
Thanks for helpin me out....again!
The Trico TRI 33-101 (O'R's number) are 10", same as stock. They are a complete assembly, clip on with no drama. I have also used ANCO 1010's, can't remember if they use the same connection to the arm tho.
One suggestion to stop the "stuttering" or skipping is to make sure the blade sits as close to 90° to the glass as possible. I just twisted my arms with a crescent wrench and now the wipers glide smoothly across the glass.
They call it "flexing" according to the tech I spoke with at Trico years ago. I had that problem on my new car. Fortunately, I do not have that problem on my current vehicle but now I know what to do should it happen again.
Hi Mike,
I had to look mine up...I have wiper arms that were bought from LMC.
I have had my truck in the vicinity that you are talking about and have not had the problems your mentioning. If you are up for changing them, I would recommend LMC.
In case you are wondering, NO, I'm not interested in seeing who's is faster...I know better.
Mike
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