The windshield wipers leave about a 4 inch wide vertical strip on the left side of the windshield that's not being swept. So when snow gets pushed there, that strip plus the driver's side door post makes for a good sized blind spot, particularly when turning left. I had my dealer's service department take a look at it to see whether the sweep could be adjusted, but the shafts are keyed, so that couldn't be done.
Does anyone else have this problem?

 

Yes, mine does as well and my service department had the same answer.

 

I have read about this somewhere.
The person removed the arm and reformed it by hand.
(ie bent it) He said it made a great improvement on the
blind spot.

Hope this helps.

Mike

 

I removed the driver side wiper arm , and used a soft cloth to cover the portion where the small arm is swedged into the portion that attaches to the spindle . Then placed arm in shop vise , and slightly "straightened" arm a small amount. It now "rests" almost horizontal on the windshield , the end now divides the small ford logo on lower center of glass. This makes the wipe to the left about 2 inches greater. wiper also looks better at rest.

 

Perhaps using a snow brush would clear heavy snow better than hoping in and hitting the wipers and expecting the windshield completely clear ?

I dunno about on the new ones but on other fords if you do this and the wipers park against a boat load of snow on the cowl the wiper motor will still try to park the wipers in the right spot, left in this state the wiper motor will be toast pretty quick

Not to mention wear and tear on all the wiper arms, bushings, motor and wiper transmissions, you do know half that stuff is made out of plastic and will snap if over stressed in the least bit

 

That may be so otto but the left wiper on almost all
04 F150 trucks is to far down in the park position also
it is not only snow but rain also that it doesn't clear.

The fix from 1955ford repairs yet another Ford screwup.

Mike

 

Snow!? What the hell is snow!?

 

i guess it does almost sound as if its sitting on the cowl vent when parked, if 1955's only sits in the center of the ford oval

 

I want to thank all for commenting. I really appreciate it.
A note to 0tto: It's kind of hard to use a snow brush while the truck is moving. ;-)
Thanks to all.
Opahujo in Iowa.
P.S. In the morning it's back to the service department. The defroster doesn't clear snow and ice from the sides and top of the windshield when it gets in the single digits (above zero). That makes the blind spot even worse. Will keep you all posted.

 

Hi everybody!

I live in Charlotte, NC so I haven't really had a problem with "snow"....but I did have the same inadequate clearing problem with my driver's side wiper, leaving a 4" +\- strip of uncleaned glass parallel with the "A" pillar post.

I thought I could just remove the wiper arm and reposition it on the splined drive shaft, but when I removed the wiper arm, I found that it had a small key in it that fit into a matching keyway on the drive shaft.....thereby NOT allowing any repositioning of the wiper arm

After closer inspection, it appeared that the key was press fit into (not cast as part of) the wiper arm mounting hub....meaning that it could probably be removed. I carefully mounted the hub of the wiper arm hub in the padded, rubber jaws of my bench vise with the hub opening (part that fits on the drive shaft) facing upwards. NOTE: Tighten the vise ONLY enough to GENTLY hold the wiper arm....or you will bend it out of round!!

Then I took a small awl (or punch) and put it on top of the key, angled toward the center of the hub.....and lightly tapped the awl with a SMALL tack hammer, and the key moved in towards the center of hub. Then I took a pair of needle nose pliers and removed the key with little effort.

With the key removed, you can now position the wiper arm ANY way you want. I re-mounted mine so that in the park position, the wiper stops at about the Ford glass logo at the bottom center of the windshield.....which allows it to sweep the windshield to about 1 - 1.5" from the far left edge of the glass.....which is a HUGE improvement

I don't have a clue why Ford used the key in the first place......and better still, why all the "highly trained" service "technicians" haven't figured out how to correct this problem, as I did?!?!?!?

I hope you find this information helpful.

 

To: fanman2,
You should be given the highest order of a Public Service Medal for coming up with a solution to a problem that Ford as yet refuses to admit that it even exists. Thanks.
Opahujo

 

I'm sure the key is there to add more strength to the wiper so it doesn't strip out if you try to wipe off 2 inches of ice. I've had a wiper blade slip/strip out on the shaft in the past when I turned on the wipers in winter with too much snow/ice left on the windshield. I should have scraped it better first. Having said that, I would imagine you'd be ok with removing the key if you don't put too much of a load on the wiper. I would think clearing raindrops would be fine, but trying to clear too much snow or even a little ice might be enough to strip it / make it slip.

 

Lariatf150.....

I'm afraid I have to disagree with some of your points.....while agreeing with others.

"If" the key is there to "add more strength".....then why is it not on ALL windshiled wipers on ALL cars. I have had vehicles with much larger larger windshields (1986 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am for one) than the F-150 has.....and NEVER had one problem of any kind!!

I agree with you....that if you turned on your wipers WITHOUT COMPLETELY clearing the windshiled of snow and/or ice, you deserve to have a stripped out drive shaft and/or wiper hub.

I don't know where you live.....but here in North Carolina where I live......our State Laws require that motorists COMPLETELY CLEAR ALL SNOW AND ICE FROM ALL SURFACES OF THE VEHICLE BEFORE MOVING IT FROM IT'S PARKED POSITION. That includes the hood, roof, trunk lid, side windows, back window, AND the windshield!!! But hey, when you think about it......good old common sense, and some Driver's Education recall should tell you that.

Unfortunately, common sense is a character trait that seems to be in very short supply in a lot people today

When you get right down to it......I think you will find that this "keyed wiper arm hub" thing is one of Ford's "Bright Ideas" that burned out before it's time.

 

To: fanman2 and Lariatf150

You both make good points. Yes, the key may be needed to keep the grooves from being stripped. Although I think the key may be intended mainly so someone doesn't put the wiper arms back on without orienting them properly, i.e., the wipers hit the cowl or go off the windshield at the other extreme.

Scraping all the snow and ice off the windshield before starting out certainly is a good idea. But after living in the snow belt for over 50 years, I can tell you that's not the real world. There have been times were I pushed snow with the wipers. Also, I have on occasion not shut the wipers off before turning the ignition off. Then, when I started up later, the wipers were frozen to the windshield. It's sort of a helpless, teeth clenching, situation because even if you turn them off, those wipers try to go to the "home" position. When that happens, you can see the wiper arms strain, but none has ever broken off.

Yes, scraping the windshield completely clean would be the thing to do. However, although I'm no shorty, even with a long-handle scraper I can only reach part of the windshield. All that wouldn't be a problem if my defrosters worked properly. But even after lengthy warm ups or hours of driving, the perimeter of the windshield doesn't get cleared. In fact, liquid that gets pushed to the edges of the sweep area instantly freezes into a streaky film.

As far as knocking the key out of the hub, that wouldn't be any problem for me; I have a well-equipped mechanical shop. If need be, I could drill and tap the hub for a set screw to keep the wiper arm in place. But here is the bottom line: After spending about 30 grand for a brand new truck, I shouldn't have to dink around with the windshield wipers or the defrosters.

Thanks guys. I do appreciate that you took the time to comment.
Opahujo in Iowa

 

To: fanman2 and Lariatf150

You both make good points. Yes, the key may be needed to keep the grooves from being stripped. Although I think the key may be intended mainly so someone doesn't put the wiper arms back on without orienting them properly, i.e., the wipers hit the cowl or go off the windshield at the other extreme.

Scraping all the snow and ice off the windshield before starting out certainly is a good idea. But after living in the snow belt for over 50 years, I can tell you that's not the real world. There have been times were I pushed snow with the wipers. Also, I have on occasion not shut the wipers off before turning the ignition off. Then, when I started up later, the wipers were frozen to the windshield. It's sort of a helpless, teeth clenching, situation because even if you turn them off, those wipers try to go to the "home" position. When that happens, you can see the wiper arms strain, but none has ever broken off.

Yes, scraping the windshield completely clean would be the thing to do. However, although I'm no shorty, even with a long-handle scraper I can only reach part of the windshield. All that wouldn't be a problem if my defrosters worked properly. But even after lengthy warm ups or hours of driving, the perimeter of the windshield doesn't get cleared. In fact, liquid that gets pushed to the edges of the sweep area instantly freezes into a streaky film.

As far as knocking the key out of the hub, that wouldn't be any problem for me; I have a well-equipped mechanical shop. If need be, I could drill and tap the hub for a set screw to keep the wiper arm in place. But here is the bottom line: After spending about 30 grand for a brand new truck, I shouldn't have to dink around with the windshield wipers or the defrosters.

Thanks guys. I do appreciate that you took the time to comment.
Opahujo in Iowa

Sorry about posting this twice. I tried to delete the second one, but didn't see that option (other than with the delete key on my PC.)