I hit a bird, a big bird, doing 90, it bent part of the ARM, not the blade, the normal piece you replace, but the middle piece in the whole assembly. How do I go about changin this out?

 

Not hard. Run over to your local Ford dealer and get a new arm. I recall paying about $16 for the driver's side arm about two years ago. Be certain to specify which side you need, as the driver's side is a different shape than the passenger side.

Pry off the plastic cap at the base of the arm, and use a socket wrench to remove the now-visible mounting nut. Now pull the arm off the shaft. The shaft is finely splined and bites into the arm to hold it in place. The arm may be stubborn and require some effort or even a small gear puller.

Assuming the old arm is now off, turn the wipers on, let the remaining wiper swipe once or twice, then turn the wiper switch to the off position to ensure that the shaft is properly rotated to the PARK position.

Feeling a little ****? Here are some specs: For the DRIVER side wiper, the distance from the center of the wiper blade to the base of the windshield ranges from 1.7 - 3.0 inches. For the passenger side, the distance ranges from 2.6 to 3.7 inches. The recommended torque for tightening the mounting nut is between 23 - 29 lb/ft. Tighten the nut, reattach the plastic nut cover, and you're done.

It should take you less time to change the arm than it took me to write this.