Wiper Arm Spring Tension

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Oct 16, 2005 | 10:38 PM

JSPajak

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Wiper Arm Spring Tension

My wiper arms on my 76 F100 seem to have lost spring tension due to rust and/or age on the internal springs. This causes the blades to have less than good contact with the windshield and results in very poor wiper performance.

I see the replacement arms for about $18 *each* in the resto catalogs, but I am wondering of the springs themselves can be replaced. Can I buy just the springs, or should I just open the 'ole wallet wide and get 2 new arms?

John Pajak
61 F100 longbed Unibody
76 F!00 LWB
http://jspajak.tripod.com

Oct 17, 2005 | 01:52 AM

Torque1st

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Open the wallet and buy the new arms.

Nov 18, 2005 | 08:34 AM

JSPajak

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How do I remove the arms? Do I need a special tool like:

http://www.lislecorp.com/tool_detail.cfm?detail=1129

or can I improvise with common hand tools?

Thanks in advance.

John Pajak

Nov 18, 2005 | 10:51 AM

Ecuri

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From: Houston/Hope BC

I remove mine with a shop cloth. Wrap the rag around the base so that it bites under the wiper at the post and pull straight with a very sharp jerking action. GL

Nov 18, 2005 | 02:00 PM

JSPajak

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Now that's what I call crafty!

John Pajak

Nov 18, 2005 | 09:55 PM

whalerron

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From: Baltimore

You can also repair the springs that are on the truck. I have done this to 2 of my trucks. Remove the springs and go down about 3 coils on the spring. You need to bend a new end onto the spring using that 3rd or 4th coil down. Heat the last 3 or 4 coils with a propane torch until they glow red. Then quickly use a pair of plier to bend the coils up until they are at a right angle to the rest of the spring. Heat those same coils again and snip off all except the last one that is bent up at a right angle. Snip it off so that it's end makes a hook. Put the spring back in the arm and you are done. It takes about 5 minutes to do this on each spring and the arms will then work as good as new.

Nov 23, 2005 | 07:33 AM

tomcasino

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Joined: Sep 2005

Posts: 359

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From: Saint Paul, MN

Here are some wiper arm spring tensioners. They just clip on and work great. Go to www.4wd.com Part number W21.

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Jul 30, 2023 | 03:34 PM

jackstar

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But how do you get your OEM springs back on? What is the trick?

Jul 30, 2023 | 09:46 PM

#10

tbear853

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From: The Shenandoah Valley

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackstar

But how do you get your OEM springs back on? What is the trick?

I hooked one end and I think I used a small pair of long nose vice grips to grab the other end and pull it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ecuri

I remove mine with a shop cloth. Wrap the rag around the base so that it bites under the wiper at the post and pull straight with a very sharp jerking action. GL

NOOOOOOOOOO ... Lift the blade end straight out away from the glass, look for a little tab at the base, use a finger nail or itty bitty screw driver to pull that tab away from the base, then you will find the arm is locked outwards away from the glass, this lets you know it is now unlocked from the spline. Gently rock it as you apply pulling pressure straight out, it'll come off the splined hub. When reinstalling it, clock it right, press onto the hub, pull the arm to relieve pressure on the lock tab, press the lock tab inwards, then the wiper will want to rest on the glass, Done.