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850 wiper arm fix: what is the permanent solution? 850

posted by  Volvo945 on  Sat Aug 27 03:26 CST 2005
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last visit: Sat Oct 12 15:05 CST 2013
[RELATED]

I posted a few months back about the seemingly common 850 left side wiper that lifts off the window as it reaches the apex of its stoke. A few interesting solutions were offered, but no one indicated what causes the problem. I wound up using Bay 13's remedy of putting some weight onto the arm and pressing it towards the glass while bolted in place. That worked OK for a while, but now the problem is back.

So why does this problem happen? Could it be the spindle is out of alignment, perhaps due to a mounting bracket or linkage coming loose? I'm tempted to tear into the cowling and see what's going on in there, but thought I'd get some 2nd opinions first.

TIA

--
'94 945t; '95 854 base








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    850 wiper arm fix: what is the permanent solution? 850

    posted by  steve d on  Sun Aug 28 10:42 CST 2005
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    last visit: Sun Feb 9 18:03 CST 2014
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    Hello 945,

    I Have had good permanent results for this problem by useing the dremmel tool on the wiper arm support bracket fix. As stated in one of the replies, the problem seems to be the wiper arm stop on the support arm.
    Position the wiper in the locked up position, as you would if you were to wash the windshield. Look and see were the upper arm that is now locked up touches the lower piece ( there are 2 sides) when it would be in the normal down position.

    Use a dremmel tool or a regular drill with a burr, and grind down these lower peice about an 1/8th of an inch. You can do this with the wiper stopped in the position were it would lift off of the window and keep checking by lowering the wiper to the window to see if you have ground off enough.
    Try to grind both side equal. For some people, this is very tedious work, be patient and careful not to slip with the tool and grind the window or paint!


    steve d.

    '94 850, 125K, "95 855t, 155K, "00 C70ltconv, 84k.







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    850 wiper arm fix: what is the permanent solution? 850

    posted by  someone claiming to be z on  Sat Aug 27 12:36 CST 2005 [RELATED]

    I tried all the fixes. They were temporary. I used a dremel tool, I bent pieces, etc. After a year of playing around with the arm I broke down and bought a new one online from eeuroaoutparts. It works like a dream! The difference was amazing.








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    850 wiper arm fix: what is the permanent solution? 850

    posted by  Larry P on  Sat Aug 27 08:00 CST 2005
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    last visit: Fri May 1 13:19 CST 2009
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    From an old post on this forum, the problem is that the arm is soft and loses tension and bending it does not last long. Some have filed down the stops on the arm near the joint to allow it to travel further under the spring tension.








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      850 wiper arm fix: what is the permanent solution? 850

      posted by  KlausC on  Sat Aug 27 08:35 CST 2005
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      last visit: Fri Oct 24 10:15 CST 2014
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      The metal arm is too soft and flexes too much. A re-design, or a theft from a S/V70 might work. Remember, it is not the wiper arm but the metal plate that the wiper attaches to that is the weak point.
      I bent the metal plate on my 850 last year and it still makes contact today. At least I think so, my daughter hasn't complained yet!

      Klaus
      --
      98 V70Rawd(108Kmi), 95 854T(88K mi), 75 164E(173K mi)








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    850 wiper arm fix: what is the permanent solution? 850

    posted by  rancher rick on  Sat Aug 27 07:25 CST 2005
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    last visit: Thu Sep 25 21:22 CST 2014
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    Hi,
    I, for one, am interested in the solution to this annoying problem. My wifes 850 wagon has this problem & while she seems to tolerate the situation, it drives me nutz! I have tried numerous fixes but nothing seems to work for very long.
    Hope there is a solution out there in bricksterland!
    Rich








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      850 wiper arm fix: what is the permanent solution? 850

      posted by  dylant on  Sat Aug 27 07:47 CST 2005
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      last visit: Tue Oct 16 15:08 CST 2001
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      I took mine off the car, put it in a vise, and bent it as much as I was could stand to watch. Now the wiper blade tore at the top... I am replacing it this weekend. Worked great for a while!!!

      Have you tried replacing the wiper arm with a brand new one???

      -Dylan








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        850 wiper arm fix: what is the permanent solution? 850

        posted by  Volvo945 on  Sat Aug 27 08:06 CST 2005
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        last visit: Sat Oct 12 15:05 CST 2013
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        I have not put on a new arm. If one has to bend the arm with some force to achieve proper contact then it stands to reason similar forces must have worked in the opposite direction to cause it to go out of position. Having manually bent the arm once, and looking at the thickness of the metal, I can't imagine what forces are at work to bend the arm out of position over a relatively short period of time. That's why I suspect a mechanical issue under the cowl or with the spindle.
        --
        '94 945t; '95 854 base








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          850 wiper arm fix: what is the permanent solution? 850

          posted by  someone claiming to be marty on  Sat Aug 27 10:06 CST 2005 [RELATED]

          When I had the problem, I went through all the same things...

          I wondered if it could somehow be the linkage or something... since the threaded part coming from under the cowling seemed straight as it went through its range of motion, I figured that wasn't the problem. Besides, it was thight, and had never been damaged.

          The passenger side worked fine, the driver's side was the troubled one.

          I compared the old arm to a new one, and found all the angles identical.

          The tensioning springs felt as strong as new, and the pivot point was loose and clean.

          Gentle finger pressure on the arm caused the wiper to work just fine.

          Bending the flat shaft of the arm seemed at first to help, but not for long.

          In fact, almost anything I did seemed to work to some extent, but quickly stopped.

          So I decided (strange as it seemed) that what was really wrong was that the angle at which the threaded stud comes out of the cowling was incorrect. Not off by much, but enough to matter. Combine that with the fact that the drive stud is about an inch long, and from there it's about 18 inches to the end of the arm itself (talk about leverage working against you), and I think you have a system that can fail due to very small variances. But I wasn't about to tear the whole thing apart just to see if I could change things around a bit. Besides, it was RAINING... I needed the wipers, not a design change!!!

          What I did was loosen the nut that secures the arm, and put a semicircular brass shim under the lower area of the arm between it and the flange on the stud, thus slightly changing the angle of the arm with respect to the windshield after the nut was tightened.

          I used .015 material. Still works, even at highway speed... :)

          Brass shim stock in sheets or strips is available at just about any commercial hardware supplier... costs just a couple bucks, and cuts with a pair of scissors. I suppose that just about any material would do just as well... I happened to have a piece of brass shim stock around, so that's what I used.

          You might want to try it before you start tearing things apart.

          Good luck

          Marty
          '96 855T







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