Whats wrong with these pictures? Grrrrr...

[Scott M.]

OK. I have bigger problems now. I posted a thread earlier that asked about the locations of the clips for the washer tubes. No reply, but thats alright. I dug through the archives and found what I was looking for.

Now...I think I am realizing that the passenger side wiper arm is from a later model C3. It has the little "J" shaped bracket on the end.

Why, in these pictures, does the passenger side wiper sit above the driver's? The passenger side is supposed to go in first, right? And, when I push the passenger side wiper all the way down to the wiper park bracket, 75% of the wiper blase is hanging off the windshield. Does the later model wiper arm have a dramatically different shape?

Never actually had the wipers working on this car since I got it.

[Tom L.]

Re: Whats wrong with these pictures? Grrrrr...

I can't comment on the arms being correct or not but there is a bit of adjustment in the wiper linkage. It is at the arm on the wiper motor where the linkages attach. I believe the AIM outlines the adjustment. Good luck!!

[Roger G.]

Re: Whats wrong with these pictures? Grrrrr...

OK. I have bigger problems now. I posted a thread earlier that asked about the locations of the clips for the washer tubes. No reply, but thats alright. I dug through the archives and found what I was looking for.

Now...I think I am realizing that the passenger side wiper arm is from a later model C3. It has the little "J" shaped bracket on the end.

Why, in these pictures, does the passenger side wiper sit above the driver's? The passenger side is supposed to go in first, right? And, when I push the passenger side wiper all the way down to the wiper park bracket, 75% of the wiper blase is hanging off the windshield. Does the later model wiper arm have a dramatically different shape?

Never actually had the wipers working on this car since I got it.

The wiper arm with the J shaped bracket looks like the arm for a later year Corvette. I have the same arm on my 70, was told by a local Corvette shop that my wiper door may not close (work in progress).

[Paul O.]

Re: Whats wrong with these pictures? Grrrrr...

Scott

The arms need to be adjusted as Lynn pointed out it is in the AIM.

I did not see your earlier post but here are some photos of original 1971 arms.

Paul 18046

[Paul O.]

Re: Whats wrong with these pictures? Grrrrr...

Scott more photos.

Paul 18046

[Paul O.]

Re: Whats wrong with these pictures? Grrrrr...

Final photos

Paul 18046

[Jack H.]

Re: Whats wrong with these pictures? Grrrrr...

No, passenger side goes down last. In your first pix, I see the driver's side is not parked (touching) the 'stop' that rises from the bottom of the windshield glass. So, that's telling me the wiper arms aren't in optimal adjustment.

Second, the reason the passenger's side has to be the last to park and sit above the driver's side is the passenger side wiper arm presses against the vacuum park switch in the cowl. That touching/pressing is the system signal that the wiper arms are fully/properly parked and it's 'safe' for the wiper door to close now...

Last, I see you have later era Trico service replacement wiper blades. The geometry of the blade holders is slightly different from that of the factory original Trico blade and it's not unusual for folks to report interference fit issues (hitting the wiper door, not laying flat on the glass throughout a full sweep, passenger side scraping against the metal washer tube)...

[Russ S.]

Re: Whats wrong with these pictures? Grrrrr...

No, passenger side goes down last. In your first pix, I see the driver's side is not parked (touching) the 'stop' that rises from the bottom of the windshield glass. So, that's telling me the wiper arms aren't in optimal adjustment.

Second, the reason the passenger's side has to be the last to park and sit above the driver's side is the passenger side wiper arm presses against the vacuum park switch in the cowl. That touching/pressing is the system signal that the wiper arms are fully/properly parked and it's 'safe' for the wiper door to close now...

Last, I see you have later era Trico service replacement wiper blades. The geometry of the blade holders is slightly different from that of the factory original Trico blade and it's not unusual for folks to report interference fit issues (hitting the wiper door, not laying flat on the glass throughout a full sweep, passenger side scraping against the metal washer tube)...

Jack, Don't you mean that the replacement arms(not blades) could cause a problem?

[Chuck S.]

Re: Whats wrong with these pictures? Grrrrr...

Agree with Jack...those blade holders are bad.

The "J" clip Scott describes is likely the clip shown in the second of Paul's attached thumbnail pics...I would describe it as a "5" without the top bar, but I think we're talking about the same clip.

According to the JM, the washer tubes were metal (actually brass) and on one of the arms (can't remember which), the end of the washer tube was soldered to that clip as shown in Paul's pic. It's not uncommon to find the washer tube MIA, but the substantial riveted clip remaining. The brass washer tubes and the plastic retaining clips are, thankfully, available from Paragon.

[Terry M.]

Re: Whats wrong with these pictures? Grrrrr...

According to the JM, the washer tubes were metal (actually brass) and on one of the arms (can't remember which), the end of the washer tube was soldered to that clip as shown in Paul's pic. It's not uncommon to find the washer tube MIA, but the substantial riveted clip remaining. The brass washer tubes and the plastic retaining clips are, thankfully, available from Paragon.

Chuck,

The passenger side arm has the riveted clip with the washer tube soldered to it. I suspect it was silver soldered or at least attached with some process more substantial than the soft solder operation we usually call soldering. It might have even been furnace brazed. Regardless of the attachment method you are right -- that tube is often a victim of maladjusted wiper mechanism and is often poorly reattached. You wouldn't believe what I have seen Bubba do to those things.

[Pat M.]

Re: Whats wrong with these pictures? Grrrrr...

I suspect it was silver soldered or at least attached with some process more substantial than the soft solder operation we usually call soldering.

You're right Terry, the original attachment method (whatever it was) was very strong, but I have successfully recreated a durable, correct-looking bond using common "soft" solder.

[Scott M.]

Re: Whats wrong with these pictures? Grrrrr...

Whew!!! Thanks for the posts guys! I guess I started to panic a little when it looked like there was NO way my wipers could work like that. That's what I get when I have been up way too long working on my car into the late hours of the night! Such a relief.
I am not that good with a torch. What are your guys thoughts on using something like JB Weld?

[Chuck S.]

Re: Whats wrong with these pictures? Grrrrr...

Whew!!! Thanks for the posts guys! I guess I started to panic a little when it looked like there was NO way my wipers could work like that. That's what I get when I have been up way too long working on my car into the late hours of the night! Such a relief.
I am not that good with a torch. What are your guys thoughts on using something like JB Weld?

JB Weld would probably work...it's like a two part mixable duct tape.

I used home store solder for copper pipe. Handle it the same way: Clean to bright metal, apply flux, apply heat to bracket, quickly position the tube, briefly maintain heat, and apply solder. It may take a couple of trys if you've never soldered copper, but those little brass tubes will wilt quickly.

As Terry says, it was likely silver soldered at the factory because there is little evidence around the joint that the joint was even soldered...you definitely don't want to glob it up. Try to carefully wipe away excess solder while it's still liquid.

If you focus your torch flame on the bracket, it will get hot quickly enough there won't be any collateral damage...not that there's much in the arm that's subject to damage from mild heat application like a propane torch.

[Terry M.]

Re: Whats wrong with these pictures? Grrrrr...

It goes without saying (but I will anyway): remove the arm from the car when doing this.

[Pat M.]

Re: Whats wrong with these pictures? Grrrrr...

What are your guys thoughts on using something like JB Weld?

I originally tried JB Weld and it didn't hold long, and you have to apply so much to begin with it doesn't look right. Solder the tube as Chuck described (particularly applying heat to the bracket) and you'll be done.