windshield wiper arm failure

keyshus · 06-21-2021, 04:32 PM

We have a 20a14 Itasca Ellipse 42QD. While driving in the rain today, the passenger side windshield wiper arm over rotated and hung up on the mirror. The driver side continued to work normally. I tried to do a road side replacement, but the same thing happened again, so I took it off to look at after I could stop for the day.

It looks like there is a bushing of some unknown material inside the wiper arm that stripped. Does anyone know where I can find a replacement bushing that can be purchased? If I need to replace the entire arm, I'm ok with that but would like to find a lighter arm. The arm is driven by a single post and it seems to me that the weight of the arm may have contributed this problem over time.

imnprsd · 06-22-2021, 01:28 AM

Can you post some pictures?

Is sounds like your wiper "Pantograph" is stripped. The question is how stripped?

When I first bought my RV 5 years ago the same thing happened to me. I removed the arm like you did, and used a razor blade to cut out the metal that filled all the grooves in the Pantograph eye (hole).

This creates a stronger bite. Such that when I reattached the Pantograph the splines held and it has been working for me for 5 years.

Hopefully you can cut some new teeth on your wiper arm and clean up the harder metal post the wiper arm (Pantograph) attaches to and you will be good to go.

Note: We may not have the same wiper system, but hopefully these tips will help you.

The pictures below may help other owners with 2 windshields. And I included a source for the cap that often gets lost.

keyshus · 06-25-2021, 10:27 AM

Attached is a pic of the driver side wiper arm. Note that it is not a pantograph type arm. The problem is that the bushing that fits over the drive shaft has stripped. The drive shaft had material embedded in the spline groves that I have since removed. It looks like the splines are in decent condition.
My concern is that the wiper arm is so heavy (~5.5 lbs) that it causes excess torque on the drive shaft splines and this problem may occur again shortly after I install a new arm.
I would like to find lighter, but still robust replacement arm.

imnprsd · 06-25-2021, 12:25 PM

Wow... 5.5 lbs is a lot.

We don't have the same style wiper, but is sounds like the male-spline-drive-shaft and the female wiper bushing are very similar.

That being the case, and you say your male spline is in good shape, probably because it is made of steel; and your wiper arm is not.

A) I assume your female bushing is mostly stripped. Can you use a Jig saw or a hacksaw and re-groove the inside?

I would also guess this wiper bushing is tapered so that when you re-attach it... you can properly torque the locking nut so it will not strip in the future.

Keep in mind, the only reason it stripped in the first place was because this locking nut was not torqued down right or it got loose.

* I would also use some JB Weld if you think you need extra hold. ...And I can practically guarantee you there will never be a reason to remove the arm in the future.

* So if nothing else, other owners reading this thread need to tighten their wiper nuts to avoid stripping their wiper like what happened to me and to the OP.

* Likewise, if you look behind your painted body panel, you will find the wiper mechanical arm (if you have a pantograph type system -- on older model RVs) and you need to tighten the aircraft nuts so you take the "slop" out of those arms.

B) If you need to get more aggressive with this fix? Maybe, you can get a slotted-pin at your local hardware store for less then $1; and drill a "clean" hole through the outer wiper and thru the steel shaft?

Note: The challenge is to make a clean hole with no-slop... or your wiper will jerk when it reverses course.

And the hole needs to be 1/64" smaller than the slotted pin, so you can pound it in place.

Note: I have never performed a repair like this on a wiper, but it sounds plausible.

However, I did use this same method when I repaired a Dometic pop-out awning shaft that stripped and this slotted-pin fix worked out better than the original design. (See pictures below.)

Note: If you go this route you want to drill a pilot hole with a smaller drill bit first; and then use the larger drill bit to get the precise fit with the slotted-pin.

WatchMeRV · 07-05-2021, 07:30 AM

I would replace the arm with the original arm. There's a company Wiper Technologies, I would call them. Bushing is not replaceable on these arms. These arms are hard to install so they don't hit each other. It's a good idea to carry a spare arm. If you find a lighter arm, please post. Thanks.