47-55.1 Arrrggh! *%&#&@! Wiper Arms!

[Livemeyer]

Received my "reproduction" wiper arms yesterday from Brothers Trucks. I opened the box and I immediately noticed the wiper arms were smaller than the ones on my truck. I was able to get the new wipers mounted but when I went to put the new assembly on the truck, it wouldn't fit. These arms are too small and won't slide onto the wiper mounts.

Am I just crazy or does my truck have weird wipers or has anyone else experienced this? Just over a week ago I tried to mount the new wipers on the orginal arms and the screw-in mount just doesn't work with any of these new wipers.

[joedoh]

they look exactly the same as the repro ones I get from bowtie bits. they do go on, but i think you need to need to understand how exact a splined fit is, you need to be in perfect alignment (while holding the arm in the "up" position no less) for the arm to slide down the splines. if you are even the tiniest bit misaligned, talking about being square to the post with the hole, it will not slide on.

and if that isnt enough, wait till you see that you got the drivers arm slightly higher than the passenger arm and you have to take it BACK off and turn it slightly and do it again. haha good times.

[nvrdone]

also, mine have a spring latch on the back side under the arm. that must be pulled back so the splines will go on the shaft.
But you could do what I do - just don't drive in the rain!! I keep my wiper arms under the seat incase I get stopped by WSP.

[mr48chev]

Living in Duvall and not driving in the rain means he only drives the truck two weeks out of the year.

[1project2many]

Originally Posted by joedoh

and if that isnt enough, wait till you see that you got the drivers arm slightly higher than the passenger arm and you have to take it BACK off and turn it slightly and do it again. haha good times.

You know, the last thing I expect to do on Sunday morning is clean up a laptop that's been sprayed with coffee.

[Livemeyer]

Originally Posted by joedoh

they look exactly the same as the repro ones I get from bowtie bits. they do go on, but i think you need to need to understand how exact a splined fit is, you need to be in perfect alignment (while holding the arm in the "up" position no less) for the arm to slide down the splines. if you are even the tiniest bit misaligned, talking about being square to the post with the hole, it will not slide on.

and if that isnt enough, wait till you see that you got the drivers arm slightly higher than the passenger arm and you have to take it BACK off and turn it slightly and do it again. haha good times.

So if you have a close look at the first couple of photos you'll see a spot where a tooth came off. I was trying to push it on and suddenly a little shiny metal piece falls off. Looking at the wiper mounts there are twice as many teeth as what's on the wiper arm. They should be able to fit on anyhow you place it. After taking the photos I tried again, and another tooth broke off. I might try again today, maybe with some sort of lubricant. The metal spring tab is supposed to be pushed out when the arm gets pushed on, and that tension is what holds the arm on. Still, I don't think it fits.

I removed the passenger side too, and then, since no wipers would be dragging across a dry windshield, tried turning on the wiper motor for the first time. I was expecting strange, weak, or poor performance from the vacuum design, but what I got was wholly unexpected. I thought the dash mounted switch moved one way for on, and one way for off. What I got instead was move switch one way for wipers to move in one direction, move it back to get the wipers to move the opposite direction. This doesn't seem normal to me. Is it really that in the 50's you'd have to reach up and move that lever each time you needed a wipe?

[Livemeyer]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

Living in Duvall and not driving in the rain means he only drives the truck two weeks out of the year.

I live in Lynnwood not Duvall, but yeah Western WA it can be wet any day of the year. I don't plan to drive it in the rain, but anything can happen here.

[Livemeyer]

Arrgh! $#&*!%#! wiper situation is KILLING my bank account. It cost me to return the reproduction wiper arms. I opened one of the Advance Auto Trico Classic wipers so they wouldn't take it back. THEN, I ordered just replacement 10-inch BLADES only, nobody sells them so I bought a pair on eBay, $10 plus another $10 to ship. The little ****s don't fit either. the metal blade that holds the rubber is too wide. I'll get half my $20 back but it will cost me $5 to ship them back. Grrr....

[1project2many]

This looks like a kluge, but the base appears to be fine spline.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Anco-41-01-.../192874391993?

Otherwise, maybe you'll need to use the base from a set of non-stock wipers to get the right spline count and attach them to aftermarket replacement wipers? Is there a local parts store who would allow you to look at wiper arms on the shelves to see if you can find a close fit?

[Livemeyer]

Originally Posted by 1project2many

This looks like a kluge, but the base appears to be fine spline.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Anco-41-01-.../192874391993?

Otherwise, maybe you'll need to use the base from a set of non-stock wipers to get the right spline count and attach them to aftermarket replacement wipers? Is there a local parts store who would allow you to look at wiper arms on the shelves to see if you can find a close fit?

I have seen a similar one to this on eBay. The end is really to only part I would want to use with this one, however mine are all stainless steel so not sure if this wiper will match up either because that round mount appears to be plastic.