RE: Wiper Broken

["Bob Rossato" <bob.rossato@worldnet.att.net>]

> Sounds like you stripped the fine splines that attach the wiper
> arm.  Take that nut off (I think it's a 12 or 13mm), place the
> arm back on and tighten again and see what happens.
>
> If it's really stripped badly, I've found that adding some
> black weatherstrip adhesive to the splines before attaching
> the arm sometimes fixes the problem.  Don't use anything that
> will get hard, you will have to remove that arm soon enough.
> I like the weatherstrip adhesive because it holds well, yet
> is maleable when you have to remove the arm.
>

The splines are probably not stripped.  The splines are steel and the base
of the wiper arm is aluminum, or pot metal.  When the arm strips the valleys
between the splines are filled with the aluminum shavings resulting in a
smooth cone that can't bite into the arm anymore when you retighten.  You
need to clean out between the splines with an x-acto knife or similarly
sharp object before you re-attach the wiper arm.

Bob