Windshield Wipers

[JoeH]

Can anybody suggest an alternative replacement for the junk wipers Albin put on my 2004 28 TE. I know there was a previous post on this subject. However I'm unable to find it.

Many thanks.

Joe H
Jozone Way

[irishwake]

NAPA #60-1612 blades. About $4.00 a pair.

[Yearwood]

We replaced them (arms) with Marinco pantographic type about four or five years ago and they have been fine. Don't operate center wiper with window open for blade hangs up and can burn out motor. Be sure there is a five amp fuse in each wiper motor circuit not the oversized 10 amp that Albin put in and hopefully the fuse will go before the motor if they ever hang up.

[JackK]

Like Don I replaced mine last year with the Marinco pantographic wiper arms. They work much better than the originals.

Jack

[RobS]

I went with the Napa refills and Rain-X and am happy with the results.

[furball]

Don or Jack, what length blades did you go to with the panogragh wipers? Did you have to change the sweep of the arm?
Thanks,
John

[JackK]

I'm guessing but I believe 16" blades and yes, the sweep does need to be adjusted. I didn't complete the task myself so I'm not aware of all of the details in adjusting the sweep.

I'll try to remember to measure the blade length this weekend.

Jack

[jemfromystic]

thank you, thank you, thank you! such a simple thing that has been driving me crazy for years and now --an answer.

[Maye Marie]

Here is how to adjust the sweep.

Lift the plastic covering up were the wiper arm fits over the shaft. losen the set screw to remove the arms off the shaft. Good luck here if they have not been off for a while. I had to soak mine with penetrating oil before I could remove them. A light tap to get some vibration going and then I was able to pull them. Remove the retaining nut, washer and gasket from the shaft.

On the inside of the cabin remove the screw holding the wiper motor on. Pull the wiper motor back away form the windows. Be careful too note the order your wires are connected so you can put them back the same way. If you don’t it is a little tricky figuring it out. Two live wires so motor stops in a certain position. It is easy to mix the two power wires up.

Remove the screws on the back side to release the cover of the wiper motor and one more lock nut for the shaft. On the inside you will see the way the arm for driving the shaft is connected to the gear. You will see other threaded holes with degrees marked next to them. Remove the screw to switch it to any of the other holes that give you the angle you want.

Cycle your motor a few times to see were it comes to a stop and the direction your wiper will be going when it starts up. This is so you can install your wiper Arm back on in the right position. Other wise it might go the other way off your window. If so just move it to the other side of the window and you should be fine.

I installed horizontal wipers on mine this spring and increased my wipe area a lot. I went with 20 inch blades. I really like how they work and the added visibility is nice to have. I have to say though; I had to fiddle with them a lot to get them to working the way I wanted to. Then I could not find wipers that would fit that would stay on without breaking them self’s off. Ended up making my own mounting bracket for the wiper blades out of aluminum.
If you were going to do this yourself it would have to be a whole other discussion I will guess there is a better manufacture making a kit than the one I used.

[furball]

Terry & Karen,
Thanks for the great info. What MFG makes your wiper motors? Mine are made by Ongaro. I plan to change wiper arms this fall or winter. Do you remember the sweep angle you selected? Did you break them off by hitting the window frames?
Thanks again,
John

[Maye Marie]

I increased the angle but do not remember the angles I ended up with. If you go to a vertical wipe system then the Blade arms can be increased in length to accommodate the longer wiper. Even with the longer arm and wiper I could still increase the angle for an increase wipe area. I rapped a cloth and taped it on the end of the arm and ran to check the new angle. I used a bit of trial and error method to get what I wanted.

To answer your other question on the breakage, yes I broke the side wipers because I was hitting the edges. So I decreased the angle and they lasted longer but still broke. I then was washing up after a day on the water and broke the center one. That’s when I made my own bracket were the wiper connects onto the blade.

I will take some pictures and post what I did on the vertical wipe. There are a few other considerations you should think about if you are going to install the vertical arms. I will get back and post the pictures so you can see.

[Yearwood]

I saw someone wrote the adjustment instructions and there are different ones for the blades and the motors including the position at which the blades are to come to rest. All in all not an easy project.

The length of the blades we use are...Wiper blades for pantograph
Anco – 22” with stave fitting

Good luck

[Maye Marie]

To change the angle of the blade wipes is very easy. As stated you just simply move the screw for the linkage and screw it in another hole with the degrees clearly marked. The holes are drilled and tapped so the blades stop at the end of the cycle. You do not have to change the motor stop position. Just make sure you install your blades on the same side of the window they came to a stop on before disassembling them. For me on my 2001 the factory wipers did not give you much of an area to look out of. Changing to the verticle wipe I am now almost totally wiping clear all three windows.