Stripped wiper arm shaft (1 Viewer)

[pawnthatdude]

Both of my front wiper arms are no longer making good purchase on the shafts, which causes them to stop working at the worst times. My wiper arms are pretty new, and I've cleaned any grime out of there and used a fresh serrated nut but the PS wiper stopped working again yesterday so I need to do something about the worn shaft. I've already got the nuts on there pretty darn tight.

Since wiper linkage is NLA, I want to make my current linkage work and I am curious what other people have done.

Do some precision dremeling to deepen the shaft splines?
JB Weld?
Add some sort of material between the shaft and arm to get better purchase?
Tack weld the wiper arm onto the shaft?

 

[jpoole]

I think that most wiper arms are mounted on steel shafts and the wiper arm base is aluminum and they are designed to slip in cases where too much pressure is put on the attachment point. The splines on the steel shaft sink into the softer al to provide grip but then, if you turn on the wipers while the arm is held fixed by ice or if the wiper arm is stepped on by a heavy cat, etc. the aluminum will strip and leave the shaft intact.

The first few times the AL strips you can wire brush the splines on the steel shaft to clear them out and then simply re-install the arm and it will cut new grooves in the wiper arm. If this happens too many times the aluminum will have been reamed out and then you can't get the setup tight enough. I've had luck on different vehicles either adding material to the joint or using a washer under the nut to push the wiper a little further down on the arm. I'm not sure what is best on the 80 wiper arms but I'm not sure that the washer solution is viable.

Start by cleaning the splines on the shaft and then if there is slack in the joint with the nut fully tightened you can figure out a way to remove that slack. Don't over tighten the nut or you'll just break the threaded end of the wiper shaft off and then need to replace the shaft.

I've lightly glued a few strands of copper wire on the inside of the wiper arm housing with success. The glue is just to keep the small bits of copper in place until the arm is installed (a dab of rtv can work and you can install immediately) and then when you tighten things down the copper can crush and tighten up the joint. You may have luck with a bit of thin aluminum (trimmed from a can, etc.) if you need to add material. You could also consider the aluminum weld repair sticks or similar but then you may damage the paint on the arm when you heat it up. I would not try JB weld in this setup, instead you want a soft metal that can conform and compress as you tighten the arm on and JB weld is brittle when it cures so it will likely crack and fall out over time.

Some of the ways I've fixed these has been a bit finicky and there's likely a better solution to be found, but they did work at least

Good luck

 

[FMC80]

I think that most wiper arms are mounted on steel shafts and the wiper arm base is aluminum and they are designed to slip in cases where too much pressure is put on the attachment point. The splines on the steel shaft sink into the softer al to provide grip but then, if you turn on the wipers while the arm is held fixed by ice or if the wiper arm is stepped on by a heavy cat, etc. the aluminum will strip and leave the shaft intact.

The first few times the AL strips you can wire brush the splines on the steel shaft to clear them out and then simply re-install the arm and it will cut new grooves in the wiper arm. If this happens too many times the aluminum will have been reamed out and then you can't get the setup tight enough. I've had luck on different vehicles either adding material to the joint or using a washer under the nut to push the wiper a little further down on the arm. I'm not sure what is best on the 80 wiper arms but I'm not sure that the washer solution is viable.

Start by cleaning the splines on the shaft and then if there is slack in the joint with the nut fully tightened you can figure out a way to remove that slack. Don't over tighten the nut or you'll just break the threaded end of the wiper shaft off and then need to replace the shaft.

I've lightly glued a few strands of copper wire on the inside of the wiper arm housing with success. The glue is just to keep the small bits of copper in place until the arm is installed (a dab of rtv can work and you can install immediately) and then when you tighten things down the copper can crush and tighten up the joint. You may have luck with a bit of thin aluminum (trimmed from a can, etc.) if you need to add material. You could also consider the aluminum weld repair sticks or similar but then you may damage the paint on the arm when you heat it up. I would not try JB weld in this setup, instead you want a soft metal that can conform and compress as you tighten the arm on and JB weld is brittle when it cures so it will likely crack and fall out over time.

Some of the ways I've fixed these has been a bit finicky and there's likely a better solution to be found, but they did work at least

Good luck

Solid. MacGyver-worthy tech.

 

[Malleus]

I don't know how much your time is worth, but I'd bet you spend several hours trying to fix this, and the fix won't be permanent. I'd just buy new ones.

 

[pawnthatdude]

I think that most wiper arms are mounted on steel shafts and the wiper arm base is aluminum and they are designed to slip in cases where too much pressure is put on the attachment point. The splines on the steel shaft sink into the softer al to provide grip but then, if you turn on the wipers while the arm is held fixed by ice or if the wiper arm is stepped on by a heavy cat, etc. the aluminum will strip and leave the shaft intact.

The first few times the AL strips you can wire brush the splines on the steel shaft to clear them out and then simply re-install the arm and it will cut new grooves in the wiper arm. If this happens too many times the aluminum will have been reamed out and then you can't get the setup tight enough. I've had luck on different vehicles either adding material to the joint or using a washer under the nut to push the wiper a little further down on the arm. I'm not sure what is best on the 80 wiper arms but I'm not sure that the washer solution is viable.

Start by cleaning the splines on the shaft and then if there is slack in the joint with the nut fully tightened you can figure out a way to remove that slack. Don't over tighten the nut or you'll just break the threaded end of the wiper shaft off and then need to replace the shaft.

I've lightly glued a few strands of copper wire on the inside of the wiper arm housing with success. The glue is just to keep the small bits of copper in place until the arm is installed (a dab of rtv can work and you can install immediately) and then when you tighten things down the copper can crush and tighten up the joint. You may have luck with a bit of thin aluminum (trimmed from a can, etc.) if you need to add material. You could also consider the aluminum weld repair sticks or similar but then you may damage the paint on the arm when you heat it up. I would not try JB weld in this setup, instead you want a soft metal that can conform and compress as you tighten the arm on and JB weld is brittle when it cures so it will likely crack and fall out over time.

Some of the ways I've fixed these has been a bit finicky and there's likely a better solution to be found, but they did work at least

Good luck

Thanks for the ideas. I think I will try the copper wire strands after cleaning it up. I also read about tapping threads for a set screw on the wiper arm, which sounds pretty solid if I need to do that later.

I don't know how much your time is worth, but I'd bet you spend several hours trying to fix this, and the fix won't be permanent. I'd just buy new ones.

Like I said, these are no longer available. Even on that page it says "Link Assembly 85150-60111 - Discontinued"

 

[Pascoscout]

Thanks for the ideas. I think I will try the copper wire strands after cleaning it up. I also read about tapping threads for a set screw on the wiper arm, which sounds pretty solid if I need to do that later.



Like I said, these are no longer available. Even on that page it says "Link Assembly 85150-60111 - Discontinued"

I believe he means new arms. That's what normally strips out. The linkage end is steel so it's unlikely the aluminum arms did any damage other than possibly filling in the splines which can be cleared with a wire brush or small pick.

 

[Kernal]

^^^This^^^.

FWIW years ago I found online an aftermarket 80 series wiper linkage that was made in Vietnam. For anyone who needs a new part I did a search and found this but don't know if it's the same manufacturer (Instant Fit?).

If you click on Applications once on the page it lists all years. I've never seen
this part so have no idea if it's actually available or what quality it is.

Wiper Transmission Linkage - Wllc91, Toyota Land Cruiser 1991-1992

Wiper Transmission Linkage - Wllc91, Toyota Land Cruiser 1991-1992, 85150-60111, 621-53764

www.bestpriceautopart.com