Wiper Arm Aftermarket MOD

[JohnnyC]

Hello

My 74’ wiper arm has seen better days several years ago. It has spun on the shaft a few times and there’s only so many time you can get the splines back with a file lol


So looking at options for new arms (or new to me) for the upper mounted wiper arms... I’ve decided on finding an aftermarket replacement. You can buy the bit earlier oem with adjustable blade angle arm… or aftermarket adjustable arm. I have seen guys use the black VW super beetle arms as well but they are too long.


I had seen these ‘silver/gray’ arms before and decided to give it a go. They are from a 70-72’ VW Bug (Not super beetle) I also grabbed the 11” blades to go with them. Picked up arms and blades from VW Parts for Vintage Volkswagens, Shop for VW Beetle, VW Ghia, VW Bus • VW Parts from So Cal Imports


Differences from OEM:


1) A little shorter but not by too much ... I think it was 3/8"

2) J hook (9x3) the smaller J hook

3) Angle of blade a tad off


Parts ordered:

Part #: 200955411 Wiper blades silver 65’-71’ bug 11” long ( $ 9.95 for the pair)

Part #: 111955408B silver wiper arm 70’-72’ right side x 2 ($ 21.58 for the two)

Part #: 211955275A wiper arm shaft cover 70’-79’ bug x 2 ( $ 2.30 for two)



Even thou the arm is smaller it still sweeps centered good. I could have went to 12” blades easy enough but… had 11” on before with oem and wanted to ‘see’ J how the oem looking blades worked and looked.


Overall I am very pleased with the mod. The blades are not as beafy as the oem toyota ones… but… think will fair well even in snow (time will tell and will update with an extended review of them)


The arms went on perfectly and used the oem retaining nut. The arm I put in a vise and gave it about a 5 deg more bend … maybe not even that much… it was slight. I also picked up the bug wiper arm shaft rubber seal. They were out of stock at So. Cal. Imports so went with a generic place from ebay that had free shipping on the two little pieces. These needed more mods then the arms. I shaved down the height and drilled out to fit on the shaft of the toyota. The oem toyota seal seals better close to the shaft as these seal around the nut as well. I kept one side the oem and the other side the VW seal… just to see how it fairs.


Very happy with the service from So. Cal. Imports , customer service is outstanding and they are very ‘bug’ knowledgeable

A cheaper alternative to OEM (pre 72') $50 per arm ... and $40 per arm aftermarket adjustable

ARMS:

11" Blades

Shaft Covers:

 

[JohnnyC]

modded shaft cover

Mounted on truck:

Shaft without cover:

Cover and Arm:

old OEM shaft cover:

 

[JohnnyC]

new arms:

 

[JohnnyC]

can very easily go with 12" blades

 

[steffan]

Very nice

 

[JuanJ]

Hello,

Very well done.

Forgive me if I ask something obvious here, but did you grease the arms and splines? It helped me with rust on mine.







Juan

 

[2fpower]

bookmarked page. Great idea.

 

[swelltimes]

Nice fix, buddy!

 

[John McVicker]

Good job. Do you think these would work on '75 & later models that sit at the bottom of the glass?

 

[Hilux safari]

Can someone explain the differences in wiper arms depending on the year? I have a '67 FJ45v with the motor under the windshield. I was looking at the arms from 69-up, but I was told by Cruisercorps that they would not fit. Why?

 

[NYIronPig]

Just went this very route for my wiper fix/upgrade. Great work here @JohnnyC

 

[franklin40]

old thread i know but valuable info. @JohnnyC or anyone else who has done this swap did you use the VW wipers because they were better or because they were available and fit? i currently have OEM wipers on my early 72 fj40 but they are barely useful. i’m looking for an upgrade and while i like that more modern wipers can be used the the be arms i want to make sure they actually function better too!

 

[JohnnyC]

I did it as an easier cheaper replacement … the newer style j hook

The wipers them selves are very oem in look and very easy to swap out replacement blade within them

I have since went with 12” Bosch wipers on the beetle arms but had to make a 3d print clip eventually because one that came with the beetle wipers eventually cracked after a few years … just on one of them

 

[JohnnyC]

Btw they work really well… my own ones were slipping past on the oem arms… these no slip

 

[hobbes]

My 1974s are a bit different and are supposed to rest parallel to the roof. Just my springs were weak, so I swapped in the VW springs on my old arms since I liked the original look better. So far so good. It just depends on you needs (maximum originality, bad splines, weak springs, wiper availability, etc).

Post 24 has photos.

How good are your wipers?

I have learn my lesson over the years. Having to drive hundreds of miles, hour after hour in the rain or snow to get to work. There is nothing worse than driving a bucket truck and grease off the boom has fell down on the windshield and smeared . So I am very OCD about a clean windshield...

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