1985 Vanagon - Chattering Wiper

[dingo]

On my buddy's '85 Vanagon: The driver-side windshield wiper makes a loud annoying screech on every downstroke (the rubber blade buckles in the center, then corrects itself). He has tried new and different blades to no avail.

Minor, but annoying! How to adjust ??

[vwlover77]

Make sure the pivot points where the arm is hinged near the shaft are not bound up and move smoothly and easily. If they bind, the spring cannot exert enough force on the blade to allow it to flip properly. Also be sure the arm is tight on the shaft.

As a last resort, you may consider slightly bending the arm in towards the windshield so the spring is stretched further when the blade contacts the windshield.

[Amskeptic]

On my buddy's '85 Vanagon: The driver-side windshield wiper makes a loud annoying screech on every downstroke (the rubber blade buckles in the center, then corrects itself). He has tried new and different blades to no avail.

Minor, but annoying! How to adjust ??

You need to symmetricize the rubber tipping movement at the end of each stroke. If the end of the arm where the blade hooks on is not exactly parallel to the surface of the glass at exact mid-stroke, the blade will favor one side more than the other when it needs to be perpendicular. As a general rule, if the chatter occurs on the down stroke, you need to bend the end of the arm in the downward direction so that the rubber blade gets a more passive drag across the glass. I use an adjustable wrench with a cloth to protect the paint on the arm.
In snow belts, accumulated falling snow from long sits can push and distort the blade so it chatters on the down stroke but if you drive a lot and don't clear the snow under the blade so it keeps slamming into a dam of snow at the bottom, then it will chatter in the up direction.

Also, before you actually bend the end of the arms, make sure that the midpoint of the arms has not been squished down by people leaning against them or anything. Pull the middle of the arm out while you hold the blade against the glass, this will sometimes automatically reorient the blade to perfecto perpendicularo.

Ah yes, the science of dippy little moments. . .

[dingo]

Thanks...will try out those suggestions.