Wiper Arm Adjustment Problem...whats Wrong With It?

[reganlives]

When I bought my car I noticed that the wipers were on the wrong way round but didnt think anything of that but after using the wipers I noticed that the drivers side wiper sweeps so wide that it touches the A piller. After talking to gord about this I adjusted the wiper arms by taking off the little cap at the bottom and loosening the nut on each arm then tightening it again. Anyway, I just fitted my new flat wipers but the wiper is hitting the A pillar again. As far as I'm aware the arms have been adjusted as low as possible so can anyone tell me what I should do now? Is the wiper motor on its way out possibly?

[Steviewevie]

Sorry if this is a stupid suggestion, but it's not just that the wiper blades are too long, is it ?

What are the measurements of your blades now ? I can measure my own blades/arms if it helps at all.

[reganlives]

The blades are the right size as far as I know mate. 22" drivers side and 19" passenger. Previously for some odd reason the old blades were the other way round..

[Steviewevie]

So is the problem how wide the driver's side wiper arm sweeps, up to the driver's side A-pillar ?

[rig-pig]

i thought it was a 21" blade thats whats on mine m8

[reganlives]

yeh mate, drivers side arm sweeps too wide n the top edge of the wiper hits the A pillar. I'm sure that if I were to put the old wipers back on it but the right way round this time, it would still do it. i'm quite sure they're the right size tho as when I did the other thread about wipers other members said they used the same supplier and sizes.

[Steviewevie]

My driver's side wiper blade is approximately 21 3/4 inches long.

If it helps, here are pics of my driver's side wiper at the top of its travel, and at rest.

[reganlives]

thanks for the pics steve.when urs is at rest it seems to be sitting at roughly the same height if not lower than mine. when its straight up the highest point of mine as hitting the A pillar so its defo sweeping much wider than urs. will go and take a pic now.

[Steviewevie]

thanks for the pics steve.when urs is at rest it seems to be sitting at roughly the same height if not lower than mine. when its straight up the highest point of mine as hitting the A pillar so its defo sweeping much wider than urs. will go and take a pic now.

I wondered if yours was starting (at rest) higher than it should be, because that would explain why it's sweeping too far.

On previous car's I've had the wiper arm was just pushed onto a splined attachment from the wiper motor, so you could pull it off, rotate it slightly, and then push it on into a new (higher/lower) position.

I wonder if yours would be better if you repositioned it so that it sits lower ?

[rig-pig]

you might be able to adjust the arm at the motor side i'v had to do this on other cars i'v never been into the 200 motor to look but you should be able to

[Steviewevie]

Looking at the manual, you need to remove a cap off the connector of the wiper arm (it suggests using a screwdriver with its end taped over for protection), then you can undo a nut that's holding on the wiper arm, and take it off. I would guess this would let you reposition it.

On the diagram below you can see the link assembly that the wiper arms attach on to, which is in turn connected to the wiper motor.

[reganlives]

I've already adjusted the arm itself in the past steve exactly the same way u said by removing the cap and loosening the nut but coz of the black plastic area at the bottom of the windscreen, the arm wont go any further down. I'm uploading pics atm mate.

[Steviewevie]

ok, sorry, I see that you did say you'd tried adjusting it in your original posting, my bad.

[reganlives]

ok here we go...

[reganlives]

seems like the drivers side one is slightly too long as well...hmmm

[TigerFish]

When you swapped the passenger and drivers sides over (they were the wrong way round before), did you swap the arms or just the blades? From the pics, it looks like the arms are the wrong way round as there appears to be an overlap in the middle, and it doesn't look like it sits straight either at the bottom. Either that, or one of your arms is wrong.

[Steviewevie]

How long is your driver's side blade from the end of the arm to the top of the blade (i.e. "top" as in your last picture) ? I will go and measure mine.

[reganlives]

I only swapped the blades over not the arms. Previously when I adjusted the arms all I did was loosen the nut, adjust em and then tighten the nut. What overlap do u see mate?

[reganlives]

ok steve...i'll go check... u mean from the middle of the blade/end of the arm to the tip yeh?

[Steviewevie]

I have got no overlap between the wiper blades, at rest, at all, there is a gap in mine (see my pics).

I think that TigerFish is onto something here. The passenger side arm is 3cm longer than the driver's side arm. I wonder if your wiper blade arms have been installed the wrong way round at some point (e.g. after being removed due to windscreen replacement) ?

My driver's side wiper arm measures 47 cm from the top of the hooked end to the start of the plastic cap hiding the nut. The passenger arm is 50 cm long.

Measuring the driver's side again, the top of the blade to the top of the arm (hooked bit) is 27cm on my car.

[reganlives]

its exactly 11" mate between the two red marks on the pic which i've made.

gonna go remeasure everything now....

[reganlives]

Right...the drivers side arm from hook to the bottom line where the cap is is 50cm...the passenger side is 47cm

[Steviewevie]

ok, so TigerFish is right, your wiper arms are on the wrong way round ! Just swap them over (and swap the blades back again) and all should be fine.

[reganlives]

just measured again steve...my drivers side blade..from top of the blade to end of the arm is the same as urs..14cm...Looks like the arms are on the wrong way round. Doesnt make sense tho as the car hasnt had a windscreen replacement ever I think as its an original lexus screen on it but then again I did notice water marks/corrosion on the amp then I did my audio...not had any issues with leaks or anything while I've own the car tho.

[Steviewevie]

Your windscreen could have been replaced with another OEM windscreen though. Or there could be another reasons why the arms were taken off.