I'd suggest cleaning/polishing your windshield with dish detergent and #0000 steel wool. Use a light hand! When done there should be no bumps, nibs, nothing, just smooooth glass. Next, lightly wipe the wiper blade with the steel wool to remove old rubber. You might also try 1 tsp (or more) of Jet-Dry in a ga. of water for washer fluid.
Wiper Blade Chatter
- Thread starter 4ever4d
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++++ for Bon Ami
it's simply road grime and it's inevitable.
hot dishsoap and water, even vinegar have worked for me too.
it's simply road grime and it's inevitable.
hot dishsoap and water, even vinegar have worked for me too.
Kestas
Staff member
I think chatter can come from two scenarios.
One is chatter from stick-slip. I experienced this once in a hot climate, where a wiper chattered and left rubber deposits on the windshield.
The other is if the wiper doesn't flip-flop back and forth. If it doesn't flop back and forth (as I believe it's designed to do) for proper squeegeeing action, then the wiper blade is either hardened from age, the weather is too cold for the compound, or both.
One is chatter from stick-slip. I experienced this once in a hot climate, where a wiper chattered and left rubber deposits on the windshield.
The other is if the wiper doesn't flip-flop back and forth. If it doesn't flop back and forth (as I believe it's designed to do) for proper squeegeeing action, then the wiper blade is either hardened from age, the weather is too cold for the compound, or both.
Originally Posted By: Klutch9
I haven't tried Bon-Ami before, but I had previously tried Bar Keepers Friend, toothpaste, dish soap, etc. to remove Rain-X, and NOTHING worked. Then I bought this stuff from ACE Hardware (online, I don't think they sell it in-store) called GS8 Auto Glass Stripper.
Something with alcohol will also strip it, such as windshield washer fluid, deicer, etc. Rain-X is sold in alcohol solutions, and alcohol tends to dissolve it.
I haven't tried Bon-Ami before, but I had previously tried Bar Keepers Friend, toothpaste, dish soap, etc. to remove Rain-X, and NOTHING worked. Then I bought this stuff from ACE Hardware (online, I don't think they sell it in-store) called GS8 Auto Glass Stripper.
Something with alcohol will also strip it, such as windshield washer fluid, deicer, etc. Rain-X is sold in alcohol solutions, and alcohol tends to dissolve it.
Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: Klutch9
I haven't tried Bon-Ami before, but I had previously tried Bar Keepers Friend, toothpaste, dish soap, etc. to remove Rain-X, and NOTHING worked. Then I bought this stuff from ACE Hardware (online, I don't think they sell it in-store) called GS8 Auto Glass Stripper.
Something with alcohol will also strip it, such as windshield washer fluid, deicer, etc. Rain-X is sold in alcohol solutions, and alcohol tends to dissolve it.
What you said makes sense, but I have also tried alcohol solvents to no avail when it comes to removing Rain-X.
Originally Posted By: Klutch9
I haven't tried Bon-Ami before, but I had previously tried Bar Keepers Friend, toothpaste, dish soap, etc. to remove Rain-X, and NOTHING worked. Then I bought this stuff from ACE Hardware (online, I don't think they sell it in-store) called GS8 Auto Glass Stripper.
Something with alcohol will also strip it, such as windshield washer fluid, deicer, etc. Rain-X is sold in alcohol solutions, and alcohol tends to dissolve it.
What you said makes sense, but I have also tried alcohol solvents to no avail when it comes to removing Rain-X.
The other is if the wiper doesn't flip-flop back and forth. If it doesn't flop back and forth (as I believe it's designed to do) for proper squeegeeing action, then the wiper blade is either hardened from age, the weather is too cold for the compound, or both.
I think this is the issue i am having.There is no rubber buildup to prevent the "flip-flop" leaving me puzzled as to why.The blades are less than 3 months old. I have noticed they are much more prone to chatter while at road speed.
I think this is the issue i am having.There is no rubber buildup to prevent the "flip-flop" leaving me puzzled as to why.The blades are less than 3 months old. I have noticed they are much more prone to chatter while at road speed.
Originally Posted By: Klutch9
What you said makes sense, but I have also tried alcohol solvents to no avail when it comes to removing Rain-X.
Maybe it depends what kind of alcohol. I had checked detailing forums some time ago, just wondering about the issue, bored I guess. Certain posters swore by alcohol.
My thought is that it depends upon the type of alcohol and the type of Rain-X. If it's the Rain-X in the washer fluid, it's probably dissolved in methanol. If it's the Rain-X in the little yellow bottles, that smells like isopropanol to me.
I agree with you with respect to a stripper, though. That would certainly do it. I do know that normal glass cleaners don't even touch it.
What you said makes sense, but I have also tried alcohol solvents to no avail when it comes to removing Rain-X.
Maybe it depends what kind of alcohol. I had checked detailing forums some time ago, just wondering about the issue, bored I guess. Certain posters swore by alcohol.
My thought is that it depends upon the type of alcohol and the type of Rain-X. If it's the Rain-X in the washer fluid, it's probably dissolved in methanol. If it's the Rain-X in the little yellow bottles, that smells like isopropanol to me.
I agree with you with respect to a stripper, though. That would certainly do it. I do know that normal glass cleaners don't even touch it.
Originally Posted By: 4ever4d
I think this is the issue i am having.There is no rubber buildup to prevent the "flip-flop" leaving me puzzled as to why.The blades are less than 3 months old. I have noticed they are much more prone to chatter while at road speed.
One wouldn't think three months is too old. What brand are you using?
The only wipers I've ever had an issue with in all the years and all the different vehicles were the cheapest Tricos, any beam style on the old Audi, and some gimmicky Canadian Tire branded ones on my LTD many moons ago.
I'd agree with Trav's suggestion that the geometry or tension on the arms might not be quite right. It certainly seems that you've tried enough brands of blades. How difficult and how expensive is it to change the arms if they are getting old? How about those helper springs that are sometimes seen advertised?
I think this is the issue i am having.There is no rubber buildup to prevent the "flip-flop" leaving me puzzled as to why.The blades are less than 3 months old. I have noticed they are much more prone to chatter while at road speed.
One wouldn't think three months is too old. What brand are you using?
The only wipers I've ever had an issue with in all the years and all the different vehicles were the cheapest Tricos, any beam style on the old Audi, and some gimmicky Canadian Tire branded ones on my LTD many moons ago.
I'd agree with Trav's suggestion that the geometry or tension on the arms might not be quite right. It certainly seems that you've tried enough brands of blades. How difficult and how expensive is it to change the arms if they are getting old? How about those helper springs that are sometimes seen advertised?
Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: 4ever4d
I think this is the issue i am having.There is no rubber buildup to prevent the "flip-flop" leaving me puzzled as to why.The blades are less than 3 months old. I have noticed they are much more prone to chatter while at road speed.
One wouldn't think three months is too old. What brand are you using?
The only wipers I've ever had an issue with in all the years and all the different vehicles were the cheapest Tricos, any beam style on the old Audi, and some gimmicky Canadian Tire branded ones on my LTD many moons ago.
I'd agree with Trav's suggestion that the geometry or tension on the arms might not be quite right. It certainly seems that you've tried enough brands of blades. How difficult and how expensive is it to change the arms if they are getting old? How about those helper springs that are sometimes seen advertised?
The wiper arms are new less than 6 months old.I am currently using the ANCO series 31 cheap blades as they seem to perform as well as the more expensive blades i have tried,they chatter no less.I think the problem is more than washer fluid or wiper blades as only the driver side is chattering and skipping. Upon further inspection yesterday it seems as though the driver side is, when lowered to it's off position, lying on the windshield molding causing the rubber to stay in an off angle position for long periods of time causing a semi-permanent off angle interfering with the natural flip-flop motion of the rubber therefore causing the blade to chatter and skip in the up stroke and wipe smoothly in the down stroke. Tweaking the arm slightly may be needed or possibly something in place to prevent the arm from staying in contact with the molding constantly.I will make the tweak later today and report back with results. Thanks for all the replies.
Originally Posted By: 4ever4d
I think this is the issue i am having.There is no rubber buildup to prevent the "flip-flop" leaving me puzzled as to why.The blades are less than 3 months old. I have noticed they are much more prone to chatter while at road speed.
One wouldn't think three months is too old. What brand are you using?
The only wipers I've ever had an issue with in all the years and all the different vehicles were the cheapest Tricos, any beam style on the old Audi, and some gimmicky Canadian Tire branded ones on my LTD many moons ago.
I'd agree with Trav's suggestion that the geometry or tension on the arms might not be quite right. It certainly seems that you've tried enough brands of blades. How difficult and how expensive is it to change the arms if they are getting old? How about those helper springs that are sometimes seen advertised?
The wiper arms are new less than 6 months old.I am currently using the ANCO series 31 cheap blades as they seem to perform as well as the more expensive blades i have tried,they chatter no less.I think the problem is more than washer fluid or wiper blades as only the driver side is chattering and skipping. Upon further inspection yesterday it seems as though the driver side is, when lowered to it's off position, lying on the windshield molding causing the rubber to stay in an off angle position for long periods of time causing a semi-permanent off angle interfering with the natural flip-flop motion of the rubber therefore causing the blade to chatter and skip in the up stroke and wipe smoothly in the down stroke. Tweaking the arm slightly may be needed or possibly something in place to prevent the arm from staying in contact with the molding constantly.I will make the tweak later today and report back with results. Thanks for all the replies.
With all the wiper blade complications, I'm tempted to just go "command-o" - i.e.: wiper blade-less....haha. I hear some people "swear" up and down about the Rain X weather beading paste stuff that you buff on, let set, then wipe off.....and it's supposed to bead the water off the windshield, etc....
My recent windshield wiper dillemma occured during a rain storm from Orlando International Airport
The driver side wiper stopped working during a light drizzle.....so thanks to my front-row bench seating, I kinda slid over to the middle seat, and was driving while looking out the passenger windshield which was swiping fine! haha. yea...kind of dangerous
Got home, mentioned it to a friend, he took my wiper arm apart, he was suspecting bad motor, but I was like...surely if the motor went out, BOTH wipers would stop working.....right?
So, he took the whole arm off, I flipped the wiper on, and the motor seems to be working fine......I'm not sure about the inner workings of the wiper arms.....? But he said it looks like the rivets broke off on my driver side....cause with the wiper switch on, the little knob that the wiper arm sits on twists back and forth......BUT, it will not make the wiper blade rotate when switched on.....he told me "in layman's terms" it's not "catching".....
So, what's the dillio..? Do I need a new arm...? or....is there a way of "fixing" the apparently broken "rivet" that isn't "catching" the arm...?
My recent windshield wiper dillemma occured during a rain storm from Orlando International Airport
The driver side wiper stopped working during a light drizzle.....so thanks to my front-row bench seating, I kinda slid over to the middle seat, and was driving while looking out the passenger windshield which was swiping fine! haha. yea...kind of dangerous Got home, mentioned it to a friend, he took my wiper arm apart, he was suspecting bad motor, but I was like...surely if the motor went out, BOTH wipers would stop working.....right?
So, he took the whole arm off, I flipped the wiper on, and the motor seems to be working fine......I'm not sure about the inner workings of the wiper arms.....? But he said it looks like the rivets broke off on my driver side....cause with the wiper switch on, the little knob that the wiper arm sits on twists back and forth......BUT, it will not make the wiper blade rotate when switched on.....he told me "in layman's terms" it's not "catching".....
So, what's the dillio..? Do I need a new arm...? or....is there a way of "fixing" the apparently broken "rivet" that isn't "catching" the arm...?
Originally Posted By: Rand
alcohol wont dissolve the film off the window well.
you need something like
about 10$ at your favorite hardware.
Great idea, bare glass and new wipers.
Some brands of wipers have a reverse-airfoil shape to their moulding which provides some helpful down-force.
I also noticed some winter wipers at Toyota with a rubber boot on them.
I'll be looking into getting the No Touch for sure as I did a steel wool and vinegar cleaning which did a good job at stripping but scratched my side mirrors.
Theres also metalwax but its not the easiest getting it where I am.
http://www.youtube.com/user/metalwaxdotcom
alcohol wont dissolve the film off the window well.
you need something like
about 10$ at your favorite hardware.
Great idea, bare glass and new wipers.
Some brands of wipers have a reverse-airfoil shape to their moulding which provides some helpful down-force.
I also noticed some winter wipers at Toyota with a rubber boot on them.
I'll be looking into getting the No Touch for sure as I did a steel wool and vinegar cleaning which did a good job at stripping but scratched my side mirrors.
Theres also metalwax but its not the easiest getting it where I am.
http://www.youtube.com/user/metalwaxdotcom
Originally Posted By: ahoier
With all the wiper blade complications, I'm tempted to just go "command-o" - i.e.: wiper blade-less....haha. I hear some people "swear" up and down about the Rain X weather beading paste stuff that you buff on, let set, then wipe off.....and it's supposed to bead the water off the windshield, etc....
My recent windshield wiper dillemma occured during a rain storm from Orlando International Airport The driver side wiper stopped working during a light drizzle.....so thanks to my front-row bench seating, I kinda slid over to the middle seat, and was driving while looking out the passenger windshield which was swiping fine! haha. yea...kind of dangerous
Got home, mentioned it to a friend, he took my wiper arm apart, he was suspecting bad motor, but I was like...surely if the motor went out, BOTH wipers would stop working.....right?
So, he took the whole arm off, I flipped the wiper on, and the motor seems to be working fine......I'm not sure about the inner workings of the wiper arms.....? But he said it looks like the rivets broke off on my driver side....cause with the wiper switch on, the little knob that the wiper arm sits on twists back and forth......BUT, it will not make the wiper blade rotate when switched on.....he told me "in layman's terms" it's not "catching".....
So, what's the dillio..? Do I need a new arm...? or....is there a way of "fixing" the apparently broken "rivet" that isn't "catching" the arm...?
If you can get to it a small bolt and nut with a jam nut attached to prevent coming apart would fix the arm attachment problem. Just remember to leave the first nut a little loose to prevent binding of the arm before tightening the 2nd jam nut up. By the way after a little tweaking on the wiper arm it seems to be better time and a couple rain showers will tell.
With all the wiper blade complications, I'm tempted to just go "command-o" - i.e.: wiper blade-less....haha. I hear some people "swear" up and down about the Rain X weather beading paste stuff that you buff on, let set, then wipe off.....and it's supposed to bead the water off the windshield, etc....
My recent windshield wiper dillemma occured during a rain storm from Orlando International Airport
The driver side wiper stopped working during a light drizzle.....so thanks to my front-row bench seating, I kinda slid over to the middle seat, and was driving while looking out the passenger windshield which was swiping fine! haha. yea...kind of dangerous Got home, mentioned it to a friend, he took my wiper arm apart, he was suspecting bad motor, but I was like...surely if the motor went out, BOTH wipers would stop working.....right?
So, he took the whole arm off, I flipped the wiper on, and the motor seems to be working fine......I'm not sure about the inner workings of the wiper arms.....? But he said it looks like the rivets broke off on my driver side....cause with the wiper switch on, the little knob that the wiper arm sits on twists back and forth......BUT, it will not make the wiper blade rotate when switched on.....he told me "in layman's terms" it's not "catching".....
So, what's the dillio..? Do I need a new arm...? or....is there a way of "fixing" the apparently broken "rivet" that isn't "catching" the arm...?
If you can get to it a small bolt and nut with a jam nut attached to prevent coming apart would fix the arm attachment problem. Just remember to leave the first nut a little loose to prevent binding of the arm before tightening the 2nd jam nut up. By the way after a little tweaking on the wiper arm it seems to be better time and a couple rain showers will tell.
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By the way after a little tweaking on the wiper arm it seems to be better time and a couple rain showers will tell.
Let us know how it goes, this has always worked good for me.
A little wear in the bushings changes the geometry just a little and this corrects it.
Originally Posted By: ahoier
Do I need a new arm...? or....is there a way of "fixing" the apparently broken "rivet" that isn't "catching" the arm...?
You need a new wiper transmission.
By the way after a little tweaking on the wiper arm it seems to be better time and a couple rain showers will tell.
Let us know how it goes, this has always worked good for me.
A little wear in the bushings changes the geometry just a little and this corrects it.
Originally Posted By: ahoier
Do I need a new arm...? or....is there a way of "fixing" the apparently broken "rivet" that isn't "catching" the arm...?
You need a new wiper transmission.
The last time I had issues with wiper chatter I clay barred the winsheild with a medium grade bar. Did a once over, then cleaned it off with rubbing alcohol and clay bar a second time. Worked perfect.
I have had to adjust the position of the arm at times, not by bending, but by removing it and turning it to a slightly different position where it doesn't contact trim in the off position. It's a pretty easy thing to do.
Yes i had to do that on a few cars, i never try to bend the arm to get it of the moldings just to stop chatter.
Originally Posted By: Garak
I have had to adjust the position of the arm at times, not by bending, but by removing it and turning it to a slightly different position where it doesn't contact trim in the off position. It's a pretty easy thing to do.
This would work well as i have also repositioned wiper arms in the past only the arms on my GMQ are "keyed" so to speak, somewhat like a lawn mower shaft. Splines all around the motor shaft execpt for a slot in the arm and a matching high spline on the motor shaft so that they will go on only in one position.
I have had to adjust the position of the arm at times, not by bending, but by removing it and turning it to a slightly different position where it doesn't contact trim in the off position. It's a pretty easy thing to do.
This would work well as i have also repositioned wiper arms in the past only the arms on my GMQ are "keyed" so to speak, somewhat like a lawn mower shaft. Splines all around the motor shaft execpt for a slot in the arm and a matching high spline on the motor shaft so that they will go on only in one position.
I was able to tweak the arm by twisting slightly and it seems to have a great amount of effect as the problem has gone away. My only concern at this point is that when replacing blades this coming spring will i have to undo or redo the tweak to make up for a possible difference in blade mfg. I suppose if needed i did it once i can do it again. Thanks again for the many replies and helpful information.
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You wont need to redo it when you change blades.
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