S40: Windscreen wiper problem

[baldmosher]

Volvo told me that they "only recommend bending the arms to fix a particular screen contact/juddering issue, usually we don't recommend that" so proceed with caution - the spring or linkage would be my first guess. My driver's arm was lifting slightly but it was the linkage that needed replacing.

£20 from eBay if you're lucky, otherwise £40, then an hour's labour with someone who's done it before and has spare clips for the plastic covers

[gatos]

I am wondering if the meat base where the wiper linkage mount, could be bent.

[baldmosher]

Just a completely random thought/moan, slightly on topic, but the driver's wiper arm is positioned excruciatingly close to the bonnet isn't it! Primed to damage metalwork as soon as the linkage fails.... who at Volvo thought that bend in the arm was a good design?!?!

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by baldmosher

Just a completely random thought/moan, slightly on topic, but the driver's wiper arm is positioned excruciatingly close to the bonnet isn't it! Primed to damage metalwork as soon as the linkage fails.... who at Volvo thought that bend in the arm was a good design?!?!

It must have been outsourced, as nearly every V40 has or had the, "Bonnet strike" issue. Luckily the Volvo gods changed the design, so a new arm solved the clearance issue. Mr Wiper forgot that the pivot bush will wear one day and that moves the arm up in effect. Easy fix for around 20 Euros per arm.
I was daft enough to try filing off a section to improve the clearance before the Volvo experts in the forum just said change the arm.

[baldmosher]

Aye, new arms should be cheap enough and the current ones are a bit surface rusty in places so that's probably on my list for future jobs to do when time/funds/can be arsed allows.

[pierremcalpine]

I had a similar thing happen and it turned out that there was corrosion at the base of the arm which prevented the spring from doing its job. I sprayed a bunch of PB blaster on the joint a few times and it limbered up enough that it was able to function once more. You may want to give that a go...

[Phildent]

OK...Many many thanks to all on the forum for all your input on this issue. In the end I took the arm off, put it in the vice and bent it in slightly and....problem solved...it just judders a bit now on the return stroke, but it obviously needs just a bit more adjusting.

Success..thanks a lot to all....regards....Phil....

[kstinius]

I have a 2001 S40, LHD, but the mount for the passenger windshield wiper is in the center of the firewall, so I suspect my findings are the same for the RHD version.

I, too, had the weird problem of the passenger wiper lifting off the windshield at the top of its arc. I believe I have found the problem and the solution.

As I have tried to show in this diagram, the mount for the wiper arm is not cylindrical, rather it's conical. Normally (upper drawing), the short stub arm should fit down snugly onto the conical mount and be held in place with the nut. Then, as the assembly rotates, the wiper blade is held roughly parallel to the surface of the glass and there is contact over the entire arc.

But because of the strength of the wiper arm spring, when the assembly is placed over the mount, the spring tends to raise the stub arm, which is now not snugly in place and the force of the nut tightening down is not enough to properly seat the stub arm (lower drawing). When the wiper arm rotates to the top of its arc, the geometry no longer guides it parallel to the glass and the rubber blade lifts off. (The diagram is looking from the right side of the car at the wiper arm at the top of its arc).





The solution is to simply use a second pair of hands to hold the wiper assemble flat and straight and not allow the spring to lift the stub arm out of alignment (don't allow the wiper blade to touch the glass while the nut is being tightened). Then you can push the stub arm down snugly and accurately on the conical mount and tighten the nut.

I hope this explanation is clear. It took me a while to understand the geometry and design the illustration. I hope it helps someone else fix the problem of the lifting wiper blade.

Regards,

[kieran40]

Originally Posted by kstinius

I have a 2001 S40, LHD, but the mount for the passenger windshield wiper is in the center of the firewall, so I suspect my findings are the same for the RHD version.

I, too, had the weird problem of the passenger wiper lifting off the windshield at the top of its arc. I believe I have found the problem and the solution.

As I have tried to show in this diagram, the mount for the wiper arm is not cylindrical, rather it's conical. Normally (upper drawing), the short stub arm should fit down snugly onto the conical mount and be held in place with the nut. Then, as the assembly rotates, the wiper blade is held roughly parallel to the surface of the glass and there is contact over the entire arc.

But because of the strength of the wiper arm spring, when the assembly is placed over the mount, the spring tends to raise the stub arm, which is now not snugly in place and the force of the nut tightening down is not enough to properly seat the stub arm (lower drawing). When the wiper arm rotates to the top of its arc, the geometry no longer guides it parallel to the glass and the rubber blade lifts off. (The diagram is looking from the right side of the car at the wiper arm at the top of its arc).





The solution is to simply use a second pair of hands to hold the wiper assemble flat and straight and not allow the spring to lift the stub arm out of alignment (don't allow the wiper blade to touch the glass while the nut is being tightened). Then you can push the stub arm down snugly and accurately on the conical mount and tighten the nut.

I hope this explanation is clear. It took me a while to understand the geometry and design the illustration. I hope it helps someone else fix the problem of the lifting wiper blade.

Regards,

Thank you no lifting wiper but I expect that to come I have play in my drivers side wiper blade it's going to help me