windshield wiper help needed

[c4fan]

I recently bought my 87 and put new wiper blades on it and now when I use my wipers they catch and bind as they come together in the middle of the windshield. The new blades do not stick out past the arm that holds it so that does not seem to be the problem. Its as if the timing on them is off just a little bit, causing them to catch. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanx.

Lonnie

 

[c4ever]

I know this to be more of a problem on the C3. If the wipers worked properly prior to changing I would take a hard look at the new blade. You did replace just the blade and not the entire arm?

 

[Topless]

I know your pain. I have the same affliction. I seem to remember that if you change to a '95-'96 (I think...someone pls verify), you will not have this problem. The arms are supposed to be angled a little different to fix this problem.

I have not done it yet though.

Mike

 

[c4fan]

Thanx very much. I'll try new blades again and if that doesn't work, new arms.

 

[chuck]

If I remember right on my 88 if you remove the vent grill there is an adjustment for the arms. You may have moved one out of adjustment when installing the new blade. Chuck

 

[wwood]

Just bought a 95 and the wipers do lock up as described (did not happen on my 88). I was hoping that someone would have
alread found the solution.

Perhaps I will need to reposition the wiper arm on its pivot gear.

 

[wwood]

Just found out that you can not reposition the wiper arm on the pivot because it is "keyed".

 

[jester]

On the '88 you can pull the arm off and reposition it to provide more clearance. Also, watch for them to go past the edge of the windshield. They will also behave differently when the windshield is wet. Later C4's had the keyed position so adjustment is more difficult.

I had to readjust mine in a hotel parking lot in Arizona last summer on a road trip, so I know it works.

 

[korvetbill]

reposition the blade?

You said you can pull the blade off to get more clearance. How?
I have just the opposite problem. My arm doesn't want to sit flat against the winshield. (I bought brand new GM arms and blades (95-96 vintage)).

 

[pitcrew8]

bent arm

my 84 had the same problem. i ended up havind to bend the drivers arm so it would come down first.

 

[HPG]

There is a fix for that problem. I found it on the corvetteforum site. I had the problem with my 87 and just replaced one blade that was 1 inch shorter. The fix is to replace both wiper arms and blades. The new arms are slightly offset and prevent this problem.
left arm 10288071
rignt arm 10288072
left blade 22154985
right blade 22155368 GM parts are about $50 + Try the blade first.

 

[safety_match]

check out this article at http://www.corvettemagazine.com/2000/december/wipers/wiperbladepg1.asp
It will walk you through the adjustment necessary...

Safety

 

[Robertwav1]

My 93 suffers from the same thing. I did the adjustment procedure and it is correct, however, it didn't resolve the problem. I believe the problem is actually in the motor itself. The blades start to chatter the longer they are used and the result is timing of the blades goes off. I don't use it in the rain that often, but I can see that the fix might be like one suggested here...the arm needs to be bent so that they don't catch "or" a shorter arm on the drivers side...this seems like a logical fix.

 

[RoadReady]

I too have a random wiper 'chatter' problem with my '96. Sometimes, infrequently, the Trico Exacti-Fit blades seem to drag on the glass and chatter or shutter. This slows the drivers' side wiper and the blades crash...loudly! The mechanism is tight with no slack, and the arms seem to be in perfect adjustment. A certified Vette mechanic told me it couldn't be the motor...it has a control board and either works or doesn't work at all. He said this occasionally happens with Rain-X on the glass. I have scrubbed the glass and washed it and the blades with alcohol.... still, random crashes with no common denominator: it can happen in mist, normal or heavy rain, at any wiper speed setting.
Any ideas on curing the shutter? It only occurs at the bottom of the stroke. In the meantime, I'm headed for a dealer to get the shorter blade.
Thanks for the help.

 

[Robertwav1]

The shorter blade may just be the fix, that's what I'm gonna do. I do believe it is the motor though and I'll explain why. When I first turn the wipers on they work fine....it's after they run for a while the chatter starts up. If I continue to use them (after the crash) they seem to work well again. Motor or electronics seem to be in question here. I'm supprised to here the 96's are plagued with the same thing. My conclusion is that it's not the linkage and it's not the windshield and it's not the rubber on the blades.