Adjusting windshield wiper arms

[conesare2seconds]

Hi there. Can anyone give me some pointers on adjusting the windshield wiper arms? I’m having trouble getting the DS arm adjusted without fouling the PS.

The DS arm travels too far up and rides over the A-pillar trim. I’ve pulled the cowl and understand how to adjust the arm position via the attachment to the transmission. Unfortunately, I can’t find a position for the DS arm that doesn’t lead to a tangle with the PS arm, and I’ve tried adjusting both sides simultaneously.

I was able to make this adjustment on one of my old C4s but the Z is defeating me. Part of the problem appears to be that the DS wiper doesn’t really want to rest in the full park position. If I lower it so it rests on the park “wedge”, the wiper blade bows up and hits the hood.

There must be a methodical, logical way of setting the positions, I just haven’t found it yet.

Tom

[conesare2seconds]

One more thing, I’m using AC Delco wiper blades, believe they are correct for the car. I know aftermarket blades can create clearance issues.

If I let the arms stop short, they clear fine. But if I try to get the DS to rest at the plastic wedge, it won’t clear the hood.

[garyhugo]

I've adjusted mine as far as they go via the covered access hole. The DS still will go over the A pillar in heavy rain sometimes. In 5-6 hours of operation in rain I've had the blades hook each other once. Happened while going back and forth between normal and intermittent settings. That became exciting situation.

[lfalzarano]

I had the same problem. I bought the passenger side shorter than the other. Never had a problem since. In the meantime, clean the rubber of the blades with alcohol and clean the windshield with RainEx.


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[WARP TEN]

Originally Posted by lfalzarano

I had the same problem. I bought the passenger side shorter than the other. Never had a problem since. In the meantime, clean the rubber of the blades with alcohol and clean the windshield with RainEx.


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That's what I did on both my Zs. The banging blades drove me nuts. Just shortened one up and it solved the problem. But as noted Rain-X is a good idea. I drove all the way from Chicago to Bowling Green one year in a terrible downpour. Did not use the wipers once while on the highway; the Rain-X kept the windshield clear while at speed.. --Bob

[We Gone]

The FSM has the proper procedure for this adjustment starting section 8E-5 or -10 depending on the year same procedure for all, though it does note some differences in Vin J.

[lfalzarano]

Originally Posted by WARP TEN

That's what I did on both my Zs. The banging blades drove me nuts. Just shortened one up and it solved the problem. But as noted Rain-X is a good idea. I drove all the way from Chicago to Bowling Green one year in a terrible downpour. Did not use the wipers once while on the highway; the Rain-X kept the windshield clear while at speed.. --Bob

Yeah, I did that all the time, once when I had the top stored in the back, I ran into a traffic jam in a downpour! Got soaking wet by the time I got the top back on!🥴 RainEx seems to work well at 35mph or above!


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[conesare2seconds]

I got out the FSM and spent time Sunday adjusting the arms. Temporarily fixed it with a shorter blade assembly for the driver’s side. I’ll put up some pics in a few days. There is, I believe, a hardware problem.

[conesare2seconds]

Follow up on this one: short answer is I removed the wiper arm ramps.

I disconnected the wiper transmission and found the wiper arms absolutely would not return to the correct park position because they wouldn?t clear the ramps. So I removed the ramps and set the arms. The ramps couldn?t be adjusted low enough to solve the problem.

I looked at a 90, a 95 and a 96 and I think the ramps changed at some point to a lower-profile design. The wiper arm design changed in 93 I think and mine may have been replaced with the wrong ones at some point. Either way, something was mismatched.

[secondchance]

I got tired of wipers colliding, driver side getting on to windshield trim, streaking at pressure point and skipping. Went to 1inch shorter, low profile beam type in 2009 and never looked back.