Windshield wiper thread-tap grub screw modification so they don't fly off project

[Beam318ti]

Excellent write-up. Thank you.

 

[adawil2002]

Maybe put this in the DIY Articles.

 

[Rek]

remembers me of our first !! rally.....i lost my wiper.... of course it was dark&rain . Lucky, found it on the road and could continue....
nice solution with the grub screw....we just drilled a hole and mounted a bolt/nut.
View attachment 128844

Thats exactly what I did when it became apparent that the splines parts are as rare as unicorns and mine was worn out. @Stevehose solution is a lot more elegant.

 

[Belgiumbarry]

elegant , yes @Rek ... but i would still prefer "our" bolt/nut ( 3 mm in my case) . Ok, for rally one can't be safe enough .
I'm only afraid that the grub screw pushing against the rod moves all the play to one side. Don't know if that is good.
With bolts we "compress" the casting and at least 2 opposite sides have no play ???

 

[Stevehose]

elegant , yes @Rek ... but i would still prefer "our" bolt/nut ( 3 mm in my case) . Ok, for rally one can't be safe enough .
I'm only afraid that the grub screw pushing against the rod moves all the play to one side. Don't know if that is good.
With bolts we "compress" the casting and at least 2 opposite sides have no play ???

Just to be clear the screw is threaded into the rod, it's not pressing against it with any force. This just prevents the wiper arm from lifting straight off the rod.

 

[deQuincey]

Steve, i think you should consider loctite or something similar as a barrier so that the stainless steel bolt does not enter into electrochemical corrosion with Zn-Al spline due to moisture. If the hole was chromed inside it wasn't a problem, but after threading it's just bare Zn-Al.
Or you can just use zinc plated bolt instead.

p.s. great idea anyway

hi, not sure if electrolitic corrosion might be relevant, theoretically yes, but,...

i do not think loctite will help, when you screw the bolt, despite you use anything between thread and bolt, there is contact metal/metal in the tension areas
the best possible would be aluminium or copper grease, but yes, it is a grease

moreover it is a very small place for loctite, it might go everywhere

i would use zinc plated bolts, BTW, never saw beheaded bolts in zinc finish

additionally considering that there are three elements, (arm cap/exterior spline in pot metal/ interior spline in steel)

and moreover knowing that there is a relative position of the arm and axle; i do not see that the beheaded bolt is a good idea

easy to say from my side, being the damage as high as it is losing the wiper arms, anything is better than nothing

seriously i would prefer to put a piece of nylon string to secure the arms

good luck

 

[steve in reno]

part arrived.
thanks stevehose

 

[mulberryworks]

I got mine as well. Thanks much. Now to find those tiny taps I ordered years ago just in case something like this came up.

Ian

 

[rsporsche]

i had forgotten about this fantastic modification @Stevehose ... thanks for reminding us.

 

[TodB]

I, too, belong to the my-wiper-flew-off-but-I-found-it-by-the-side-of-the-road club. In my case, I was missing the springy thing which I replaced. So far, so good, but this is a better solution.

 

[Koopman]

Have to wonder why not set screws for a better appearance?

 

[paul cain]

Very impressive Steve. Subtle and highly effective.