[T3] Wipers

[Gary Forsmo]

Before I get into the "possibilities" of wipers NOT "parking" in the correct
position......................

Can someone on this site tell me the correct way to COPY previous responses
by other members, so I can insert another comment?

Now back to the wipers:

Here are Jim's suggestions and my inserted additional comments.

There are 3 possibilities here. If you run the wipers with the
windshield not very wet, they tend to "stick" and not return fully
home when they park. If you lift both of them gently from the glass,
you may find that they want to go down farther.

There was NO lack of moisture on that "foggy" trip.  The "dew" was coating
the entire car ... almost a light rain.

It's vaguely possible that the arm on the motor has slipped, although I
never hear of this happening. If the blades go below their parking position
when they run, that's what has happened. If you want to fix this, check the
Bentley for the procedure, AND REMOVE THE BATTERY GROUND CABLE before you
start. That may keep you from losing a finger.

Because BOTH wiper blades were 2" to 3" from parking close to the windshield
seal, I suspected some common "failure" that would have affected BOTH arms.
That kinda led me to the ARM-to-MOTOR connection.

The final possibility is that both of them have slipped on their
shafts. That's quite possible on wipers before 1970, where the wiper arms
are held to the shaft by a set screw against a round shaft. That system just
doesn't work very well. VW introduced modified arms later that involved a
pinch clamp that worked MUCH better. You could try to find a pair of those,
or you could try to file flats on the shafts, but that's hard to get just
right.

Jim; THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED!

BOTH of the wiper-arms-to-shaft had slipped.

With the wiper motor/shafts in the PARK position; engine and ignition OFF;
I could slightly rotate (5 to 10 degrees?) the wiper arms on each of their
respective shafts.  I positioned the wiper blades near the windshield seal,
tighten the screws and ALL seems good now!

I believe I can remove the arms; locate exactly where the set screw has
"marked" the shaft ... I can file a small "flat" on the shaft and re-install
the wiper arms.  I'd like to make the "flat" on a Bridgeport, but that's
probably over-kill.

The revised arms for '68-9 must be 311 955 407B & 311 955 408. They would be
your best solution.

Since my arms a showing minor rust, if I "stripped" them, were the originals
spray PAINTED with SILVER paint?

Gary "Frito" - '69 Variant, FI, MT
Lake Geneva, WI
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