Loose wiper arms

[CodyHennigan]

I've searched through several wiper threads but all state that you can only tighten the blades from the outside. The bolt on my driver-side blade is as tight as it can possibly get but the base still wobbles a good bit. Both blades still wipe and move when in use but I'm sensing this will be an issue down the road and most likely in a rain storm so I'd like to get it taken care of while it's dry. Here's a short video:

 

[Growlerbearnz]

That nut merely holds the wiper arm to the spindle. The plastic trim is covering a larger nut that will tighten the mount.



Remove the arm retaining nut, remove the wiper arm (which will be fun now it's been overtightened!), then remove the round plastic trim behind the spindle. Tighten large nut and reassemble.

 

[CodyHennigan]

holy smokes, I feel like I'm going to rip a hole in the body. With the retaining nut off, what is holding the wiper arm on? I even used a pry bar to try to get the part your arrow is pointing to off and it doesn't want to budge.
FYI, The part your arrow is pointing to on mine isn't plastic trim btw, it seems to be a solid piece w/ the wiper arm.

 

[Growlerbearnz]

The wiper arm is a taper fit to the spindle, but if that nut gets tightened too much it becomes practically welded to the spindle.

To remove the wiper arm (normally...)
Loosen the nut most of the way but don't remove it completely (the wiper arm can damage the threads if it pops off suddenly)



Wiggle/rock the wiper arm while pulling on it until it goes "pop" and releases from the taper. This is the bit that's going to take patience for you. Wiggling the wiper arm is the trick, it'll slowly work the taper out of the arm. Just pulling alone is unlikely to break the taper.



Remove the nut and lift the wiper arm away.




Lift off the plastic or rubber cap (depends on year) to reveal the boss nut.

 

[sk66]

There are two styles of wiper arms... my '91 originally had arms like Grant's, with the plastic trim cup underneath. But one broke, and the later OEM replacement(s) I got have the trim cup as an integral part of the metal arm (the changeover date was 8/91).

The easy way remove the wiper arm is to use a little penetrating oil and a faucet handle puller. The key to using the puller is to back off the wiper arm securing nut, but leave it partially on the threads like in Grant's first picture; that creates a cup to hold the puller tip in place, and it keeps things from flying away when it does come loose.