Folks,

If the Bay13 solution doesn't work for you, please take heed of what Trey mentioned below. His solution to grind down a small piece of the arm's contact point has been documented as something that works. See this old thread for more info:

http://www.brickboard.com/AWD/index.htm?id=135101&show_all=1

Gerald C

i just trtied replacing my arm i found out why the arm doesnt wipe. Part of the key is using VOLVO OEM arms, you can get refils anywhere but if you look at the volvo spring setup its totally differnt from even the bosch excel at pepboys. There is an additional spring piece on the volvo one. Also if your arms are volvo oem make sure those little clips that hold the refil are far enough apart to allow the refil to move a bit, if its tight the tension cannot evenly distributie itself over the whole window as the arm sweeps across and you end up with peaks and valleys in the refil leaving a unclean sweep.

Additionally the driver side arm has a wing which helps the arm deflect air and allow it to work better at highway speeds, this also adds weight which helps keep the blade down as well.

First - the wiper blade is held against the glass by one point in its center, the blade is flexible and free to pivot.

If the blade is in good condition and flexible enough, the only thing that matters is the amount of force pushing it toward the glass.

Second - Bending the wiper arm near its base moves the pivot point toward the glass, but the force is applied too far from the pivot point, it is sort of like trying to paddle a canoe by holding only the handle end of the paddle.

If you bend the arm in the middle, the force is better applied, sort of like holding the paddle on its handle AND half way down the shaft.

As an added benefit, bending the blade in the middle means that you are bending the thin steel part, not trying to bend a reinforced cast part, and you do not apply any force to the wiper mechanism.

Draw a diagram of both fixes and you will see what I mean.

Or better yet, try it.

At the risk of getting myself in trouble, I think Bay 13 is great, but incorrect on this one.
--
3 8s & 2 7s 740,000 miles total

Bending the wiper arm is just a "BAND-AID". There is an underlying problem that is being ignored. On my '94, now the Passanger side wiper is contacting the front edge of the hood. Something about the mounting mechanism for the whole assembly is wrong. The pressure of the wipers on the glass is forcing something else to stretch. Anyone taken the whole assembly to diagnose the real problem?

Dan

Per someone elses tip, I stopped arm at 12:00 and took my Dremel tool to the stop at the base of the arm. Grinding off just a little of the metal allows much more pressure on the wiper arm against the glass. Black paint touches it back up and has been working great now for a few months.

Raise arm up and down with wiper stopped in 12:00 position and you'll see where to grind.

Do you mean that when the left arm is at 12:00, it's not touching the glass? If so, Bay13s fix and myself is simple, requires NO parts. Stop the arm at 12:00 (ignition off) and puch the lower part, just before the pivot point, towards the glass....bending it. It's easy and that's all that's required. DO check the arms tighteness as well (13mm nuts).