The windshield wipers on my 92 240 chatter/drag pretty badly. Have tried different brand of wipers, applied different cleaners to windshield, bent the arm to make blade perpendicular to windshiled, even put rain-X on my windshield. Nothing seems to lessen the drag. Could the spring in the arm be weak/lazy? Understand I might be able to adjust the wiper linkage. Any suggestions?

I always thought that wiper drag was symptomatic of weak wiper arm spings

Anybody think so?
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1989 740Ti 1986 240DL 1984 244GL

Augie,

My 1980 DL windshield was replaced 1987 and is now pitted, scratched, knicked, etc. I have the same drag/skip/drag problem you seem to have. My "fix" is a twice a year cleaning using very fine steel wool (0000 grade used in furniture refinishing)and car wash solution in water. Wet the windshield, use circular motion and relatively light pressure. It will remove the road grime from the windshield. Rinse with water when finished. Also clean the blade. Do not use coarse steel wool or an SOS/Brillo pad - it will scratch your glass (and you will kick your A--).FWIW, I also use Rain-x. Hope this helps you.
Chuck2

The ONLY time I ever had this issue is when I used Rain-X. I know others like this product. I think it sucks.

Maybe you do a have a motor on the way out. Is it chattering or just not moving at speed?

I would wash the WS with soap and water. Then wipe it with a mild solvent to get rid of the Rain-X and any silicones. Then I would get some industrial glass cleaner and clean the WS three times. Now finally try in with NEW blades. I like the Bosch top of the line wipers, expensive, but smooth.

If that and a new motor doesn't help it's new WS time.
--
http://www.fidalgo.net/~brook4/oilslubesfilters.html

I agree with this-
I use the Bosch blades on all my cars and never have chatter, even when the window scrapes dry. They claim to have some kind of graphite edge? Whatever, it works. I also DON'T use Rain-x, and have never seen a benefit to it except perhaps on motorcycle windscreens, and I have the most godawful pitted, chipped (but not broken) piece of crap original windshields in my 86 240 (207K) and my 88 740 (190K).
--
Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 88 744GLE, 91 244: 808K total

Seems like the wiper chatter topic isn't peculiar to volvos:
Audi board thread
I'd heard about the advice to avoid Rain-x (probably Pablo's) a couple years ago, and as a result, stopped using it, after 7 years or so of renewing this coating on a 91 Mitsubishi. Incidentally, a friend, customer and Audi owner introduced me to it when the 91 was new, right on Poquonnock Hwy (sp?) in Groton. It made those awful trips through New Jersey on the turnpike in drenching rain much more pleasant. Drivers would be thrashing their wipers and pulling to the side while I could see clearly.

But the Volvo with the new windshield is also one I consider painting someday, so I'd heard that I wouldn't want even the fumes from anything silicone to come near it. Haven't yet rainx'd that car and I admit the pricey Bosch are smooth the first time I use them (during the period I'd consider returning them) but are soon after chattering like the others. I remember buying those high-end versions for exactly that hope. I'll try some of the suggestions read here, but also I might try a couple spacers in one of the springs as well, if yet unsuccessful. Glad to know you and some others have solved this.

I'm thankful we have some rain to chatter in, amidst this awful drought.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

I always found the Rain-X to be great after first applied. After some wear time, though, my wipers ususally begine to chatter near the upper end of their sweep, like near the "A"piller on the driver's side.

Like that thin layer or Rain-X was being slowly "peeled off"

(Hello, Art.)
--
1989 740Ti 1986 240DL 1984 244GL

I find rain-x to be a personal thing - I think it really depends on the weather patterns, length of wet season, driving habits, etc but mostly: wiper usage style (wus)

Personally my WUS is to have a clear WS. Got crap/water on the WS? Use the wipers. New wipers and easily wiped WS.

RainRx is OK for straight drives during the day and no dirt about. I'm in rainy PNW in the middle of farm country with like 7 hours of light this time of year....RainX just makes it harder to use the wipers with my WUS.
--
http://www.fidalgo.net/~brook4/oilslubesfilters.html

I totally agree. I have, at times, succumbed to Wiper Use Style Syndrome (WUSS), long about the time the rain-x was half worn off. This would require using the wipers in slow intermittent mode instead of waiting for the droplets to skitter off the slick stuff. In fact, the WUSS would cause the brushes in the wiper motor to just about seat before I would again think of re-applying the silicone on a sunny day.

So, my personal objections to rain-x are (1) you can't apply it in the rain, (2) half a rain-x is worse than none at all and (3) it doesn't help for misty, drizzly rain, only gullywashers.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

you're all on crack, i live in the lower mainland & it rains from fall to summer non-stop, of course i drive to & from work in the dark on the freeway, but you couldn't pry my bottle of rain-X away. my new windshield caused the new cheap wipers, or is it the other way around, to skitter & jump about, real wipers fixed that, not that i use them once i'm over 60km/hr...
yes, you have to re-apply it every few weeks, but i drove my old honda for a year without any wipers at all, just wiped the dirt off every time i got gas.
--
-- '82 245GL, B23E, K-cam, under restoration, 350k km --

The only crack I have is my butt crack....

So what the hell is the secret with RainX if it works so well?...and don't give me the bullshit about "don't use the wipers" when the f'ing ws is loaded with mud and cow crap!!

I follow the directions PERFECTLY. That stuff does not buy me anything more than a squirter bottle full of jizz, good clean blades, and good wiper mechansisms.

I'm willing to listen, Dr. Crack.

BTW Crack kills, marry a skinny woman.
--
http://www.fidalgo.net/~brook4/oilslubesfilters.html

i've used it on all my previous vehicles, the only one it didn't work on was my landcruiser, but it had a dead air space for the windshield. move car into garage where it's quasi warm, clean windshield really well w/ windex, dry, squirt rainx onto paper towel and apply in little circles like you're buffing it in to one side of the windshield, walk around repeat on the other side, while the first side is going all hazy .. do this a couple times, couple more clean paper towels & buff it out .. if it's the first time you're using the stuff, do it all a second time, when you're done, sprinkle some water onto the windscreen, & buff it lightly.
if you're doing city driving, there's less crap to clean off, but it doesn't do a helluva lot until you hit 'bout 60km or 40m/hr.
the only problem i ever run into is getting lazy & not reapplying it once a month. maybe i'm on crack, it's 6am 'n' i just got home from work. it works great for me, works great for the rest of my family & friends. i used no-name brand stuff in NZ on my holden & subaru, worked just as well.
if you don't reapply it can get bad, then you need to really clean the windscreen.
well g'night =)

--
-- '82 245GL, B23E, K-cam, under restoration, 350k km --

Augie, I have the same trouble with all our 240s. Unlike oty, in his post, my new windshield was a beautiful thing, but no cure for the chatters. Rain-x is nice because you don't have to use them much.

Seems to me like the spring in the arm is way too strong, maybe to deal with wind lift at higher speeds.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

P.S. On one car I also examined the spindle and bushing assemblies to see if wear might be contributing to the problem, but came away thinking they were just about perfect at 200K.

HAd the same problem with my 93 240. Tried most everything, RAin-X helped for a while, put had to apply every few days. When the windscreen was replaced the noise went away. Glass installer told me that windows get pitted from minute particles like sand, over time. This condition makes windows abrasive and scrubs the wiper blade. Some silcones, or wax may improve conditon temporaily until they wear off,