cant remove wiper arms for the life of me

[MysticMac]

just as the title says.. im choked cant get them off for the life of me.. its about to snow and i cant wreck more motorcraft coils because of a leaky cowl gasket

 

[MIdsm]

Sometimes the spring cocks the arm at the shaft. Push down on the arm next to the shaft and you should be able rock the arm off of the shaft. Otherwise you may need a puller of some sort. Good luck.

 

[joegr]

Sometimes the spring cocks the arm at the shaft. ...

That's not the way these work. (though I have dealt with some that did work that way)

 

[joegr]

just as the title says.. im choked cant get them off for the life of me.. its about to snow and i cant wreck more motorcraft coils because of a leaky cowl gasket

I assume you removed the rubber cap and then removed the shaft nut. It helps to lift the arm into the locked position just to take twisting pressure off of the shaft, but it is not required. I use a small gear puller and they come right off. It did seem like it would be difficult to get them off without one.

 

[jerrym3]

I just changed mine on my 04. Didn't have to remove the entire arm. I bought Motorcraft wipers for my LS and 2010 Explorer. Swap was easy.

Now the bad news.

I cannot get the rear wiper off the Explorer, and I'm hesitant to try and remove the entire arm.

The owner's manual is a piece of crap, and the instructions on the Motorcraft wiper box are just plain juvenile. I've googled the issue. I've found instructions and pictures for installing the 2010 Explorer fronts that are exactly like my tailgate !!!!!

The problem is that you can't get the clearance in the back that you can get for the windshield. Arm doesn't bend enough without possible damage.

I'm no mechanic, but I've replaced transmissions, rear ends, carbs, radiators, fuel pumps, and done brake jobs in my driveway. And, I'm striking out.

Try Google. Maybe you'll do better than I.

 

[joegr]

I just changed mine on my 04. Didn't have to remove the entire arm. I bought Motorcraft wipers for my LS ...

He's not trying to change the wiper blades. He's trying the change the shaft seal on the cowl. The wiper arms absolutely have to be removed to do this.

 

[RigsLS]

Guess I must be the only one that uses penatrating fluids. Pb Blaster, Liquid wrench etc. I've had those off as well before, tight and snug without a doubt but that's what them types of fluids are used for. Had to let it sit for a bit then wiggled them straight upwards off.

 

[grizzlyls]

I have pulled these off a half dozen cars in junk lots to get to the Degas and see if its a good one. If you pulled the plastic cap, removed the bolt, lift the arm to lock, then easy peesy off she comes. Once in a while had to wiggle it a little left and right.

Of course that Southern Cal weather. If you are still struggling I would say its like BR says you are fighting grime. In that case you know what to do

 

[De-marko]

I've used something like this before.

 

[MysticMac]

thanks gonna empty a can of pb on them and try them out.. imight even need to use heat now. its going to be -10 tonight with snow

 

[RigsLS]

Rubber mallet. Don't need a whole can just a few drops right on top around the press fit where the nut sat. If all fails get a pulley as suggested above. It will get it off in a jiffy.

 

[milehighmikey]

I just had to do mine this week, well, a coil chasing exercise on my V6. The driver's came off as usual but the passenger side was a bear. In 296K miles on this one and 100K on my first one, I never had the kind of trouble I experienced with that arm before. What I did was after taking off the driver's side and finding no wiggle room for the passenger side, I brought the wiper up to the middle of its sweep, pointing straight up, and then turned off the power, which gave me what I needed for the wiggle room, more like rocking room. As stated above, you want to relieve the down-force on the blade by flipping the arm into the service position, then rock the arm about its axis whilst pulling up, and then they should come off. I found myself badly wanting a puller before I thought of this method, but every place was closed at that hour so I had to do it this way.

 

[RigsLS]

You guys be careful not to smack the glass with those wiper arms if your doing this without the blades on. It will bust the glass in one slap if that arm releases from the service position or even anywhere halfway down. Plenty of guys have felt this pain. A "Doh" moment cost you hundreds.

 

[jerrym3]

Got the rear wiper blade (not the entire arm) off my Explorer finally.

Just took a squirt or two of WD40.

 

[heyjewel]

You guys be careful not to smack the glass with those wiper arms if your doing this without the blades on. It will bust the glass in one slap if that arm releases from the service position or even anywhere halfway down. Plenty of guys have felt this pain. A "Doh" moment cost you hundreds.

Very true. Early in it's life my LS was in for a checkup at the dealer. They had a special on wiper blades so I had them put 2 on. When I picked up the car - big impact crack right where wiper would have hit. Thank goodness for that walkaround checklist at dropoff. Man were they pissed they made $10 on wiper blades but lost a lot more replacing a windshield.

 

[RigsLS]

Just had these wiper arm off the 03 V8 the other night.

Removed the nuts. About 3-5" directly above along the arm. fist banged it downwards and loose they popped. One gentle whack to the arm is all it took. Might be wise to place a towel between glass and arm.

~ seriously!