Quick release windshield wiper ideas?

[MetroMPG]

My car's wipers are fully exposed to airflow.

I've been driving without the blades on the wiper arms in good weather, but I'd like also to completely remove the arms when not needed.

But I don't want to have to remove & reinstall the nut and get the wiper arm perfectly aligned on the splines each time.

I'm not willing to drive with just rain X and forego the wipers altogether. It works OK in certain conditions, but not all.

Can anyone think of how to rig a "quick release" to make this easier & quicker?

[cfg83]

Hi MetroMPG -

I was thinking about this too. I don't have a picture with me, but where the wiper pivots "up" for removal on my car, there is a pin that could be cut off and replaced with a cotter pin. Here is a website :

http://www.pivotpins.com/

For example, here is something called a Rue-Ring :

http://www.pivotpins.com/catalog/RueRing.shtml



The only problem I see is making it tight enough so that it wouldn't wiggle laterally (drag on your window). But maybe some washers would do the trick.

If done right, this might be a pretty quick job. The only problem I see is that on my car I think the "under-spring" is attached to the pin, so install/removal may be a pain in the ***.

CarloSW2

[MetroMPG]

I thought of that as well, but I have the same concern - about the tightness of the arm. Also, my spring is in the way there too.

I'll have to go have a look at the distance between the arm's pivot point (for sweeping the glass) and the "elbow" that lets you flip up the arm to clean the glass/change wipers. If it's long enough maybe you could cut it and fashion a quick release in there somehow without interfering with the spring and "elbow".

[CoyoteX]

that picture is of a wiper cowl for a F150 or something. I thought of making something like that for the wipers and to help the air make the turn to go up the windsheild a bit easier than it is now. Plus the wipers would just work without having to stop on the side of the road to put them back together in the rain. Those things seem real expensive in most stores on the internet for a small piece of molded lexan though so I would recommend making one out of fiberglass using urethane foam to form the shape. Should be cheap and if done right could help the aero much more than just taking the wipers off.

[MetroMPG]

How do you know?

I taped "pads" on mine. Haven't hit the switch yet...

I don't want to have to use any tools to remove/reinstall. My convenience & laziness threshold sees that as too high a barrier.

[cfg83]

theclencher -

Originally Posted by theclencher

Shame your cars have nuts that hold those arms on. Mine are held on the splined shafts with a little clip, easily released with the aid of a small screwdriver.

I don't have any clever solutions for you guys except to make a dimple or slash with a pin punch or chisel, or use paint or permanent marker, to ease alignment and carry the socket or wrench that you need along with.

I wouldn't run the arms w/o the blades though; it's far too easy to bump that wiper lever and unless you've taped up the end or something, you will get a nice scratch on your windshield. Ask me how I know.

That's why I haven't done it. Hmmmmmmm, , but maybe I could remove the wiper fuse and thereby disable the wipers! To re-install, turn off car, insert fuse, turn on car !

CarloSW2

[MetroMPG]

Why just the blades? "Every little bit helps" is my thinking. Even if it's just a tiny bit. Flow is still disrupted, but not as much.

I like Coyote X's idea for adding a shaped deflector, but I can' see a way of doing that easily. I think taking the arms off will be simpler than making a deflector.

[GasSavers_Ryland]

fill one groove with jb weld, and file a spline off so you have a fool proof index, then with the jb weld out epoxy on a few rare earth magents on to the bace of the shaft, and the back side of the amr to hold it all together, then it's just a matter of sliping the arm over the shaft and it snaps in to place.
I'll look again, but our 2000 metro seems to have the area around the wipers pretty close to filled in as it is that a deflector doesn't seem like it might do alot of good.

[DRW]

On my other car I just rotated the wipers by one notch of the splines so they sit further down behind the hood when they're off. I also checked to make sure they still make a full sweep of the windshield when they're in use.
This didn't work on my Laser.

[rh77]

I have one concern -- For Example: It's a bright sunny day in Ontario, and you're moving along an Intra-Provincial highway and there's a muddy/wet spot in the road for some reason. Now the spray from the vehicles ahead cause your visibility to be dangerously decreased.

I like the idea of an aerodynamic sweep, for safety purposes. Is there a way to fabricate some plexiglas or cloroplast to fit the bill?

RH77