Weak Wiper Arm Springs

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

It’s a very rainy day today, and I just replaced my extra crappy Walmart wipers with some really nice Tricos. It took doing this to realize that I had an issue with the wiper arms themselves. The spring that pushes them down is very weak on the passenger side, and possibly less than nominal on the driver side. I say this about the driver side because it works well until you get over 75 mph, and then it starts bouncing a little so it’s not as clean sweeping. The bouncing gets worse as you get faster to the point where it’s not doing so hot at 85-90 mph. Does this sound like an issue stemming from the antiquated windshield contour, or is this also a poor, just less pronounced, contact issue. What’s my recourse here? Is the spring something I can obtain without having to improvise with a generic one? I also see these SureWipe add-on pressure springs. Thoughts?

 

[Blue Ox]

You could slow the f@¢k down when it's raining.

 

[dvdswan]

You could slow the f@¢k down when it's raining.

LOL^^^

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

You could slow the f@¢k down when it's raining.

You’re absolutely right. In my defense, I was trying to see if the diminishing wiper performance correlated with increasing speed and didn’t hold that for long. I generally keep it at 75 in light rain and progressively decrease as the visibility worsens.

 

[Blue Ox]

FWIW my Suburban used to develop some wiper chatter at 65. A set of aero blades (just slotted, no wings or anything like that) made it better.

 

[Rusty Nail]

You could slow the f@¢k down when it's raining.

Lmao

 

[SquareRoot]

Replace drivetrain with TH400/4:56 gears. Guarantee they won't diminish over 55 mph.

 

[dvdswan]

The biggest thing to remember with SBCs is... the design is 50 years old - no one cared about aerodynamics in trucks. You are moving a brick through the wind with another brick on top of it offset. Big wind pocket around the windshield. These trucks are the wind section of a symphony driving down the road.

You could try a bug deflector to change the airflow at the windshield or a visor but I really don't have any experience with them.

Or you could slow down.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

I got a new wiper arm for one side. It was trashed. I’m pretty sure the airflow has everything to do with my issue. I’ve heard of windshield wiper spoilers but haven’t found much info. I could probably make a spoiler for the lip of the hood if I needed a better resolution.

 

[chengny]

I got a new wiper arm for one side. It was trashed. I’m pretty sure the airflow has everything to do with my issue. I’ve heard of windshield wiper spoilers but haven’t found much info. I could probably make a spoiler for the lip of the hood if I needed a better resolution.

Jess, those arms have likely seen some serious abuse over their 21 year lifespan (read: some idiot weekend warrior yanking back on them - you know - to get them off the glass while doing a blade change).

First, make sure your glass is really clean - that is important.

If that doesn't stop the blades from skipping/chattering, grasp the upper part of the arm in both hands and try to re-establish the original blade/glass pressure by applying a little bit of a bend.

I doubt it is a spring tension issue.