Wiper arms go round and round

[sjmtlewy]

Is there supposed to be a spline on the collar of the wiper arm that connects to the spindle? As mine are shiny smooth and have this terrific habbit of going round 360deg when the nuts wiggle loose.

[Wookster]

Yup, well atleast my 1980's does.
Very fine though so I can see how they might wear off.
Suspect it's dash out to replace the linkage so probably worth trying to drill through the arm and spline and insert a roll pin or similar.

[sjmtlewy]

There's a spline on the spindle, but not on the part of the wiper arm that links to it (the bit that you can unscrew and remove from the front).

[Wookster]

Should have read that a bit more carefully. Climbed over loads of stuff and found em.
Same difference though, very very fine. So fine I can't tell whether the "spline" has been created by the arm being pressed onto the spindle by the nut. My wiper arms look new btw so aren't worn at all.

If you have any engineer's blue I'd paint it on the spindle and then tighten the nut. If you then remove the arm you should be able to see if the tapers match. If the arm isn't a perfect match and doesn't sit perfectly you might be able to grind a bit off the back so it clamps tighter, or use a shim under the nut.

Probably not explaining that very well, but visually it would be like the difference between a well fitting battery terminal and a poorly fitted one.

[Oldiebut goodie]

I would be tempted to use a piece of shimming brass to bulk out the splines on the shaft. The thinnest piece that you have as you won't need to increase the diameter by much.

[huggy76]

My wiper arms had a habit of slipping so i put a washer under the nut to enable the taper to be a bit tighter. Has been fine since.

Good luck

[sjmtlewy]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll take another look at it later.