How in the world is the left arm adjusted independently from the right arm? Both are keyed and install in one orientation. Both move together when I adjust the slide arm. All I did tonight was mar up wiper arms and sweat my pants off for no reason!

 

Well.... I'm working from memory here, so keep that in mind... Pretty sure there's a few degrees of adjustment in the splined interface of the arms to the drive pins. It's not much, but the key ways allow for a few notches of adjustment. Seems I remember one side has a wider adjustment than the other, you might have to move both of them to get where you want to be. Kind of thinking there's a couple bolts in the wiper transmission that can be loosened, allowing the rods that drive the wipers to be adjusted, but it's been a few years since I looked at the wiper transmission too. LOL I've got a couple of wiper transmissions propped up in the corner of the garage, I can check and report back tomorrow if I remember. If you don't figure it out, PM me and I'll go look or bust out the books.

 

Took a look at the wiper transmission, and at the book... Kinda what I was thinking.



The Good Book says to adjust the right wiper by poppin' it off it's splines and rotating, then pushing it back on. Note: The wiper arms should come off EASY. Lift the arm at the pivot, and flip the latch open, lower the arm on the latch, and it should just pull off. Install is the reverse, push it on the splines, lift the arm, close the latch, lower the arm.

To adjust the Left (AKA Driver's) the ancient texts instruct us to loosen the two screws on the transmission, and adjust until the left wiper is just below the stop in the park position. It says then to readjust the passenger's side to obtain the proper park and wipe patterns. So sayeth the book, so quoteth the Drew. Via con dios, amigo.

 

Left and right are tied together. Move one and the other turns. Mounting and dismounting the wipers doesn't accomplish anything.

Does that right angle piece on passenger side pop off of your transmission? Or does the collar spin? I don't want to get too rough with it if it isn't supposed to move but if I know it will move then that's another story.

 

If you pull the passenger's side wiper off the splined shaft, and look at the socket on the arm, you'll see that the socket is wider than the splined shaft. That's why the book tells you to adjust the driver's side first, then adjust the passenger's side. There's a reason the socket end of the passenger's side arm is shaped like a slice of pie.



Don't make me move a bunch of stuff to dig out a wiper arm. LOL

 

Couple lousy Ebay photos, but you should see what I mean about the socket being larger than the drive.

 

​​​​​​And that reason would be.... ? You're becoming as vague as the manual.

It fits tight to the wiper transmission. If it didn't then it would just slap around.

 

Yes, but the passenger's arm can be pulled off and pushed back on anywhere in about a 25* angle. Use the two screws on the transmission arm to set the driver's arm, then use the 25* of slop to adjust the passenger's. If they're still too far off to get them aligned, I'd be looking for a bent transmission rod. Just don't use my photo as an indicator of how the rods should be bent. The wiper transmission from my project car was whacked, so I picked up another one just in case one is bent, and honestly I can't remember which is the suspect and which came from the donor, I just photo'd the first one I could lay hands on.

But yeah, there's no other adjustments in the system. The linkage is all solid aside from the pivot points, which are not adjustable.

 

This may add context to what Drew is saying. (my phone has a limit on taking good zoomed-in pictures with shaky hands)

 

It certainly does deadbird. Thanks.

I was picturing the splined post as being round, and thinking...WTH?

 

Yep, I figured this out a few years ago when every Firebird I've owned except one was plagued with the passenger wiper not going all the way down and hiding and would stick up a bit on the glass after turning them off. I don't know about you, but I hate seeing the wiper when I turn them off, I want them to vanish. I would literally get out of the car somewhere and push it down until one day when I figured out how to fix it from doing that. Now, it's one of the first things I do when I buy one of these cars. Yea, I'm that guy, I like all of the interior air vents in the car perfectly straight too!

 

Wait...doesn't everyone do this?

 

Well, even as Camaro owner, I think I've learned something. Then again I'm the guy that's driven around with the park feature of his wiper system standing the wiper blades up at 12 o'clock. Then I pull over and push them back to where they belong.
Good luck to the OP.

 

Still not sure how I could have described this differently that would have made more sense...

Thank you deadbird, for the close-up of the socket. I'd have done the same, but while I can see the wipers sticking out of a box on the shelf, I can't get to that box without moving a whole lotta junk piled on that side of the garage.

 

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I get it now.

I'll tell you what, it did have me stumped.

 

Apparently mine is slipping and the splines won't grab. It ends up in the same position every time because of the drag on the window.

 

It's seems rare that these threads reach a conclusion but it's nice when they do.
I may try this on the Tahoe The passenger side wiper has developed a nasty habit of smacking into the windshield trim.