The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Wiper Arm Linkage

The knurl on my original driver's side linkage is cracked / half gone. And while nearly all suppliers list repops, it seems they are all out-of-stock and the back-order waiting period for me so far has been over 2 1/2 months with still no firm date given for them coming in by any of the sellers I have open orders with (Classic Parts, Classic Industries, LMC, Brothers,GSPP).

I had contemplated finding a used one in decent condition and piecing together what I needed, but the prices even used ones are going for is on the high side (a passenger's side linkage just went for over $160 on ebay).

So, has anyone ever repaired/replaced the knurls on one of these linkages and where would one be able to get the parts?

I sent you a PM

I am in the same predicament, but I found one supplier that has them in stock. mine should be here friday. Dreamers is the name i think ??

Thanks for that name. I had never heard of them before but I found them and am waiting for them to confirm whether they have any.

Meanwhile, I will be trying to fix my broken one thanks to Steve H's kind offer. It looks to me like it should be relatively simple. I'll be needing another set soon for a 51 Suburban so either way it works.

Well I got the package of little parts from Steve H today and am back in business.

There really wasn't too much to fixing mine. Obviously some would have a harder time than me.

As you can see from this photo:

Comparison

my current knurl was a good bit shorter than the one Steve H sent me. Mine was also pretty worn out which was why the wiper arm was just wobbling everywhere on me.

The top of the shaft was a little dented so I just filed it down smooth. Then I decided to use a nut-splitter to remove the current knurl rather than trying to pull it off. It only took two turns of the splitter to end up with:

Removed from shaft

Everything then removed easily from the shaft:

All apart

The base Steve H sent me was in far better condition too than mine. You can't really see the difference in the picture, but the interior of the housing on mine was pretty worn out:


Old vs Less Old

I then used some grease on the shaft, reassembled it all, put it in a vise with plastic protectors on the jaws and slowly pushed it all back together:


Reassembled

I did add a small tackweld the back of the shaft where it goes into the transmission arm as it seemed a little loose.

I need to adjust the actual wiper arms a little as there's a little too much tension, but other than that, I have functioning wipers now again.

Had I not had the existing shaft, things would have been a little different. However it still should not be an insurmountable project. I honestly hadn't realized the shaft was grooved where the knurl attached to it until I got the one in from Steve H. I had thought it was pressed/welded on and had intended to drill a small hole and tap the knurl on the side and put a set screw in to hold it on the shaft.

So, if people have old transmission arms and can find the knurl, this is a going to be a far cheaper fix than buying the re-pops at around $130.

Robin58: I am gonna remember that "less old" phrase. I will use that for sure. I have the same motion on the driver side that you have. The passenger side is sweeping just fine. If you figure out why let us know. Thanks