GUIDE:How to repair a V40 rear wiper arm not wiping properly

[gatos]

This guide is based on lamyewchoy guide http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=83314 who was the original member to address this issue and credit should go to him too. Unfortunately his photos have disappeared, so I decided to make a new guide with new photos. So here we go:

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Small quick guide of how to repair the rear wiper on the V40 where the wiper is not touching the glass properly when rotating and leaves a wide curved strip untouched. This is caused because the alloy part of the arm bends over the years due to the temperature changes and daily use. The arm is heated from the sun during the day and cools at night . This repeated expansion and contraction of the arm which is under spring pressure causes the alloy arm to eventually bend ever so slightly and it's not resting at an angle anymore.

The fix is fairly straight forward and requires minimal skills to carry out. There is a spring which tensions the arms pushing it to the window and a stopper which controls the position/angle of the arm. The spring is not the problem in this case, but the actual stopper/resting place. So the solution to the problem is to grind/file a bit from the stopper and bring the wiper arm to it's correct position. So, here we go.

To start with, you need to lift and remove the plastic cover on the base of the wiper arm and remove it carefully.


Undo the 13mm nut and firmly wiggle and pull the wiper arm out. Be a bit careful when you do this as you do not want to damage the splines that the wiper arm is sitting on

Firstly, you need to remove the spring. To do this, bend the base of the arm upwards.




Here you can see the spring better. You need some long thin nose pliers to pull the spring a bit and it will come out




Remove the spring from both parts of the arm. The base of the arm can now be slided out.


The arrows are pointing to the area where the arm rests on the base and the bit that you need to grind



You need to grind the area the arrow is pointing at


like this


You can use a dremmel, or a rounded file. You should aim for a nice smooth rounded edge. Take it easy with the grinding, as you don't want to go too far. You can place the wiper arm on the base evbery so often to see the angle you are achieving. If not enough, remove and keep grinding....


And here you can see how the arm angles properly.


Nice, cheap and easy fix, so get on with it guys....

[andymac1]

Just googled, to find this solution, and joined the forum.
Many thanks gatos for taking the trouble to redo some pics.
I was a little disorientated at first, with the rotations and then it clicked exactly what I was viewing.
Credit (as stated) to Lamyewchoy.
It's nice to have an explanation as to why this phenomenon happens.
Both myself and my wife have 2002 V40's with this affliction, and I have taken to 'sniffing' around other V40's in supermarket car parks etc. to try and work it out.
A zero cost solution in 20 minutes... don't need a new wiper blade OR an expensive OEM wiper arm replacement!

[aslan]

Originally Posted by andymac1

It's nice to have an explanation as to why this phenomenon happens.
Both myself and my wife have 2002 V40's with this affliction

My thinking is that the alloy used for the rear wiper over time bends, most likely due to heat, and the very curvy surface of the rear windscreen doesn't help.

I've done this fix and it does work but over time the problem would recur. My V40 is parked under the sun at work (I live near the equator). I've done this fix 3 times already making the stop in the stopper deeper and deeper. It cures the problem every time but now it's happening again ... and I'm not motivated to fix it again.

The front wiper I think is of the same material and suffers from the same malady. The driver's side keep hitting the bonnet when it's opened. I bought a new front wiper arm, it solved it. But after a year or so, it started to hit the bonnet again, and it wasn't because the bolt wasn't tight.

Perhaps those of you in more moderate climate would fare better and better luck!

[chrisaiken]

Just did this to mine and it works great…thanks!!

Chris

[Sherwoodcourt]

Great fix and helpful pix. I cracked the plastic cover as I tried to reassemble. In HK so I think the plastic was brittle from the sun. So much of the plastic in the car has cracked.

[loely]

Hi Aslan,
I had the same problem with my front wiper and after removing the fixation bolts for the front wiper system I put a few washers on the bolts between the fixation and the plate so the arm decend a few milimeters and does not touch the bonnet any more.

[ww1dm1]

Originally Posted by loely

Hi Aslan,
I had the same problem with my front wiper and after removing the fixation bolts for the front wiper system I put a few washers on the bolts between the fixation and the plate so the arm decend a few milimeters and does not touch the bonnet any more.

I recall doing the exact same thing and eventually the wiper came in contact with the bonnet again.

[bimmer49]

Done mine on a grinder wheel without taking it apart, now wipes all of the swept area.

[Beach Person]

Great guide, Gatos. Did mine exactly as your photos and worked perfect immediately. Nice one, thanks.

[bimmer49]

Also found it's hard to source a simple wiper replacement over the parts counter. However my local chinese shop had a "bone" wiper of the correct length. I modified the mount in the blade (cut out some of the plastic that caused interference) and the added pressure from the arm and a solid rubber blade wipes all.