Rear Wiper Arm Removal Question

[dadman]

Car wash did it again, now I'm stuck replacing the rear wiper arm on my '06 A6 and the arm is stuck on the car (shaft). Is there a special way to remove it? I removed the nozzle and nut, sprayed on some penetrating oil, gave it a few taps and voila! Nothing.....it doesn't budge.

[D's Avant]

You can try rocking the arm back and forth a little bit while you pull strait up. This takes a lot of effort/force. If that does not work, you can very carefully use a large screw driver with something else protecting the rear glass to pry it up ever so slightly to get it loose. You should only try this as a last resort and have to really work smart or you will break something.

[dadman]

Tried that, and more, it's really stuck. Think I'll try a vise grip with the nut partially on and squeeze the plastic arm. If not, a wiper arm puller can be rented for free at auto parts stores. The trick is not to damage the little pipe that the nozzle attaches to.

[EuroA4]

Spray it with PB Blaster and let it sit overnight. You do have to pull up the arm side a little bit to get the teeth straight enough to pull off smoothly, if its crooked the teeth will not line up straight to be able to remove. Be patient it will come off.

[dadman]

I'm not sure that there are teeth, all you see are threads. Inside the new arm there no teeth and it looks like a taper. I did the Blaster thing several times and tapped it from every angle and like I said I put the nut partially on and hit the nut while supporting the arm with a pry bar wrapped in a towel. I'll get it off, I just wanted to know if there was a special way or tool needed.

[MacFady]

Sorry, I realize this is an old thread. My rear wiper was only catching periodically because the plastic was cracked around where it slides over the nozzle. There was no issue removing my wiper but the aluminum inner portion of the wiper arm assembly stayed attached to the nozzle and disconnected from the wiper arm. I've soaked it several times in WD-40/Jig-o-lub/etc and can't get it to budge. Has anyone had a similar issue and how did you end up solving it. I've been doing a lot of twisting and pulling but I don't want to cause more problems than I already have with the rest of the wiper mechanism.

[nicks4]

Hey, just wanted to post a reply. I came across this thread a few weeks back when I was stuck with the same issue.
Mine was hitting the trunk, so I took it off to reposition… it was “too good to be true” how easy it was to get off until I realized that that little aluminum bushing was in fact part of the wiper arm and not the spindle. Same thing, cracked wiper arm, explains why it was loose…
I used a small butane torch, the little ones you can get at Canadian tire for 5$
I fashioned a heat shield out of wood by simply drilling a hole roughly the size of the bushing.
With the heat shield in place, slowly torch around the outside of the bushing. Be very careful here to avoid applying too much heat and melting any plastic rubber/rubber parts. Remember, the idea is to expand the bushing and not the spindle, so too much heat or too long heat cycle wont be as effective.
Then with vice grips, work it from side to side. Also, good idea to keep the wood shield here to avoid accidentally cracking the window with the vice grips.
Be patient, it took me about 6 heat/vicegrip/swearing/cool cycles before that b1tch popped off.

I applied some brake type antiseize (very small amount) to the splines of the spindle before installing the new wiper arm. Note, the new arm is a smooth bushing, so its meant to imprint the spindle onto itself. Too much antiseize and you may not get a good imprint.
Also, make sure you get the arm in the right place the first time. If you try several times, you will imprint the spindle splines too much and it may break its grip…
I moved mine slightly up so the blade comes to rest at the bottom defrost line, will help keep it ice free in the winter! It doesn’t leave the window on the other side during its stroke either.

Good luck!