stupid but critical.

[bukib]

as a newbie, excuse the long post. i was driving in from points unknown sunday when the rains came. i turned on the wipers and life was good. suddenly, the passenger side wiper began to flail. i pulled into a covered area and found that the blade and arm assembly had come loose from the motor unit. a bolt, the small side, had sheared. i assumed i wud have to replace everything...motor, blades and arms. but now it appears that all that happened was that the knurled nut and bolt had failed. how do you fix it? as a radio and tv guy i have no mechanical aptitude whatsoever. i think the whole deal is far simpler than i have assumed. am i right?

[Splitrock]

I'm from South Dakota and here I just go to an auto body parts supplier with a DEEP stock. They have every nut, bolt, screw, and clip used in the industry. I've never stumped them.

[gloran]

I had the same thing happen on mine 1993. Airstream used a Sprage windsheld wiper assembly on this year coach. If you Google this you should be able to find parts to match.If you have any problems, let me know and I'll look up where I got mine.
I don't have information at home, its in MH.

[gloran]

As far as a quick fix, if you remove the large acorn nut and pop off the wipe arm, there is a cone shaped nipple with verticle grooves that fit into similar grooves on the wiper arm base. If your wiper arm is slipping, the grooves on the cone are most likely stripped. Some times you can rescrape the grooves out on the cone with a sharp pick to highlight the grooves, reassemble and tighten down acorn nut. It might get you by for a while, but most likely the grooved cone will have to be replaced. Just a little info, when you remove the wiper arm, sometimes the cone will stick and come off inside the base of the wiper arm, if you can't find it on the post.

[bukib]

AN UPDATE on the wiper problem. after wasting three weeks searching this site and the entire world, i finally did what i shud have done...i called airstream. they quickly referenced the part and directed me to a business called Rome Truck Parts in Rome, Ga. they immediately identified the replacement. it was in stock at $12.95 so i bought two to fix both sides and equalize their wear. no brainer. but newbies tend to tremendously complicate everything. mark it...rome truck parts. they have it all when it comes to wiper systems. write it down.

[DaveFL]

Thanks, if further problems show up, your reference will make it easier. Maybe the moderators would like to set up a place to file specific suppliers of hard to find parts. I googled Rome Truck Parts in Rome, Ga and saved to my favorites.

[Alimom4]

Great information, TY so much!

[masseyfarm]

I had the luck to loose the wiper operation on our way to the factory last October, for a tour in Jackson Center. It was raining like %^&*^*& and severe gusts of wind, and the drivers wiper failed. I pulled over and had a look,(soaked to the hide of course) and the cast assembly had broke off the ear on one side of the bellcrank mount, resulting in turning the casting and not the wiper.
I was able to temp, secure it with a big washer and longer bolt.

By this time the black cloud had passed (I think it follows me?) and I continued to Jackson to try to catch the last tour on Friday. I pulled into Jackson Center Teraport, and went to the desk and the nice young lady (name?) had the replacement in my hand in about 2 mins. We took the tour and then I made the repairs that afternoon while Heather made the pizza.
The lesson to be learned here is, IF YOU WIPER ASSEMBLY SEEMS LOOSE, ie, IF YOU CAN WIGGLE THE SHAFT, THEN IT REQUIRES ATTENTION. Take a look and thighten the mount on the inside. IF IT CONTINUES TO MOVE IT WILL EVENTUALLY BREAK.

Happy Airstreaming

Dave

[porourke]

There is a website " schoolbusspartsco.com " that has tooons of stuf for the P30 chasie so many of us have. I got new pantograph arms amd both bases that Airstream support told me was obsolete and several other things from them. They have suspension parts also. Prices are real reasonable. I also got an exact replacement for the windshield wiper reservoir and pump that is also suppose to be unobtainable.

[Smartstream]

Check out www.amequipment.com they have everything you need and you can download their catalog to help identify all the parts. They are an OEM of wiper systems.

Cheers, Dan