AUSTIN MONTEGO NOISY WIPERS
Q I have a 1985 Austin Montego which has historically always had noisy wipers, even after replacing the wiper blades, especially if the screen is not soaking wet and the rain is only light. At such times, when on the return (downward) stroke, the blades will judder and fail to give a good, clean, dry screen. After replacing the blades the situation is slightly better but still not satisfactory, and as soon as the blades start to wear the problem gets intolerable. Having owned this car for over 20 years now I was thinking back to when I first owned it, and I am sure that this situation began after the screen was replaced some years back. My question is, do you think the screen is the problem and not the blades? William King
A You could first ensure that the screen was cleaned thoroughly using water and detergent initially, then a substance such as methylated spirits or one of the screen-cleaning sprays available; this will ensure that residue on the screen is not the cause of the problem. If this does not resolve the matter, (and I suspect it won’t,) then the next thing to consider is whether the wiper arms could have become distorted when the screen was replaced. It is possible that it is the angle of the wiper arm which is causing the blade to be set at too sharp an angle to the screen. This may be especially true if, as you say, the problem is only in one direction. It may take a little trial and error to find the optimum position, but I would attempt to twist the wiper arm body slightly to achieve a better angle so that when the blade is on the screen it sits at 90 degrees. This would mean that the blade should operate as intended, and with any luck may help eliminate the problem you have.