I have to discovered that the wiper blade is striking the top of the A pillar on drivers side and is actually taking the paint off but when the wipers are parked they are perfectly aligned and they don't show any signs of excessive wear in the system at rest position. I was wondering if the arm might be repositioned in a slightly more down position when parked, if this would then stop striking the A pillar when in use?

Worth a try.
Is there any play in the arms when it’s parked? Also put it in the service position, so turn the ignition on, then off and then immediately push down and hold the wiper stalk and the wipers will rise and park vertically on the screen. Check again for any play in the mechanism. 

Before doing the adjustments check the correct blades are on the wiper arms.  Length. 

1 hour ago, numskull said:

Worth a try.
Is there any play in the arms when it’s parked? Also put it in the service position, so turn the ignition on, then off and then immediately push down and hold the wiper stalk and the wipers will rise and park vertically on the screen. Check again for any play in the mechanism. 

There is a very small bit of play, maybe around 7 to 10 mm at the very tip of the blade, but I suspect that might be the case anyway as you are bound to have some form of play in the mechanism. That said however I was unable to pull the arm off the shaft as it is firm stuck to it, I need to find or make up some form of puller to crack its grip so I can then reposition the arm by 1 spline to the right (as looking at it from front) so the arm does not go fully vertical (assuming it also does not then hit the bottom of the screen), and then try that arrangement.

Edited 29 June, 20232 yr by Graham Butcher

1 hour ago, toot said:

Before doing the adjustments check the correct blades are on the wiper arms.  Length. 

Yes, it is the correct blade, 26" on the drivers side and 18" on the passengers.

So not 'Poundland' specials put on before you bought the car.

 

Good old UK, we went metric light. Then we showed them who is boss.

 Still drive miles, talk of MPG and buy fuel in litres, and measure wheels and wiper in imperial and tyre width in metric.

Not sure whether there is a spline on the wiper mount on a Superb. But if so then the wipers may have been removed in the past and put back in the wrong position.

3 hours ago, Graham Butcher said:

I need to find or make up some form of puller to crack its grip

Don’t botch it, Graham - get one of these. Easily cracked the stuck-fast arms off the splines on the MKI and II.

I had this issue on my Passat but there is a plastic deflector on each side of the windscreen it was hitting rather than hitting paint causing an annoying tap. It seemed at first that the bottom of the wiper wasn't travelling over the bottom of the screen smoothly causing the top to kick out but no amount of cleaning the screen seemed to sort it. It sat in the parked position too well to be out by a spline but ordered a puller to properly investigate.

 

In the mean time I put a pair of gloves on and gave the wiper arm a tweak, its very rigid but managed to move it enough to never have it hit again.

 

Yes, I know I am a rough a**e

No splines and unless its a very old vehicle with rusted spindles they seperate quite easily if you have the right technique.

 

Slacken the nut a couple of threads, lift blade from screen then apply fore and aft force to the end of the short arm attached to the spindle, this will break the taper. Its easier in the park position but not necessary.

 

The real swines to remove are the rear wiper arms especially on the Yeti where they are nearly vertical, the puller did not work and I had to pack the gap between the arm and rear screen with hardwood wedges, take a deep breath and give the end of the spindle the good news with a hammer 😒

 

I dont ever want to do that again, it was refitted with Copaslip.

Edited 29 June, 20232 yr by J.R.

2 hours ago, numskull said:

Don’t botch it, Graham - get one of these. Easily cracked the stuck-fast arms off the splines on the MKI and II.

I ordered one of these in the end from Amazon, it is much more expensive but if it works, it's all good. I read loads of reviews of that other type and most say that it is not worth the money as it breaks apart etc. I did try to release it using a hefty pair of pipe grips, but it was not budging. This one looks like a real sturdy bit of kit with its nice chunky casting. Fingers crossed it works and the are turns out to be a splined one after all, so I can reset it 1 spline further round to avoid the pillar completely.

10 minutes ago, J.R. said:

No splines and unless its a very old vehicle with rusted spindles they seperate quite easily if you have the right technique.

 

Slacken the nut a couple of threads, lift blade from screen then apply fore and aft force to the end of the short arm attached to the spindle, this will break the taper. Its easier in the park position but not necessary.`

 

The real swines to remove are the rear wiper arms especially on the Yeti where they are nearly vertical, the puller did not work and I had to pack the gap between the arm and rear screen with hardwood wedges, take a deep breath and give the end of the spindle the good news with a hammer 😒

 

I dont ever want to do that again, it was refitted with Copaslip.

I do hope it has splines, otherwise its going to be a real pig to stop it from hitting the pillar. No its not old one at all, its a 2016 model. You were brave whacking that rear arm with a hammer, could have smashed the window.

When you do manage to release the wiper arm - beware the strong springs which can ping the spline end of the wiper arm rapidly toward the windscreen. Did something similar a few years ago (different make of car) resulting in a cracked windscreen - doh!!

 

 

35 minutes ago, J.R. said:

 

Slacken the nut a couple of threads, lift blade from screen then apply fore and aft force to the end of the short arm attached to the spindle, this will break the taper. Its easier in the park position but not necessary.

 

 

That's the method I've used before on a couple of cars and worked both times..   Loosen the nut, lift the arm off the screen as if changing the blade then rock it. 

43 minutes ago, Graham Butcher said:

I do hope it has splines, otherwise its going to be a real pig to stop it from hitting the pillar. No its not old one at all, its a 2016 model. You were brave whacking that rear arm with a hammer, could have smashed the window.

 

I would never have throught of that, just as well I held my breath then!

 

It does not have splines and you would not want it to because the angular pitch would be too course, its a taper fit so you can place the arm exactly where you need it.

39 minutes ago, bigjohn said:

When you do manage to release the wiper arm - beware the strong springs which can ping the spline end of the wiper arm rapidly toward the windscreen. Did something similar a few years ago (different make of car) resulting in a cracked windscreen - doh!!

 

 

 

That is why I said to loosen the nut a couple of threads, no need to remove the arm but if you do then heed your warning.

They are on a taper but im about 80% sure they are splined somewhat presumably to reduce the chances of them slipping rather anything else. 

2 hours ago, skomaz said:

 

That's the method I've used before on a couple of cars and worked both times..   Loosen the nut, lift the arm off the screen as if changing the blade then rock it. 

Nah, I already tried that and failed.

2 hours ago, J.R. said:

 

I would never have throught of that, just as well I held my breath then!

 

It does not have splines and you would not want it to because the angular pitch would be too course, its a taper fit so you can place the arm exactly where you need it.

Yeah, once I break the grip I'll position the arm in the service position so that it stops about 20 to 25mm  from the A pillar and lock it up again. When it's in the parked position it still has roughly 40 to 50 mm to go before it reaches the bottom of the screen so I should be golden then.

8 hours ago, Graham Butcher said:

Nah, I already tried that and failed.

 

When I said "move it fore and aft" I meant towards and away from the windscreen, the taper will not break if you rotate it back and forth.

 

I'm not sure which you were doing but my explanation was ambiguous.

 

It can need a lot of force, dont be timid, the spindle is more than strong enough.

11 hours ago, SuperbTWM said:

They are on a taper but im about 80% sure they are splined somewhat

 

I am downgrading my 100% sure that they are not splined!

 

I think the spindle may have tapered splines but the female part of the arm is plain machined, that way it is still infinitely adjustable but has more bite when tightened in the required position.

1 minute ago, J.R. said:

 

When I said "move it fore and aft" I meant towards and away from the windscreen, the taper will not break if you rotate it back and forth.

 

I'm not sure which you were doing but my explanation was ambiguous.

 

It can need a lot of force, dont be timid, the spindle is more than strong enough.

Yes, I understood just what you was meaning, I also found some YT videos showing how crack the bond between spindle and the arm using mole grips etc, and none of these worked, hence I ordered the correct tool for the job. I would not want to be break the screen as it is a heated one and would cost a considerable amount to replace, so I took the view, better safe than sorry on this occasion 😉.

8 hours ago, Graham Butcher said:

Yeah, once I break the grip I'll position the arm in the service position so that it stops about 20 to 25mm  from the A pillar and lock it up again. When it's in the parked position it still has roughly 40 to 50 mm to go before it reaches the bottom of the screen so I should be golden then.

 

Just be wary if you do that that it won't then cause the two blades to collide near the bottom of the screen when operating - I seem to recall the clearance between them isn't huge and moving the drivers side one by that much may mean it catches the passenger side one on the way up and down the screen.

24 minutes ago, skomaz said:

 

Just be wary if you do that that it won't then cause the two blades to collide near the bottom of the screen when operating - I seem to recall the clearance between them isn't huge and moving the drivers side one by that much may mean it catches the passenger side one on the way up and down the screen.

I don't think it would foul anything but in reality I don't need to reset it by much, just enough to stop the very tip of the blade coming into contact with the pillar at the top, I just need it to stop when it is parallel to the pillar that's all. 

Just be careful when making adjustments to the wiper arm at the spindle.

Each time the wiper stops, it parks at a different position when the car is turned off.

This is to prevent it from sticking and leaving marks at the same spot over n over.

It's designed to do that.

 

i.e. if u alter the bottom position, the top position may not necessarily alter the same way or amount.

 

Thanks to my dirty not washed car, u can see how far from the edge it gets to.