TreeSeeker wrote:
Eric,
See the tiny tab at the top of your red circle? Pry that up with a screwdriver. It only moves about 1/8 inch. This releases the wiper latch. Then spray some PB Blaster or WD40 around the base as best as you can (the wiper post is bare steel so it does rust). Then pull the wiper blade off. You might have to pry it some.
You might want to wire brush and grease the post before you put the wiper back on.
Your red circle crosses the bottom edge of the tab, sitting in the slot between the raised ridges molded into the wiper arm mount.
The tab is part of a flat metal locking plate, bent to a right angle to the plate. The plate has a curved keyhole slot that fits into a groove on the wiper mechanism shaft, to lock the wiper arm on the shaft. (You can't see the locking plate unless you look closely and carefully.)
The wiper arm keeps the locking plate engaged in the slot when the arm is in its normal position. So, you have to pivot the arm, lifting the blade away from the windshield, before you can use the tab to pivot the locking plate to the unlocked position.
(The locking plate will also hold the arm in the raised position when the plate is in the unlocked position ... this is how people sometimes keep the wiper blades from freezing to the windshield when their vehicle is parked in rainy/snowy freezing temperatures.)
It's helpful to mark a line across the wiper arm mount and mechanism shaft so you get the arm back into the same position. (Or as a reference if you want to shift the blade's 'parked' place.) I tend to use a silver fine-tipped marking pen for the line.
There's serrations on the shaft and inside the mount. These prevent the shaft from rotating inside the mount, forcing the arm to move/rotate with the shaft instead of slipping.
In addition to rust, the pot metal of the wiper arm will sometimes seize to the shaft. A little grease is good after wire-brushing the shaft. Anti-seize compound, if you have it, is better.
The windshield washer hose will create a bit of a hassle. There's enough slack to get the wiper arm off the shaft. If you want to completely remove the arm, you'll need to disconnect the hose.
The hose may be brittle due to age and sunlight so it may break. Be prepared to splice or replace the hose. There's hose-splice fittings available. I prefer to replace the hose if it's old, brittle, or breaks.
