Well since I have no family to go see being over here in the far off lands I spent all day with my Runner. The weather was awesome here today. I was out working in a T-shirt in the sun which is almost unheard of here this time of year. Anyways the first thing I did was replace the nasty old screws along my door frames with genuine Yota ones that cost me 70 cents a piece:eek:
BEFORE


AFTER


Then since I got my cool new PIAA carbon fiber wiper blades I decided it was time to finally break down and repaint the wiper arms at the same time. They were looking pretty sad. Here's the pics of that
BEFORE



AFTER


And since I had the wiper arms off I thought I should pull that piece of metal off that goes between the hood and bottom of the windshield because I knew it would be nasty under there however it was WAY more nasty than I expected!! I recommend pulling this thing off and cleaning it out. 2 clips and 3 screws are all that hold it on. Anyways look at how it looked when I pulled it off!


And after about 3 buckets of water poured down the slots and some elbow grease it looked like this


I also did a complete interior detail today. It was nasty after that wheeling trip over the weekend. First time I have really cleaned it since I got my huskies and I have to say them things make it soooo much easier to clean the interior out. Well I think it's time to go and party being's it Christmas and all. Merry Christmas everyone and don't forget that the Runner needs presents too, even if it's little..hehe

 

Great work and great pictures!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who is picky about the wiper arms! I wasn't smart enough to take pictures, but mine looked identical to yours. After a little bit of sandpaper and a couple coats of Rustoleum, they look like new (even my wife noticed the difference)!

If it werent 30 degrees here, I'd be out scrubbing away like you did.

Matt

 

Nice work Myers! I may have to do the same this coming weekend after wheeling... Smart cleaning too, it will help prevent the whole rust situation up in there.

Al

 

Wiper arms look great Joey.
I can get the drivers one off, but I can't get the passenger side one to budge.

I even put a stick in there as a fulcrum for leverage, and I can't pop it out.

I was going to paint them both in October when we had a run of great weather, but I'll guess I'll have to wait until next spring.

Oh, and under that vent, mine is chock full of pine needles.

 

Corey,

I had a hard time getting one off as well. I took a hammer and tapped the top of the bolt several times and it finally loosened up. If you have a lot of rust between the teeth, you might want to spray some liquid wrench on it (make sure you put some rags around the arm--wouldn't want you to get that nice wax job dirty ).

Matt

 

I'll have to try a hammer next time I do it Rich.
Rust? No rust here :xmas7:

Oh, you have email too.
Corey

 

I used some penetrating oil. What makes them hard is you have to pull straight up on them and because of the spring that hold them when you pull them up it puts pressure on one side of the threads making it near impossible to lift up. Take and turn your key off with the wipers in the middle of the windshield and then lift the wiper up off the glass about 2 inches and start wiggliing it around. I had a hell of a time getting the first one off till I changed the angle of them and then they just practically fell off. Just make sure and reset the wipers before you try and put them back on. That chip on the drivers side in the wiper before pic was driving me absolutely crazy. Glad I got that one taken care of!

 

so there really isnt anything to removing the arms? when i paint them i should sand them, put a rust prevent type paint coat(s)and then a black coat(s) of paint right?

 

All that hold the arms on is a 12mm nut. They are a pain to get off from there though. I only sanded mine around the area where the paint had chipped off and then just put 4 coats of some automative flat black paint on them. I figured no sense in putting a lot of time into them if they chip again I'll just spend 30 minutes repainting them again.

 

Hey metal22lica,

I agree with the previous statement by UKMeyers. I lightly sanded the entire arm and sanded heavily those places that were rusted. I purchased some Rustoleum Professional flat black paint (at Home Depot I think) for about $4.00. I only put on a couple of coats though.

If they start to rust again, even if it is only after a year or two, it's about a half hour job per arm to paint them another time. I've already been through two snow "storms" (I live in DC, so a storm is a couple of inches!) and with the road salt, sand, etc. I haven't had any problems.

Matt