(T) Wiper linkage known weakness?

Well, my wipers still work, so this can't be construed as a failure per se (just to make that clear )...

I want to take the slackness out of the linkage. But how? and why? (read on)

...I've fitted new blades of the steel-strip type (as fitted to current-model cars) and that's cured the wiping; water is cleared from the glass. But two problems remain: if the wipers are not used for a few weeks, they become fixed at the wrong angle and produce the most horrid screeching/shuddering you can imagine, as they 'lead' into the wipe. After some use, they start to flip from one angle to the other again and work normally. Not what you want when you've spent $80 (25 pounds) on wiper blades, but not much that can be done about that!

...second problem is that even with the wiper blades working properly, there's a shuddering/clanking sound and you can see the uneven movement of the arms that formerly accentuated the defect in the blades mentioned above. I'm sure something can be done about this!

It's the sort of thing you might expect when the wiper linkage is old and worn out, like it was on my 1974 128 Coupe. Grasping either arm of my Stilo with the wipers switched off, I can move it by several centimetres. More than you'd expect?

Of course, with 31,000km on the clock, I wouldn't expect the pivots etc. to have worn slack already? Or is there a known weakness?

Slack wipers are something that seems to afflict some of the cars I work on more than others. The last car I had that was this bad was a 1990 Toyota Celica, but a Nissan Bluebird of equal age was fine, and the trusty Tipo in the garage at the moment is also OK.

Thanks for any light you can shed on this...
-Alex

Hi Alex
If you're garaging the car, and I think you do, for a few weeks then extend the wipers away from the glass to stop them becoming fixed in position. That's more of a wiper rubber type problem though with the rubber not flexing. I don't get problems of that kind so it's just down to the wiper blade perhaps. Expensive but are they really suited? I use cheap and cheerful for instance and change them annually

Problem 2
several centimetres movement at the tip doesn't sound a lot. Where do you think the play is? In the wheel boxes or between the wiper arms? What movement do you get if you
hold one arm and move the other one?
move both arms?

Mine's on almost 3 times your mileage and I wouldn't say the wipers clunk any more than other cars

When it's near freezing though, I've noticed the wiper motor gets confused and doesn't like the first few sweeps until it warms up internally. It's why the Romans left here too, couldn't stand the British winters

Alex, I agree with Decks. No wear on mine that you'd notice.

I think a new set of (cheaper) blades might be the answer