Prius 2008 wiper arm removal tool?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Priuses4All, Dec 18, 2015.

Tags:
Page 1 of 2
  1. Priuses4All

    Priuses4All Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 4, 2013
    17
    5
    0
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I need to remove the wiper arms of my 2008 Prius to clean out under the cowling. Any recommendations for a wiper arm removal tool that will fit the narrow space around the base of the wiper arms?

    The wiper arms are firmly stuck -- I really need a removal tool.

    I bought an OTC Stinger battery terminal puller to remove the wiper arms, but the feet of the puller are too large to insert in the wiper arm recess. So that I don't buy another tool that won't fit, I'd welcome any suggestions for a brand of wiper arm removal tool that will do the job (any online links for a good tool would be much appreciated).

    Thanks!
     
    #1 Priuses4All, Dec 18, 2015
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,600
    8,478
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    You don't need a tool, you just have to flip up the wiper blades so it's off the windshield......then unbolt and remove. You may need to wiggle it a bit but it should come off. The wiper blade has to be off of the windshield!
     
    #2 JC91006, Dec 19, 2015
  3. Priuses4All

    Priuses4All Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 4, 2013
    17
    5
    0
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I already tried that.

    The wiper arms are on very firmly and are really stuck. I took it to a mechanic who had a devil of a time removing the wiper arms, and he had his own specialty tool.

    I hope that by having a mechanic take the arms off once it would help, but this was several years ago and they're firmly attached once again.

    What I would like – hopefully – are some recommendations for specific wiper arm removal tools that will fit a Prius 2008.

    Thanks.
     
    #3 Priuses4All, Dec 19, 2015
  4. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    18,200
    6,489
    0
    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I don't have a recommendation because I haven't needed this tool. It worked for me to wobble the wiper arms for removal.

    I suggest you go to NAPA or a place like that with your car, and let the clerk see your car's wiper arms. Then s/he can recommend an appropriate puller.
     
    #4 Patrick Wong, Dec 19, 2015
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    111,169
    50,602
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    is there any way to spray some loosener under there and let it soak overnight?
     
    #5 bisco, Dec 19, 2015
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    57,962
    39,991
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    I've taken our 2010's wiper arms off a couple of times, no sticking. All I can think is some corrosion built up?

    One thing, it's worthwhile to mark the windshield glass with strips of masking tape or similar, where the wiper blades were before you removed. In practice they seem to have pretty good "homing sense", but just in case.
     
    #6 Mendel Leisk, Dec 19, 2015
  7. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 30, 2009
    5,131
    1,341
    0
    Location:
    Wilmington, NC
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    The wiper arm is under spring tension even when up. You need to push down on one side (wiggle) to release the spring tension and it will lift right off.
     
    #7 jdcollins5, Dec 19, 2015
  8. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    18,200
    6,489
    0
    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Usually the windshield will have two dots which show where the wiper blade ends are supposed to be when the wiper arms are parked.
     
    #8 Patrick Wong, Dec 19, 2015
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  9. Lucifer

    Lucifer Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2015
    1,014
    486
    0
    Location:
    Nh
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    Were the 17mm nut's removed, under the plastic cap, allowing the wiper arms to be gently pried off the toothed receptacle?
     
    #9 Lucifer, Dec 19, 2015
  10. AzWxGuy

    AzWxGuy Weather Guy

    Joined:
    May 22, 2011
    1,018
    508
    0
    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius
    Model:
    Limited
    I had a windshield replaced on my 2008 and faced the same problem. I figured I would prep the vehicle before the windshield guy showed up, save a little time maybe. I have a puller that would fit, but the amount of tension I had to put on the threaded bolt without a release made me give up on the idea. The windshield guy just removed the two 17mm bolts and "whacked" both arms with his hand and they were off. Did it so fast I didn't even see the method. OK, some skill there. As mentioned above, remove the bolts, rotate the arm to near vertical (well off the glass into the upward parked position) and then, using the extended wiper for leverage, wiggle forward and backward until the compression fitting releases. And, as Patrick has suggested, find the alignment marks on the windshield to line up the wipers for re-installation.
     
    #10 AzWxGuy, Dec 19, 2015
  11. Priuses4All

    Priuses4All Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 4, 2013
    17
    5
    0
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thanks for the suggestions, much appreciated. However, I have wacked the wiper arms (when the wiper is folded up into the vertical position off the glass) until I thought I might break them. They just refuse to loosen without a puller-type tool.

    Patrick Wong: I also tried this. I took the car to a NAPA store and also to an AutoZone store. The guys at both stores looked at the confined space of the recess and shook their heads, no ideas.

    As luck would have it, the mechanic I took the Prius to several years ago has retired, so no info there. I also contacted eBay's Pro-AutoTools about a standard type of wiper arm removal tool (item #371511861514, which has a U-shaped base and a bolt that presses down on the top of the wiper arm bolt head) , but the owner there tells me this tool won't fit a 2008 Prius.

    Back to the drawing board....
     
    #11 Priuses4All, Dec 19, 2015
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    111,169
    50,602
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    maybe stop in at an auto glass shoppe and request assistance.
     
    #12 bisco, Dec 19, 2015
  13. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2014
    2,002
    746
    0
    Location:
    Finland
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    If they would be so stuck that you couldn’t get them off by wiggling puller would just break them. I have seen puller break them (on older cars) but I have never seen any that couldn’t be removed by just wiggling vibrating and using penetration fluid. And I don’t really think that yours are so stuck.
     
    #13 valde3, Dec 19, 2015
  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    57,962
    39,991
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Maybe someone put something on them, super glue? :confused:
     
    #14 Mendel Leisk, Dec 19, 2015
  15. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    18,200
    6,489
    0
    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    When the wiper arms are mounted, they tend to be slightly cocked on the threaded shaft. This is why the OP is having trouble removing them.

    My guess is that the "windshield guy" probably hit the arm down (towards the glass), to release that misalignment and make the arms easier to pull off the threaded shafts.

    If the OP cannot free the arms using the methods already discussed, another possibility is to push down on the arm, placing the blade tip of a very large flat blade screwdriver on the arm adjacent to the hole that the threaded shaft is protruding through, tapping on the end of the screwdriver with a hammer to apply force to the arm.

    Obviously a judicious amount of force needs to be applied. You are not trying to break the arm or the windshield.
     
    #15 Patrick Wong, Dec 19, 2015
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    111,169
    50,602
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    maybe the debris under the cowl isn't worth it.
     
    #16 bisco, Dec 19, 2015
    Patrick Wong likes this.
  17. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    18,200
    6,489
    0
    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    A voice of reason enters the picture...
     
    #17 Patrick Wong, Dec 19, 2015
    bisco likes this.
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    111,169
    50,602
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    apparently, you haven't spoken with my wife.:cool:
     
    #18 bisco, Dec 19, 2015
  19. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    57,962
    39,991
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Don't distract us with rationality, dammit!
     
    #19 Mendel Leisk, Dec 19, 2015
    bisco likes this.
  20. Priuses4All

    Priuses4All Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 4, 2013
    17
    5
    0
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Youse guys are getting OT.... -- With a hopeful nudge, let us back to the topic, for surely there must be a wiper arm removing tool that fits a Prius 08. --- But maybe not.

    As for the rationality question (that "maybe the debris isn't worth it"), I don't want to be responsible for veering us off course, but I'll answer that, and may regret it!

    I live out in the country where there's a rodent problem like you wouldn't believe. $1,200 spent twice on a Subaru that had to have all of its heater ducts replaced thanks to rodent "debris." My Pathfinder had a wiring harness chewed through by a rat (he was at it when I opened the hood). With the Prius, I had fine mesh hardware cloth screwed over the "rodent access holes" beneath the cowling (thanks to directions that I found on PriusChat, if I remember right), and had hoped this would keep the rodent nest building, droppings, and urine smell out of the ducts.

    But it was not to be. I need to be able to remove the cowling periodically because I've learned that, despite the screening, mice and rats continue to build nests on top of the metal tray (below the plastic cowling), and then this stuff gets sucked into the heater ducts and clogs/ruins the cabin filter....

    It's an ongoing problem as long as I own the Prius (and the next car may not be much better), or until I move away from these beautiful rodent-infested surroundings. (And, yes, I do trap, poison, and shoot the mice and rats. Frequently. Have also had a series of cats; the rats are too big for them.)

    I know there'll be a temptation to post now about Prius rodent control. My apologies for this OT digression, just trying to answer an obvious question. -- But, sincerely, I would just like to know of a wiper blade removal tool that will fit a Prius.
     
    #20 Priuses4All, Dec 19, 2015
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Page 1 of 2