Adjusting the windshield wiper arms

When I bought my van, the previous owner pointed out a little rust spot on the passenger side next to the windshield and mentioned that this was a common Sprinter issue because the windshield wiper would rub there.

Browsing through some forums I saw that quite a few owners complaining about this issue and how often they have to repaint this little spot to avoid some serious rust. Funny enough, the solution is super easy.

First – make sure you have the right sized wiper blades: our T1N sprinters use two different sizes on each arm. The shorter 22″ [@eBay] (55 cm for our friends in the metric world) goes on  the passenger side (assuming you’re steering wheel is on the left hand side) and the longer one with 24 inch [@eBay] (= 60 cm) goes on the driver side.

Having the correct sized wiper blades will make sure that a properly adjusted wiper arm will not scrape off the paint on the passenger side A pillar. That brings me to the second point: adjusting the wiper arms. You can see clearly on the first picture that the wiper arms on my van were way to low in the off position.

Thanks to the german engineers at Mercedes, there’s no guessing for the right adjustment. If you look closely on your windshield you will see a couple of alignment marks that tell you where the wipers have to rest.

Adjusting the wiper arms on a T1N Sprinter is super easy: open the hood to get good access to the base of the wiper arm. Then simply pop open the lower plastic cover to unveil the nut that is holding the wiper arm in place.

Remove the bold and lift the wiper arm up – you might need a puller tool [@eBay] if the windshield wiper arm is stuck. Then adjust the wiper arms with the markings on the windshield and bolt it back on.

Parts needed:

• 22 inch wiper blade [@eBay] for the passenger side
• 24 inch wiper blade [@eBay] for the driver side

Tools needed:

• Wrench

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