Wiper Arm Gouging Hood

[GerryS]

I got the recall notice for the wiper arm, so I went to the truck to look for the loose nut. I saw this mark on the wiper arm:

Uh Oh. That must be hitting the hood.

Underside of hood:

Sorry about the fuzzy pics, but you get the idea.

Gerry

 

[Nibis]

Make them replace both

 

[YellowSled]

Make them replace both

Replace the hood? huh...

 

[Nibis]

Replace the hood? huh...

Yeah, isn't that a gouge in the hood? , and wiper arm

 

[YellowSled]

dont think its realistic that they would replace the hood for that.

 

[Mr. Hindsight]

I got the recall notice for the wiper arm, so I went to the truck to look for the loose nut. I saw this mark on the wiper arm:

Uh Oh. That must be hitting the hood.

Underside of hood:

Sorry about the fuzzy pics, but you get the idea.

Gerry

Damn that sucks! Was the nut being loose the cause of that? I inspected my wiper arms the other day, I pulled the plastic cover off and the nuts seemed firm.

 

[Nibis]

dont think its realistic that they would replace the hood for that.

What would you want or expect done if it was yours?

 

[YellowSled]

properly repair the area.

 

[GerryS]

Damn that sucks! Was the nut being loose the cause of that? I inspected my wiper arms the other day, I pulled the plastic cover off and the nuts seemed firm.

I don't know. At this point I'm not going to touch it before the dealer sees it, but the wiper never seemed loose. I think I'll get a new wiper arm. I'll see what they say about the hood. The gouge is in the bottom and not visible unless you look at the hood from the edge. I doubt they would replace the hood, and I don't know that I would want them to. Might not match. A touch up repair is probably the best way to go. If they can make the repair invisible and keep that spot from rusting, or the paint from peeling, I would be happy.

Gerry

 

[YellowSled]

I agree with GerryS. GL on the repair.

 

[mikeru82]

A touch up repair is probably the best way to go. If they can make the repair invisible and keep that spot from rusting, or the paint from peeling, I would be happy.

Gerry

No danger of rust since the hood is aluminum. I'm not familiar on aluminum body repair techniques, but I would suspect it's similar to steel. Looks like there is a decent sized gouge taken out of the underside of the hood edge. I'd hate for them to just fill it with body filler and paint over the top, just to have the filler fall out in a couple of years. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[GerryS]

I didn't know the hood is aluminum. I doubt that any body filler would fall out. The gouge is small enough that the filler would have very little mass. In any case, I'm sitting in the dealership as I type. I'll let you know what they are going to do.
Gerry

 

[GerryS]

Well, they just now told me they are sending the truck to the body shop down the street for an estimate to see if that would be cheaper than a replacement hood.

Gerry

 

[GerryS]

They sent me home. Recalls done. I guess they are waiting to see what FCA wants them to do with the hood.

Gerry

 

[GerryS]

Adding a short Youtube video. Funny thing is, they tightened the wiper arm nut (I think), but the wiper arm still hits the hood. In the video you can see the hood getting pushed up. Why is that? How close is the wiper arm to everyone elses hood?

ETA: I grabbed the wiper arm near the post and pushed and pulled. It feels like it moves around a bit more than I think it should. To me, it seems that whatever is used to attach the wiper post to the cowl is loose.

Edited Again to Add: I just watched the video again and noticed that the wiper post is really moving around. That supports my theory that whatever is supposed to hold the post tight isn't doing it's job.

Thanks,
Gerry

 

[Jim64]

Adding a short Youtube video. Funny thing is, they tightened the wiper arm nut (I think), but the wiper arm still hits the hood. In the video you can see the hood getting pushed up. Why is that? How close is the wiper arm to everyone elses hood?

ETA: I grabbed the wiper arm near the post and pushed and pulled. It feels like it moves around a bit more than I think it should. To me, it seems that whatever is used to attach the wiper post to the cowl is loose.

Edited Again to Add: I just watched the video again and noticed that the wiper post is really moving around. That supports my theory that whatever is supposed to hold the post tight isn't doing it's job.

Thanks,
Gerry

Adding a short Youtube video. Funny thing is, they tightened the wiper arm nut (I think), but the wiper arm still hits the hood. In the video you can see the hood getting pushed up. Why is that? How close is the wiper arm to everyone elses hood?

ETA: I grabbed the wiper arm near the post and pushed and pulled. It feels like it moves around a bit more than I think it should. To me, it seems that whatever is used to attach the wiper post to the cowl is loose.

Edited Again to Add: I just watched the video again and noticed that the wiper post is really moving around. That supports my theory that whatever is supposed to hold the post tight isn't doing it's job.

Thanks,
Gerry

Have you showed your dealer your video? It’s hard to tell if the wiper post was moving around before making contact with your hood or not. Something definitely not right. It could be your wiper arm linkage or maybe your hood needs to be adjusted. Here’s a pic of my 2020 wiper arm.

 

[GerryS]

Jim64,
Thanks for your reply. Here's a pic of my wiper arm. Definitely a difference! Yours has a curve that probably adds clearance. (Right where mine is hitting the hood!) I haven't shown the vid to the dealer yet. I made it after coming home from there.

Gerry

 

[Jim64]

Jim64,
Thanks for your reply. Here's a pic of my wiper arm. Definitely a difference! Yours has a curve that probably adds clearance. (Right where mine is hitting the hood!) I haven't shown the vid to the dealer yet. I made it after coming home from there.

Gerry

Have you checked your passenger side arm to see if it has the curve, my passenger side looks just like your drivers side. I think you may have found your problem, I bet the wiper arms were installed wrong.

 

[Stevenc150]

^THAT^
...and since they mixed them up at the factory...now they've damaged ur driver side wiper "post" or possibly wore the mount hole to an oblong....they've got some work to do.

 

[Big White RAM]

Awhile back, I saw a video on YouTube of a Ram owner with the same situation. Its quite possible the wiper arms were installed on the wrong sides, as my 2019 has the "curved" arm on the driver's side. In any event, I would demand that FCA send you to a very reputable body shop and have a new hood / correct wiper arm installed. We paid a great amount of money for these trucks, and should not have to deal with problems such as this.