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1st Gen. Ram - All TopicsDiscussion for all Dodge Rams prior to 1994. This includes engine, drivetrain and non-drivetrain discussions. Anything prior to 1994 should go in here.
Just introducing myself and saying thanks for all the great knowledge already here.
Just "inherited" a 1989 D250 from my FIL who got it from his uncle who bought it new. It's been hardly driven for the last decade and has 130K miles on it. Lots of little fixes needed, but so far it seems like everything I've thought about has had a thread here on this forum.
Just to get going I'll ask a question. Of course the wipers don't work. Getting power to the connector, pulled the motor off and applied 12V to asst'd pins while grounding the case, no spinning. New motor is on the way. This motor had what almost looks like a roof shingle between the mounting plate and the body of the truck. Question is, what is that, and is there some gasket that's supposed to be there, and should I use to replace it?
I love these basic D250s for daily use. They all have some deficiencies by now that need to be rectified. I haven't had a dud wiper motor yet... hopefully that's all it is.
Not sure about the gasket/shingle. Maybe its to help with sound deadening on a diesel? On my gas Ramcharger I'm converting, don't recall seeing anything like that.
Don't know about the gasket, but definitely recommend replacing all the arm bushings while you're at it. Few bucks from the local dorman help section.
Following up in the hopes it helps someone else later.
Replaced the wiper motor with this part, it was very nearly an exact copy, though I can't really say how long I would expect it to last. https://www.carparts.com/wiper-motor...ent/rd36110002
It was $28 + $11 shipping.
I'm no expert, but I decided it was the motor after confirming with a test light connected to battery ground that there was power to several pins of the connector and that connecting the motor case to ground and test light to battery positive and any of the input pins on the motor didn't light up the test light.
The motor is mounted to a mounting plate that includes a ground strap on the upper righthand bolt. Remove that mounting plate from the old motor, attach it the new motor. At this point I confirmed that plugging the motor in to the connector and testing the case w/ the test light attached to the ground terminal did light the test light. You'll really want to clean that mounting plate and ground strap and mounting bolt well to make sure there is a good ground connection. I used some 120 grit sandpaper and cleaned it all up, probably a better way, but that's what I did.
Anyways, everything is working well for me now. We'll see how long the $28 motor lasts.
Also, I chose to leave the shingle-like gasket off for now, I didn't find any reference to if there should be anything there. it is definitely not a watertight connection between the mounting plate and the truck right now. I may go back with some kind of gasket material after the first real rain when I can see if any water makes its way through there.
Thanks for the info. My wiper motor works but it seems kind of slow. Also they don't want to completely return to the resting spot sometimes. I would just go get some thick gasket material and duplicate the one you have.
