jimbo486

This happened at the worst time! Driving home from Arizona through a few good storms and my wipers decided to give up on me! Turns out, the rod that connects the arms to the motor broke or disconnected from the linkage at the motor. That explains the "clunk" I heard at the same time they quit. I was able to see that the motor still turns so luckily it's not an electrical issue. Should this be an easy replacement if and when I can find a new rod?

Onemoparnut

The rod has a plastic bushing that goes in the ends. I usually get the bushing in the help section of the parts store. While you are in there you might as well change them all I think there are 4 bushings they are all the same. Very easy project and that is also why I use rainx lol.

oliver foster

Happened to my '85 crew, I found better bushings in my junkyard and swapped them in!
Replace the bushings and your good to go.
x2 - Use Rain X till you have the time to fix it

jimbo486

Well luckily it hasn't rained here at home in CA for a while. It had me worried until the rain quit though cuz it was coming down good out there! Where did you find the bushings Bill? I have just about all autoparts stores around me. Napa, Autozone, Kragen, Pep Boys, etc. I'll probably invest in some Rain-X just to have some.

KD93

I've only found the bushings at NAPA, in their 'hard to find' parts stand. They're white nylon. I seem to go through a set every year or so, , although I've found putting a spot of white lube on the bushing helps a bit.

jimbo486

I guess it's a good thing I hardly use them. I hope I have some luck tracking these bushing down. If not, I suppose I could always find another way to reassemble the linkage. Maybe with something like mini-heims or something.

KD93

I was wondering why you needed them, considering your location! Apparently you had a good weekend tinkering around on some trucks. Too bad it didn't happen on your way over there, you could've got this little task done too! If you have any problems tracking them down let me know, I'll send you some over. They're about $4 or $5 for a pair, IIRC. Actually, I might just have a part number... hang on a minute.

... Sho' 'nuff. NAPA #665-1537. The box says 'Wiper linkage bushings, Chrysler.' That should set you up.

jimbo486

Wow! That's some service right there! Thanks!

No doubt it was a fun weekend! Spent most of Friday rolling/soaking in diesel installing Aaron's sump . Believe it or not, I made the trek there and back with my A/C inoperable . We tried getting it to work while I was there but ran out of daylight so I had the pleasure of driving back listening to the snappy tune of wind . I noticed a small leak near one of the hose fittings in the system some time ago so it might have leaked enough that there's not enough pressure to activate the cycling switch. At least, I'm hoping that's the problem.

Onemoparnut

14041 is the help part number. When you put them together it helps to use some grease and drill a very small hole in the bushing to let the air out as the lingage goes in.

KD93

No worries, that's what we're here for, right?!

That sump of Aaron's looks real nice. Good work! Like Onemoparnut and I said, a bit of lube will help, (I use white lithium grease, but whatever.) I didn't think about letting air out, that's pretty smart. Although, I press 'em on with channel locks, so I think I squish the air out anyway!

Onemoparnut

I pressed mine in with the bench vise but it still helped. I might have used to much grease cause after I pushed them in they would push right back out. After I drilled that hole it worked like a charm.

SOOT4BRAINS

You are not having good luck! No A/C and windshield wipers quit in the middle of a storm in AZ. Guess next time we will give your truck some more attention. She was just jealous that we worked on mine all day.

jimbo486

Well I got all 4 of the bushings replaced. Fired up the truck this morning and ran the wipers to clear my windshield of dew...

They went up and NEVER came back down! I was hoping that maybe I got them hooked up on the wrong "stroke" of the motor but when I looked under the cowl after actuating the switch, the motor didn't even turn! Maybe my problem is NOW electrical related. Of course, when you fix one thing, the next weakest part gives up.

Onemoparnut

Are you sure the linkage is still hooked to the motor? Also there is a little ground strap on the wiper motor that is held tight by a mounting bolt. Make sure it has a good connection.

jimbo486

Yeah it's still hooked to the motor. I looked at all the linkage points. I'll look at the ground strap when I get off work. Look for it under the hood I assume?