J body wiper repair

BudW

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So, just spent all afternoon doing this but now it is so stiff the wiper motor can barely turn the assy. w/o the wiper arms on. What gives?
Did you remove the two transmission arms from pivots to replace bushings (in cowl) or did you remove the transmission (arms and pivots) as an assembly (from cowl)?
If the later, did you feel the pivots on how they rotate on its internal bushings. If so, how did the pivots rotate?

I have seen some pivots that get (rusty, or something) which makes them very hard to rotate – which I suspect is your problem. If so, a person will need to remove the pivot (or pivots, if both), and soak it in some sort of lubricant. I do recommend not to use rust penetrator, in this case for that isn’t a lubricant (that will stick around after "rust was penetrated"). Maybe transmission fluid (not sure what might be best).

Those pivots were not meant to take apart. There is a felt seal on top, to keep out water.

Twenty/thirty years ago, I would recommend tossing the pivots, if tight or stuck, but now days, finding a replacement is easier said than done.
Those pivots are not the same as F/M-body pivots. They might be the same as C, newer B or R-body . . . maybe.
The J-body wiper pivot part numbers are:
Left 37994533
Right 3799456

If the pivots rotated OK, then the bushings (if lubricated) will loosen with usage.
BudW
 

Ele115

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Good point. Maybe the wipers have not been used in a while and some rust propagated like the brake rotors do when you don't drive the car for a while.
 

rukinleon

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This was a complete rebuild, all parts wire wheeled--shine like new! Small ends were Mopar, not dorman, everything white lithium lubed. Pivots spun like a fan. Was wondering how critical alignment needs to be--pins to bushings. Maybe an arm is slightly bent--haven't put a mirror up in there yet to look.
 

Trey

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I'm just guessing but I would think the only part that would create that much friction is the cam cover to wiper arm linkage. That part is very hard to snap on the wiper arm correctly and would bind if not completely snapped in. What I would do to check is unbolt the wiper arm from the motor and work it manually. It should work pretty freely by hand back and forth especially without the wiper arms on. I would then turn on the wiper motor and see if it's working correctly. If both those things check out, it's something to do with that cam cover. Good luck with it.
 

rukinleon

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Just to wrap up, it was getting near the end of the month-inspection was due-so I buttoned everything up and waited for a dry day to have it inspected. (it passed-mechanic is a friend) I'll get back to it sometime, but I turned my attention to the new car-83 Cordoba. Now NYS tells me the title is unacceptable and the Cordoba will have to undergo DMV inspection, which usually eats up several months. Guess I won't be driving that this summer.
 

Ele115

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OK good luck. Keep us posted. I kinda forgot what those inspections are like since I left CA and came back home to Floduh when I finally retired. They sure can tie knots in any plans a good man has. And some $$$$$
 

MiradaCMX80

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Thanks to this thread, I was able to make sense of the box of wiper junk that came with my car and get mine fixed. Need to restore the arms and get blades, but the motor and transmission linkage work as designed.
 
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