Wiper Linkage Rehab

Hayzoos

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Once you remove the black plastic grid cover, that is all the space you get. The only thing you could remove to get easier access is the hood and hinges, but that's a two person operation and more work to put back together and line up the hood. And, it still does not get you that much more access for all the additional work. If I had the right helper (experienced) available I would consider removing the hood though. Removing the wiper motor would also get you a little more access through it's hole in the bulkhead but not much more useful access, but a one person operation and only three bolts (I think) and some wires to unplug (the linkage would also normally have to be disconnected).
 

Aspen500

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Best way is to remove the nut that holds the bellcrank (lever) to the wiper motor and pull it off. Be sure to note the orientation. It can go on 2 different ways. Then remove the wiper arms. Under them on each wiper pivot is a 12 point nut. Remove those and the pivots will drop into the cowl. Then,,,,,,,,,pull the whole works out and do the work on the bench. Trying to work inside the cowl is about impossible.
 

SonOfaTomP

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Best way is to remove the nut that holds the bellcrank (lever) to the wiper motor and pull it off. Be sure to note the orientation. It can go on 2 different ways. Then remove the wiper arms. Under them on each wiper pivot is a 12 point nut. Remove those and the pivots will drop into the cowl. Then,,,,,,,,,pull the whole works out and do the work on the bench. Trying to work inside the cowl is about impossible.
so everything just sort of falls out when you take out the wipers and the wipers hold em in place?
 

Justwondering

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IndieDippy ...
Your description of falls out is pretty accurate.
Even though only one side failed, take the time to buy the plastic inserts for both sides and replace them now. You DO NOT want to put this all back together and have the left side fail because you tried to save a few dollars.

I took the bell crank out as well as all the linkage.
Even with putting the bell crank on wrong, taking it off, and putting it back on again...
it was my first time doing this rehab and it took about 1 1/2 hours. Could probably have finished in 1 hour or less if :
1. I had paid attention to the bell housing orientation before I released it
2. I had used some tape or a crayon to index my wipers and the 12 point nut before I removed them

It is probably easier for a left-handed person, but I'm horridly right-hand dominant and as I remember it, I stood on the driver side but used my left hand because the connection is so close to the fender that there was no way I could use my right hand comfortably.

I probably spent as much time sneaking up on the wiper blade alignment/12 point nut set up as I did replacing the plastic inserts.
Since I was annoyed with my ignorance, I took a break and finished it hours later after I had taken time to chill out a bit.

JW
 

69-

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I would not recommend removing the hood - Some friends had hours of realignment issues. Same goes for the wiper motor, it is not in your way while doing the job. Take off the bellcrank nut first, then the rest.

It is tight in the plenum, being a left hander in deed could help, I guess, but is all do-able.
 

SonOfaTomP

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i wish the part in front of the windshield came off. it does on ram and D100 trucks. thanks for the help guys
 

Milezero

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Ahhh ..
Today was a rare day that I got to spend several hours on the 87 Fifth Avenue.

With 4 new Dorman plastic grommets, I began my quest.

Wear a long sleeve shirt to reduce the nicks and scraps you get from working blind in the cowling area.

I checked this forum and over at dippy.org and tried to follow the directions as best I could.

MISTAKE 1
I tried following the directions provided. I swear I thought I had to have 3 grommets facing the same direction and 1 grommet facing the opposite direction. Not for me.
My situation was 2 to the front and 2 towards the rear.

MISTAKE 2
Using my husbands air compressor to blow the dirt out of the cowling area. It seemed like it was nearly going to build pressure. But once it got to 20 pounds, it quit building pressure. It was just about worthless trying to blow the dirt out of the cowling. Note to self: Buy husband a new air compressor for Christmas.

MISTAKE 3
When I reversed the grommets, I reversed the wrong ones. Which means I installed and removed half the grommets-- two times. Yes, it is much harder to get them out than it was to put them in considering that I didn't want to butcher them and have to drive 50 miles round trip for 2 more.

MISTAKE 4
Forgot to label the wiper arms before I removed them. That means I had to walk from one side and to the other of the car futzing with the arms getting them to be generally parallel and not waller off the right side "A" pillar nor stop to high on the glass when 'resting'. Why, oh Why, didn't i whip out my green painters tape and mark things before I took them apart?

MISTAKE 5
I did remove the plate on the backside of the wiper motor. But somehow, i don't think I got it put back on correctly. When I auditioned the wipers, they worked about 4 times, then they wouldn't move, then they moved again, then stopped and wouldn't move at all. Bleh

I'll get my pictures resized and uploaded a bit later.

The end result, I do have new grommets installed and the wiper controls have been greased with lithium. I also used lithium grease on the grommets/posts so they would rotate easily and slide on/off easily.

I do know how to properly install the linkage. Although, I did it wrong the first time and had to take it all out to do it a second time. Part of the problem is when the grommets failed, everything was just rattling around and I didn't pay particular attention when I pulled things out.

View attachment 41635
Were all 4 grommets you used the same part?
Just got my Lebaron home, and it needs them if I want 2 wipers that work.
 

BudW

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Your car will either use three, or four, of Chrysler part number 3799089.
For cars that use a wiper park system (J-bodies and some (I think) high end F/M-bodies) use a different bushing that contacts the wiper motor (the wiper motor arm is also way different).

If you can remove the black plastic cowl screen and can look down to the arm between the wiper motor and linkage - if it is a simple piece of steel, about one inch by three inches long, then you need four of the above mentioned part number.
3799105.jpg


If your wiper motor arm looks to be complex (wide half metal and half yellow plastic), then you will need three of the above part number. Note: these auto-parking wiper motor arms are very hard to find.
3431545.PNG


BudW
 

Deano

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Hate to regurgitate an older post, but I'm having the same problem. My wiper cam disintegrated so I bought a new set which included the bottom two parts. In a pic in this thread, I see that there is a metal retainer and flat washer that I'm not seeing in my cowl. See pics. I don't have the parts in the circle. Bottom pic is of the set I bought.

3431545.jpg

s-l1600.jpg


Would anyone have a diagram of how this mess goes back together?
I don't ever plan to drive the car in the rain, but if I ever needed the wipers, I'd like for them to work.
 

Deano

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I just dug a bit deeper and found the thread "J body wiper repair".

Sorry about that.
 

BudW

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If the wiper arm(s) have been removed, they might have been re-inserted onto the wrong spline. If needing to remove a wiper arm, I like to take a piece of masking tape by the blade(s) to windshield and mark with a pen as to position. Then when reattaching the arm, I can confirm it is in correct position.

Five inches is a bit high and I suspect that arm is one spline off.
BudW
 
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