Windshield Wipers Quit 04 LowMax

The other day, the wipers didn't seem to be running as fast as normal, and, finally, just quit slightly above normal resting position. Roads here in Alberta are very sloppy
this time of year with temps just below freezing, but as I was on a 60 mile from home haul, I managed to get home with a couple of stops for cleaning. I did stop and check
fuses, a 5 amp for the switch and a 25 amp for the motor. Both good. When I bought the truck used in Sept of '11 one of the things they did as conditions of sale, was install a new w/w motor. I didn't think it likely the motor had packed it in yet, but you never no, so had to consider it. Doing some online searching, before I started digging in, I found that wiper pivots can seize up and be a problem. There is also a control module, grey and about 6" square, in behind the tach and speedo, which could be the culprit. When I started in, I found the wiper motor cooking hot, and still trying to run. Only way to shut it down was either to pull the 25 amp fuse, or unplug it. Seems that
in this truck at least, the wipers are live all the time. Since it was a Saturday, and I need to be fixed up by Monday morning, I went to the dealer in Edmonton to pick up
parts, even though I didn't yet know the exact problem. Well, that was a process too, seems the pivot units which include the part that goes through to where the wipers go on, has now all been changed. They don't carry any of my style anymore. The grey control box runs at over $400 and if you plug it in, you bought it, i.e. no returns. So
I picked up a spare motor and came home. Plugged in the new motor, worked just fine on all positions, hi, low, and intermittent. That ruled out the controller, power, switch, etc. Now comes the hard part, getting the old motor out. You need to be flexible small individual kind of like the alien ET to get up in there! There are 4 1/2" nuts holding the
motor in place. The bottom 2 I got with a 3/8 drive ratchet, some extensions, and a flex joint. The top 2 were worse. I finally got up in there with a small 1/2" wrench and got them loose. When they are all off, the motor will move, a bit. But you still have to get it free of the linkage on the back. After much frustration, I finally lassoed it with a small sling, and ratchet strapped it through the dash and steering wheel to one of my amber rotating lights on the roof. This put enough of a twist in it to be able to get at the 1/2" nut on the back side. Once that nut is off, you can pry the linkage off easily (mine anyway). So, I get the motor out, then comes the moment of truth, are the wipers free to move back and forth by hand? Nope. Something seized, either drivers or pass side pivot. Crap! Now what. You can see the drivers side up above the clutch pedal, but the pass side one is deeply buried behind dash, heater vents, etc. I took some air lines of a valve that was labeled assembled in Mexico, bolted to a frame by the steering column. Snipped some ties, removed the bolt holding the aiM valve, and was able to pull it down out of the way. Then I sprayed the heck out of the
pivot joint with a product called Katz ###, a combination penetrating + lubricant. I went up on the front and started working the wipers up and down, low and behold after
a bit of this and some more spraying, they freed right up! Yahoo! I hate to think about if this had not worked, trying to get that joint apart or gain access to the other one, is next to impossible without gutting the whole dash. I decided to put the new motor in since the old one had gotten smokin hot, and for $128 + tax I don't want to go in there again in the near future. Oh, the reason the motor was hot, and trying to go all the time, is because it wants to complete it's cycle and get back to the "park" position. I would never have thought that something which is working, can seize up on the go, but that's obviously the case with these wiper pivots. I hope I have helped someone else with this story, my truck is an 04 and this happened, there's got to be lots more just waiting for this to happen.
Ken. Alberta Canada

 

Would have been a whole lot easier on you if you had removed the junction block on the outside of the firewall which double as an access panel for the wiper motor and passenger side linkage.

You should have known right away that one of your pivots was seized since your motor was still trying to go. That was your tell tale sign right there.

Pivots are such a pain on these. They've changed wiper supply companies so many times in 10 years it makes it near impossible to find the correct parts and when you do you end up needing this adapter plate and this adapter harness and then with these new pivots you need new arms and the list goes on and on. I absolutely hate working on wipers on theses but unfortunately I have lots of experience with it lol

Glad you got yourself fixed up! Be sure to lube that pivot as much as you can. When they are brand new you can take them completely apart which we normally do and pack as much anti-seize in there as we can.

 

Thanks for the feedback. First time I've had any problems at all with wipers, so didn't know about the siezed pivots-torqued up motor connection. Anyway, are you sure about the junction box acess? I took a look there, and there is a collection of junctions and the starter relay is there too, but I would not describe it as a removable box, more like a few things randomly bolted to the firewall, with a flimsy sort of black cover loosely protecting it all. Maybe it changed from 2000 to 04? It would sure make it a lot easier. I didn't quite get it timed right, park position is now a couple of inches up, so if I could access it from the front to correct it, that would be nice. Oh, and just for future reference, how do those pivots come apart? Some kind of retainer, or do they just pry apart? Thanks again.

 

Yes I'm positive, from 97 to 06's I know for a fact. Should be two 3/8 bolts (head) to take the cover off and then underneath you will see one 3/8 bolt in the four corners of it, take those for off and you will have access.

Be quite awhile since I took them apart (thankfully) but im pretty sure it was just a retainer clip holding the spine shaft that turns in the housing. Thats only for the old tapered spline shaft ones not the new larger straight splined ones.

 

I ran into the same issue somewhat. I had my windshield replaced and they did not tighten the nuts down that hold the wiper arms into the studs, thus stripping out the pot metal on the wiper arm. This is when I found out about the changeover on the wiper system. I could not just get the arm as it was "obsolete" now and they wanted me to spend the $1,200 to changeover the entire wiper assembly.

Well, I went to the junk yard and searched all over the cars and pickups they have there and found a couple that would work. But I lucked out in the big truck tow and found a mid-80's Volvo truck that had the exact same wiper arms on it. I grabbed the set of that truck and found 3 more identical trucks and took all theirs as well. Figured I might as well get them now while I can lol

 

Nice find! Was the passenger side slight different angle like in the Star or both arms (driver and pass) the same?

 

There's another solution too...desperate for a fix that I came up with when my pass side started slipping and then quit altogether. I carefully drilled a hole right through the post and the part that slips over, and put a nail through. No more slipping, hasn't missed a beat since Fairly easy drilling too, aluminum I think. Oh, and to underpsi, I did check out that access from the firewall, because I had gotten the timing slightly off. They weren't parking in quite the right place. But, soab, that was a tight fit to get in there and pull the nut off the back of the motor! I have small hands and wrists, I don't know how anybody with big hands could ever get in there. It felt like I was working with my hand caught in a beaver trap the whole time!

 

Definitely not a comfortable place to work, I agree. I found thats the best way to get at the passenger side pivot though. Pretty much no other access to even touch the pivot but through the electrical junction on the firewall.

 

My pivots locked up a last summer. I was able to pull over and pull the fuse out for the wiper motor before the motor got too hot!!

The shop installed the new style pivots and then I had to get the new wiper arms. Left and right are both the same so they look more balanced.

My wiper motor doesn't park in the right spot now so I have to time the switch right to get them to stop in the correct spot, I am just not looking forward to trying to get the motor out lol!!!

Bill

 

No, both sides are identical. I'm a master at improvising. I was able to find that the wiper arms on a Geo Metro convertible are the same as well (Bosch) but I broke the arms trying to remove it from the car lol