Relative resistance of the wiper linkage

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Ghostsoldier

Ghostsoldier

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Guys,
I'm in the process of connecting the wiper linkage on my son's '74 Duster (it's been disconnected for years by the previous owner), and I went ahead and replaced all of the plastic clip bushings. I hooked it all together, and I noticed that the linkage was really hard to move....I'm a big guy (6 ft @ 250 lbs), but it almost takes two hands for me to move the wipers back and forth.

I figured that was normal, so I connected the motor and hotwired it under the hood to check operation...and the damn thing will hardly move! The motor and wires get hot, and the arms move slightly, but that's it. I thought the motor might be weak, so I took it back off and tried the power...it spins like a top, and seems to be rather fast.

This leads to the question of, how powerful should the motor be? I can hold the linkage tab with vicegrips and when I apply power, I can actually stop the motor from turning...is this normal?

The other question was about the linkage as a whole...shouldn't it be really easy to move? Not floppy, per se, but smooth? Here are the wiper pivots and seals:

S6306516.jpg


S6306517.jpg


Those babies are grungy, and REALLY stiff to move...is that normal?

If not, is there anything I can do to them, or soak them in, to loosen them up? I'm not in the position to buy new ones right now, so I'd like to fix these, if possible....any ideas?

Thanks,
Rob
 
The pivots need repair. They should turn very easily alone.
Stopping the motor is not a good practice. There is a bi metal limiter inside some of the switches that will break after repeated use.
 
Thanks, Redfish....can I soak them in AT fluid or similar?

And, no more stopping the motor! :-D

Rob
 
The cast body has a 1/2" long bronze bushing at each end. Between those bushings is a rusty steel shaft and accumulation of crud. Anything short of taking the pivots completely apart is a temporary fix.
I can talk you through the process if you want.
 
Red...if you can write me up a down-and-dirty tutorial for fixing these, I sure would appreciate it! :cheers:
Rob
 
I have some spares, might save a bit of time..... good luck, soak them in some PBlaster?

PB-Blaster.jpg
 
Ghostsoldier said:
Red...if you can write me up a down-and-dirty tutorial for fixing these, I sure would appreciate it! :cheers:
Rob
Click to expand...

Have you purchased the seal kit ? You will need it and a grinder. Go ahead and peel that fat foam seal from the top and inspect the assemblies. You should find a wavy spring washer and a thin steel wear washer at the top. Fiber washers are located on both ends. The fiber washer at bottom is probably there even though you can't see it yet.
If those are gone you may as well buy another pivot. I haven't found a source for those small parts.
Let me know how and when you are ready to proceed.
 
Yep, looks like the washers are still there. A wire wheel might make them disappear. They aint much. There is a swedged collar on that end too and we wont muck with it.
If the pivots were still in the car I would start with mark the bottom of the pivot housing so they could be reinstalled rotated 180 degrees.
After removing from car...

Grind most of the mushroomed end off the bottom. Place the flat metal arm between your vise jaws and drive the pin out with a small punch. Collect the fiber washer that couldn't be seen before and keep it for reuse.
Next take the arm back to the grinder the same side as before to remove approx 1/32 inch of its thickness at the pin hole area.
Remove the pins from the pivot housings and collect flat, wavy, and fiber washers to be reinstalled in the same order. Now the housings can be flushed and the pins can be cleaned.
Reassembly in later post
 
yep, you'll need to grind away the majority of that. In the end of this we'll have about a 1/16 inch of material there the redo that.
 
Awesome....

Update: it's raining like heck here, so I'll post back here as soon as I can get a chance to grind them off...it might be tomorrow or Sunday....

Thanks, Red! 8)
Rob
 
Sad news, Red....whilst trying to remove the pin from the pivot, I accidentally broke one of the @#!$! aluminum ears off...boy, am I ever pissed right now....so, I'm back to square one.

One ray of hope is I have a set on my junked-out '68 Dart...do you know, by chance, if they are of the same design?

I want to thank you for trying to help me out with this....even though it was a bust (literally), I really appreciate the time you spent explaining the process to me....:)

Rob
 
The only difference you'll find other than left and right hand is how the linkage attaches. Some use retaining clips on the pins and some use nylon ball sockets. I can't imagine how you broke it but I know chit happens. Pot metal does break easily.
I just assume worse things happen to better people and carry on. LOL
Let me know how you'll proceed. If we need to take parts from one to repair another, we can :)
 
I'm gonna pull the pivots off the Dart this week, and see how they look....maybe between the two, we can Frankenstein something that works....I'll be in touch!
Rob
 
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