Last Friday I parked my 2000 Voyager knowing that snow and ice were on the way. I forgot that the wipers were still set on the slowest intermittent setting. So by the time I went back out to deice it 3 days later, a few inches of packed snow and ice had covered the van, but I managed to get inside to fire up the engine and unwittingly let it sit there for maybe 15 minutes trying to move the icelocked wipers.

So now that its all deiced, here's where I am : the the wipers got tangled up the first time they became free, and I forced the driver side one down and out of the way. If I swing both blades up, both of the pivots seem to be moving back and forth like they should but when I swing the blades back into position on the windshield, the drivers side wiper now seems to spasmodically move a few inches back and forth, but the passenger side actually sweeps all the way back and forth pretty much like it should.

Clearly the wiper motor is OK, and I'd even say all the controls and electrical are fine, its just a "mechanical drive/ linkage" issue. As important as the drivers side wiper is to safety, whats involved in fixing this, am I better off just turning it over to a dealer or a shop?

For the record, I built my own engines and automatic transmissions in my younger days and still have all sorts of tools left, and rarely had to use a sledge hammer to fix anything.

 

one of two possiablities
the wiper arm has come lose on the pivot
or you bent the linkage to the drivers side pivot
by forcing the arm i think the 2nd

here's a link to check it
http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBr...3d801a444a.jsp

 

Pull the nut at the base of the arm (13mm) and take the arm off. The engagement notches in the wiper arm and nub are very fine and more than likely you just stripped out on that side. You could buy a new (or used) arm assembly and probably be fine just with that. But I would put a layer or two of tin foil over the nub and then push the arm firmly down on it . Then I would place the smalles diameter washer that will fit under the bolt cover and tighten it right down. I had to do this on both my 88's and 91 caravans. They make them strip out easilyas a safety feature to the motor/inner assembly, so don't feel too bad. Good luck.