My passenger side windshield wiper is not working. I can hear the motor working but wiper apppears to be disconnnected. Wiper arm turns freely when moved unlike working wiper. How do I reconnect this?

 

nylon bushings break and the linkage falls off can get replacement at any auto store. need to remove the linkage and replace, careful to remember just how they go easy to get in backwards and/or upsidedown. replace all of them while in there. remove cowling and just start removing as needed should be obvious as to what to do to get them out. careful not to break the water line connectors very brittle.

 

If the linkage is Okay than the next most common cause is the splines on the wiper pivot (the part the blade slides on to). Most people do not know that there are two sets of splines. The first is the splines that the blade slides onto and the next is the splines under that part. It does not look like it, but that part is pressed onto splines on the pivot itself. If the splines are stripped the correction is to replace the wiper pivot or if it is the under spline, use JB weld or a similar metal glue to permanently attach the other splined piece to the pivot. Hope this is understandable.

 

if you need new bushings I strongly recommend you get bushings from the dealer. I had a major problem of the auto part store bushings failing at the worse time (raining cats & dogs on the interstate). I went through 5 different types of bushings. I finally broke down and went back to my local dodge dealer and spent $19.15 on 4 bushings; I guarantee you that you won't have any problems. Since then, it has been 100% perfect.

 

Thanks much for your replies.

Sorry to sound ignorant, but does anyone have a picture of the bushings and splines and how they are put together? I've gotten the wiper arm off by sliding the clip to the side and prying it off. Just don't know where to go from here.

 

take the grill piece off the splines come thru , screws under hood on firewall. careful not to break the T connector the washer hose attches to. Unbolt the two wiper units and remove the linkage off the wiper motor and remove the two wiper units along with the linkage. you will see the nylon/neopreem bushings that need to be replaced. NOTE! mark the linkage as to the orentation they sit, they must be put back the same way is easy to mix them up, install upside down, backwards, just be careful. Squeez the new bushings into the holes on the linkage with pliers, they will pop into place you must feel them pop in. You might want to snap a couple pic's with your cell phone just for referance. also replace the large one on the motor.

 

Thanks again for the help Kahanabob. This closet mechanic apreciates it.

 

Sorry to bump such an old thread, but I thought I should share that I also had an autozone bushing fail on me today. I only installed it like a month ago. I will be going to the dealer tomorrow. At $20 for 4, that's a better deal than AZ. They sell you a multi-pack for like 9 bucks and you just toss the ones that don't match.

And thanks to everyone who posted here! You guys helped me diagnose this last month when it first happened. Lots of solid info on this site.

 

I just wanna add that debris gets thru the cowl grill real easy and piles up around the wiper/motor linkage. This makes the motor work extra hard and can cause it to fail as well as the bushings. The junk can also dam up the drains which will cause water to run into the cab thru the heater duct and can help your fenders and rockers to rust when the water and wet crud sits in the bottom of the drain passage right behind the front wheels. This wet crap can also cause the heater blower motor resistor (found in the heater duct) to fail, meaning your blower only works on high and may even present a fire hazard if the crap in there dries out.
Bottom line: on a twenty year old truck, it won't hurt to remove the cowl and clean in there.