97 Intrepid_ Wipers

Hi,
Single mom here, trying to make a living.
My otherwise dependable car let me down recently. Wipers quit. (Suddenly
of course during a storm) The wiper motor still makes noise but nothing
moves. Before the local sharks look at it and decide how gullible I am,
what should I expect.? I just want to be informed and have a clue what
could be wrong and what to expect. Anyone out there can help?

 

JudithAnne - It may be that the mechanical connection from the motor
output to the linkage assembly has come loose or that the internal gears
have worn out - which would mean the wiper assembly has to be replaced -
see below about www.car-parts.com.

Also, sometimes a single wiper arm will stop moving because the nut that
secures the wiper arm to the oscillating shaft loosens, and the shaft
moves (rotates) but the arm doesn't. However, if both arms quit moving,
it is unlikely that both nuts came loose at exactly the same time. Just
for grins, see if you can grab either arm with your hand in its normal
rotation arc - if you can, then the nut has simply come loose and needs
to be tightened.

If you have a trusted mechanic, he should be able to take a cursery
glance (possibly for no charge) and possibly determine where the problem
is - especially if the arms are simply loose on the shafts.

Worse case, if you can't determine the exact cause of the problem, or it
becomes clear that you need a new assembly, go to www.car-parts.com and
drill down for a complete wiper/motor assembly. When you type in the
Make/year/model of your car and identify that you are looking for the
wiper assembly (or however it's listed), you will see a listing only for
the wiper assemblies that will fit your car - even if they are different
models and years - IOW, if it's on the list, it will work for your car.
Also, at the beginning of the drill down, you are able to restrict
your search to junk yards in your state only, so the number of hits you
have to look thru will be greatly reduced, and there will certainly be
several listings of junk yards with the part near you that you can pick
from - and they will most likely ship to your door for a nominal
shipping fee, so even if they're halfway across the state, it won't be a
big deal.

I replaced the wiper assembly on my '99 LH car (Concorde) for under $100
- and that was only because I got an assembly that was only 2 years old
- most of the ones listed for my car were $50-$75. Yours is the
previous (older) generation LH car, so I don't know if it's the same
wiper assembly - but I think you should be able to find a good one near
you for $45-65. Probably an hour labor to swap it out. If it is
actually something broken and not something simply loose that needs
tightening, replacing the whole assembly should definitely fix the
problem regardless of what it is.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Expect to have the wiper linkage replaced, as the vehicle ages the grommets
wear out and the linkage falls off, Mopar parts at a guess around $40 Labor
no more then 1.5hr

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

That sentence should have read "see if you can grab either arm with your
hand **and rotate it** in its normal rotation arc - if you can, then the
nut has simply come loose and needs to be re-tightened."

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Wow - $40 for the complete linkage? That's not bad.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Your thinking of the complete drive train assembly, What I said $40 was for
is just the 2 pieces that snap on to the motor and pivots

 

You said for her to expect to have the wiper linkage replaced - I took
that to mean the complete wiper drive assembly less motor and wiper arms.

But whatever - if a $40 new part fixes the problem, that's about as good
as it gets these days.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

broken limkage or it jambed and popped off