2008 Montana SV6 - Windshield Wipers problem...

Sycko · #1 08-18-2010, 11:51 AM

I did a quick search on the forums and only found old treads about 99-05 Trans Sport / Montana treads...

So I start this one to get assistance

On my Montana SV6 2008, extended, 3.9L, I purchased on June 2010 with 81 000km...

I realised that the speed of the wiper was going slower and slower... but I was not 100% sure that I was right since I own the vehicule since a couple of weeks only...

Now, if it is raining hard outside, the wipers will travel on the windshield slowly (like if they are trying to put a lot of pressure to the windshield...) ... but if the windshield is dry and I want to use some windshield washer fluid to remove some dirt or bugs, the wipers are stopping before reaching the top of the windshield and won't move anymore... I have to use a lot of windshield washer fliud to help them to move a little bit to get them back to there park position... or help them manually by moving them by myself...

Do you have any idea on how to diagnostic exactly what is my problem ?

Motor isn't strong enough anymore? can the linkage be mixed up and motor can move them freely? I tried to lubricate each joints of the linkage, it won't help...not even a little bit...

I am looking to get an "use" motor (they comes with linkage from salvage) but they are not cheap... so I want to be sure lol

I found some wiper motor online that are a lot cheaper than local salvage yard but they doesn't come with linkage... so if the linkage are in fault, I'm still in problem... since local salvage won't sell me only the linkage, it comes with the motor lol...

Thanks for your help on the diagnostic of that problem...

RustyMutt54521 · #2 08-19-2010, 10:46 PM

You're referencing the front windshield wipers and not the rear wiper, correct? I know the rear wiper on these have problems like you describe, and I've read it could be a bad ground or the motor is simply dying.

I recommend checking for a bad ground - perhaps that could cause the problem you're describing. Or, it could be the motor itself.

It sounds like you are handy, so you should be able to troubleshoot the linkage a little more to see if it is binding. I've torn apart the motor/linkage assembly on the previous generation and know the linkage easily separates from the motor. If the '08 is like that, then I'd suggest disconnecting it manually moving it yourself. If it isn't binding in a weird way, I'd guess the problem is the motor is just too weak - either a bad ground or bad motor. Unless the van has been in an accident or had some serious work done, I would guess the linkage should be fine as I don't know what would naturally cause it to bind up, though it's worth checking first.

You may get lucky and find the part you need used on eBay or www.car-part.com.

Please keep us posted as to what you learn!

Good luck
Dave

Sycko · #3 08-20-2010, 07:15 AM

Thanks for the reply Dave!

You are correct, I am talking of the front wipers...

Here's a reference picture from google image of the 2008 wiper linkage... not very clear but you can see it a little bit, I'll try to get some better pictures when I will work on it a little more...

I tried to lubricate the linkage in it's every links but no improvement...

I suspect the motor as the van is not very old and that the wipers were running very fine when I purchased that van...so linkage should be fine...

I will try to move the linkage by hands and I will let you know...

I changed my mind and instead of buying a motor only from internet, I talked with a local salvage yard that is on one of my cars forum and he found a motor and linkage for 175$ so I ordered... lol

So if the linkage is not in good shape, I won't be in problem you know...

A little more expensive but less risky in my opinion...

I'll keep you update...

RustyMutt54521 · #4 08-20-2010, 07:39 PM

I hope the new parts solve your problem.

I plan to put new struts on my '06 (also with the 3.9l) and it looks like the job would be much easier with the wiper motor and linkage off. So I might have some pointers to pass along soon, especially if I do it tomorrow. Then again, you might have yours off already if you were able to get the parts locally.

Good luck-
Dave

Dave

Sycko · #5 08-20-2010, 09:24 PM

If the wheater is on my side, I will work on that tomorrow morning...

It doesn't look too hard to replace, I just came back from the salvage yard with my "new" (lol) motor and linkage...

I might be able to get wipers working before the bad wheater of the weekend reach my open sky garage (i.e. the parking lol)

See ya

Sycko · #6 08-23-2010, 09:10 AM

Good morning!

I had just enough time on saturday morning to replace my wiper motor and linkage, we got a pretty big rain just as I finished lol

Everything is now perfect! Wipers are working fast again! Here's a (not so) quick How To for future reference to your forums! I hope it will help you guys...don't be too hard on my english since I normally express myself in French... but since I found some really interresting threads on your forums, I though it would be nice to share my experience...

If you don't understand some parts because of the terms I used, let me know and I will try to figure another way to write it to be more understandable lol

Here's the old combo motor/linkage one I removed it from the van... (all the pictures are clickable)

Before removing everything, I tried to unbolt the linkage from the motor and even without wiper arms attached to the link I wasn't able to move the linkage by hands...So I was happy to resist from buying the internet wiper motor that was coming alone with no linkage lol

Here's the work table of the parts I removed to be able to clear the path of the wiper linkage...

A quick list in the order I removed the parts...

- Unplug Windshield wiper fluid hose
- Remove Wiper arms bolt cover, remove the nut, pry the wiper arm and remove them
- Remove the plastic clip (lift them to loose and then remove) that hold the black plastic finishing cover under the wiper and remove the plastic cover
- Unplug the battery
- I had to remove the fuse box cover, unbolt the fuse box from fender and then separate the fuse tray from his holder... and then unplug the three connectors of the fuse tray from his holder...

- Unbolt the windshield washer fluid tank to loose it to be able to move it to clear the path of the removal...
The first bolt is easy to find, located just under the fuse box over the battery, I removed it completely...

The second one is harder to find, between the tank and the pulleys under the wiper motor, here's a picture, I removed it completely

The third one is at the lower part of the tank, and you don't need to remove it, just loosen it since the lower section of the tank is like that quick drawing

So just had to loose the bolt and lift the tank a little bit to get it falls a few inches down and move it freely...

- Loose the bracket that hold the transmission dipstick and remove the dipstick

- Unclip a weird looking electrical parts on driver side fender and remove his holder...

- Then I was able to replace the wiper motor and linkage pretty easily...
- Then I re-install everything in the same order, and re-plug the battery...
- Then I realised...something left on the work table...

OMG!! what did I forgot ? lol

The windshield washer fluid tank bolt can't get back since the little metal clip that was holding it falls inside the fender... So I fixed it with something in my toolbox lol

Yeah!

Before re-installing the wipers arms, I turned the ignition to the position just before "start the engine", and I switch the wiper to the "one shot" position and release, so the wiper motor get in Park Position, I did it a couple of time to be sure the linkage and motor was not knocking on anything and that everything seems to be in working order...

Then, I installed the passenger wiper arm first (since it is the lower one when they are on park position), you want it the lower as possible to avoid this wiper to hit the side of the windshield when using the wipers...

Then I installed the driver side arm, I firstly try with about 3" between each wiper blade, but it wasn't enough, the wipers hit themself on the way back to park position... so I retry with about 4 1/2" - 5" between the wiper blades and it worked... so Here we are with working wipers and OMG they are fast!!! lol

I didn't know what I was doing and where I was going and it tooks me about 2.5 hours to remove everything, replace the wiper/linkage and re-install everyting...

RustyMutt54521 · #7 08-25-2010, 05:52 PM

Cool! Those pics will be very helpful - thanks a ton! Glad to hear it solved your problems.

I managed to replace my struts and learned a lot about the same stuff you did. This is much more complicated than the previous gen GM minivan.

I removed the first bolt from the washer fluid reservoir only to see the others were very tricky to get to, especially the one by the wiper motor. I just couldn't get a good bite on it with a socket, and feared I wouldn't be able to put it back together once removed. Maybe it was just my angle (the van was raised in the air with the front wheels removed). Anyway, I chickened out in removing the reservoir. In the end I just loosened the entire wiper assembly enough to move it around and make room to get at the strut bolts. For the record, this was a royal pain, and I recommend following your steps to remove the wiper assembly before accessing the strut bolts.

I almost lost the clip to the main reservoir bolt like you did, but luckily found it barely hanging in place. Nice workaround on your end

One thing that could be helpful is to use an open wrench (13mm I think) to turn the nut holding the wiper linkage to the motor. This doesn't loosen the nut, but instead rotates the motor and causes the linkage to rotate left/right. Moving the linkage towards the passenger side helps the other side clear some obstacles near the fender. Just rotate it back the other way when you are done. The "rest" position has the assembly all the way towards the driver's side. Also, if your windshield is a little dirty then it will probably show the exact resting place where the wiper blades were. Or, mark the windshield where the blades were before removing them. This will help greatly to get them back in the exact place and alignment. There's also a link online somewhere that show you how to align the blades ... involves measuring the distance from the dark line on the windshield, etc.

The fuse box is a work of art... incredibly complicated to figure out how to take apart and put back together. It deserves a writeup all on its own. But once you figure it out it isn't too bad. Did you have to "pop up" the three inner connectors in order for the top portion to be seated correctly when reassembling? I lifted each until it "locked" in an upright position, and when I placed the top half back on and gently pressed down then the locks on the three inner connectors released and they settled back into their resting positions. It seems designed to be put back together that way.

Again - glad to hear your problem is fixed and that things are working as they should. And thanks again for the writeup and photos!

Best wishes-
Dave

Sycko · #8 08-25-2010, 07:16 PM

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