front wipers won't park

[ziggy1969]

2003 Montana

Hi all,

I see by all the reading that I have done on this kind of problem in this forum that this is common.

Well, mine is doing the same thing. However, I have totally cleaned all the moving parts. Kind of watched the moving parts when I turned off the wipers to make sure that things are actually moving backwards. And they are.

So far, so good. But, when the reverse direction occurs, the moving v-nothed arm does not catch the stationary tab, which I am guessing creates the process for the pin to release. I bent (adjusted) the stationary tab inward to help it stop the reversing process, with no success.

I see the big spring that surrounds the whole assembly (5-6 inches),

Is there another spring that attaches to this moving v-notched arm to help it in the reverse direction to engage the stationary tab ??

If so, does anyone have a link to an illustration of this part, so that I may compare what fell off or what is misssing ??

tia

[1999montana]

Originally Posted by ziggy1969

...Is there another spring that attaches to this moving v-notched arm to help it in the reverse direction to engage the stationary tab....

The lever that catches the stationary post has a flat metal spring that causes this secondary lever to stick out and catch the post.

The assembly is best cleaned while removed from the wiper motor shaft (one screw holds it on). If you turn it over, you'll see the secondary lever and the flat metal spring. Chances are there is road guk and dirt in the spring.

Clean it with brake cleaner followed by a thin grease (white will do; I've used wheel bearing grease too) and some 10w30 motor oil. Work the lever back and forth to ensure it is moving smoothly.

Should solve the problem, but you may want to 'un-bend' the stationary post to its original angle, if you can figure out what that was.

If you have a friend with a Montana, eye-ball his assembly to get a reference point.

Hope this helps.

.

[cdru]

Originally Posted by 1999montana

If you have a friend with a Montana, eye-ball his assembly to get a reference point.

The correct positioning has the point of the V 6-8mm from the catch. This will provided the correct positioning for the paused wipers and enough travel to draw the wipers down.

[1999montana]

Originally Posted by cdru

The correct positioning has the point of the V 6-8mm from the catch. This will provided the correct positioning for the paused wipers and enough travel to draw the wipers down.

See ziggy1969,

You have more than one friend with a Montana after all, only you didn't know it!

Thanks Chris, for posting the measurement...

.

[ziggy1969]

Originally Posted by 1999montana

See ziggy1969,

You have more than one friend with a Montana after all, only you didn't know it!

Thanks Chris, for posting the measurement...

.

YUP, couldn't agree more....thanks for all the info.

I examined a friend's Venture (same wiper setup), and saw the problem (thanks to all your instructions).

[Janderson]

I've read the threads on this problem, as it just happened to me this week. I see when opening the hood and removing the dirt cover that there is a motor on the left above the windshield wiper fluid reservoir and there are two arms that look like conduit pipe that meet in the middle. Where in all of that is the clip that needs cleaning?

I'm new to the group: I have a 2000 Montana with about 55K miles.

I had the intake gasket problem in June 2005 that cost about $900

Replaced tires and front brakes

I also had a couple interior trim problems; the rear hatch handle broke and the trim that surrounds the arm on the ceiling for the power sliding door lost a clip or something that holds it in place.

What better time to fix things than the middle of January in Chicago.

I give mine 7-8 out of 10. I'm not disappointed I bought it and hopefully can get another 100K out of it from what I read.

Thanks for any help!

[1999montana]

Originally Posted by Janderson

...Where in all of that is the clip that needs cleaning?...

Hello there,

Well,... 'You can't poke at it with a stick as my Dad would say, you have to get your hands real dirty' to 'see' the reversing / park mechanism! (A little attempt at humor.) Your 'geography' in the engine room is right on though.

In order to see the lever, spring and such, you need to disassemble the eccentric from the wiper motor that you have Identified. The underside of the eccentric tells the story.

Dirt gets into this small lever and spring and eventually the grease used to lubricate it hardens. The result is that it doesn't move freely and consequently won't connect with the stationary post immediately ajacent to the eccentric and motor assembly on your left of the bracket holding the motor (facing the vehicle).

.

[AGAREL]

Im having the same problem, but have had the screw loosen that holds the wiper clutch assembly. Upon removing the assembly, I noticed there are ribs or serations in the motor shaft, while the mating boss is smooth. Do these strip out? , or are there new serations formed when you bolt down the assembly. I successfuly got the wipers to work, but now they park up as the previous writer said.

[1999montana]

Originally Posted by AGAREL

....are there new serations formed when you bolt down the assembly. I successfuly got the wipers to work, but now they park up as the previous writer said....

My suggestion is to synch the motor with the parked position of the blades.

To do this you need to remove the screw and take the eccentric off the motor shaft. Then, have someone turn the wipers on and then off again. Watch to see if the motor cycles and momentarily goes into reverse just before it stops. It should do this.

My memory is a little short on whether the eccentirc locks or unlocks in the run position, but in either case, it has to do both to run the wipers OR park them. I may have the un-lock and lock reversed. There is a pin and pawl arrangement inside the eccentric clutch that engages or disengages when the motor goes into reverse to park the wipers.

(Better yet, find a friend with a working set of wipers and watch to see how the eccentric works. That will tell you what to do in order to re-park the wipers so they will park at the cowl. Pay close attention to how the eccentric locks and unlocks because you may have to unlock it manually before re-installing it.)

At this stage, the motor is in the parked position. You can bring the blades down to the cowl and then re-attach the eccentric being careful to note whether the eccentric is either in the un-locked or locked position (based on and confirmed by viewing a working vehicle).

As mentioned in this thread elsewhere, there is a tiny spring and lever on the underside of the eccentric assembly. It rides up against a stationary post when the motor goes into reverse and disengages the clutch so the wipers will park. If the lever and spring are covered in road dirt and appear 'dry' of lubricant, this causes the wipers to park at the 'A' pillar because the clutch never disengages.

As for the serrations in the hub assembly, the assembly is made to be softer than the motor shaft to ensure a proper engagement of the splines, but I believe there is a taper to it that makes it bind really well.

In order to ensure it seats deep enough to create new splines, you could remove a small amount of material off the tip of the motor shaft (no more than .040 inch though). This will cause the shaft to seat a little deeper before it 'bottoms' bringing the sides closer together.

I took the eccentric apart and cleaned it then lubricated it with wheel bearing grease and 10w30 motor oil...sort of a light grease mixture. When I had the wiper assembly out about a year ago to provide more room for shock removal, I lubed the wiper shafts and all linkage points before re-installing the assembly.

There is a one time, one way clip on the bottom of the eccentric that can be removed if you are careful and then re-installed using a vise and a socket of the same size as a press. That was about 3 years ago.

Hope this helps.

[cdru]

Originally Posted by 1999montana

My memory is a little short on whether the eccentirc locks or unlocks in the run position, but in either case, it has to do both to run the wipers OR park them. I may have the un-lock and lock reversed. There is a pin and pawl arrangement inside the eccentric clutch that engages or disengages when the motor goes into reverse to park the wipers.

When the wiper has been ran through one cycle, the pin should be in the notch. When it goes into reverse, the v catch locks the main part of the mechanism stationary while the motor continues to go reverse, pulling the pin out of the notch.

At this stage, the motor is in the parked position. You can bring the blades down to the cowl and then re-attach the eccentric being careful to note whether the eccentric is either in the un-locked or locked position (based on and confirmed by viewing a working vehicle).

In the paused position, the mechanism should be in the locked state and the V should be 6-8mm from the catch it would catch on.

As mentioned in this thread elsewhere, there is a tiny spring and lever on the underside of the eccentric assembly. It rides up against a stationary post when the motor goes into reverse and disengages the clutch so the wipers will park. If the lever and spring are covered in road dirt and appear 'dry' of lubricant, this causes the wipers to park at the 'A' pillar because the clutch never disengages.

When my mechanism stopped working, it was that flat spring that pushes the mechanism out that broke. The end of it that actually pushes against the lever was no where to be found so it just flopped. A junk yard had a suitable replacement.