Uniwiper

Hopped in the Shadowagon last night to go to work. It was raining kittens and puppies. Noticed that the driver's side wiper wasn't starting from the usual position. The more we drove, the worse it got. Uh oh. By the time we got about a mile from work, it had stopped working altogether and we were leaning over towards the passenger side to see, like we were gangsta or something. Jeez, we're not hip on today's lingo.

Photo: REVolution

Fortunately, the rain had stopped by the time we made the return home but all we could think of was, "Oh no, it's gonna be a wiper motor for the Shadowagon."

Scene.

Daylight, next day; out in the freezing cold, wind at approximately 25 mph. Fabulous. Hood up, removed all of the leaves built up and the gunk that is your punishment for parking your car outdoors all the time. Stuck the key in and hit the wiper. Passenger side, check; driver's side, still nothing. Dead, zero, fini, zippo, she's a dead one captain...medic! Popped the cover on the wiper arm. Can see that the motor and attached linkage is working; can hear it, too. Nuts, probably a stripped arm or linkage connection.

To the Interwebz!

Found a video detailing the removal of the linkage and motor. Very interesting. Thanks Dude, whoever you are. Looks doable but time consuming and not fun in the cold weather. No garage suuuuuucks. How much for a new linkage and arm? Holy Cow! A new arm lists for $250 from IPD! But it's on sale for $125...gee thanks but no thanks.

To eBay!

A used linkage runs $45 and an arm $30. Now we're talking. But, which one to order? Gotta know if we need one or both. Maybe we can redneck rig it up to just work...

Back to the Shadowagon!

Whipped out the ancient socket set and selected a 13mm. Perfect. Started to loosen the nut. Hmm...it's mighty loose...hey, wait a minute...it's too loose! Make all the loose women jokes you'd like right now. Tightened it down, twisted the key, hit the wipers...it works! Brilliant!

All fixed...for free. Sometimes it pays to take a look and not just drop it off at the shop.

The Shadowagon is happy, once again.