well, Einstein (yours truly) turned on his wipers without clearing the ice from both....driver's side broke free, no issues. however, passenger side is stripped (assuming, since it doesn't work, just jumps a bit when it's on).

how is this thing set up? do i replace the motor or is it just an arm/attachment?

do i just remove the black plastic across the top of the hood near the windshield? I'll have to review the repair manual but was wondering if anyone had an easy way to get this done.

OH YEAH, one more important thing, the driver's side motor/wiper arm is very tight and works fine, except that it doesn't reach all the way to the left like it did....it stops about 1.5-2" short of where it used to.

are the wiper arms/motors hooked together and the passenger side issue is causing this with the driver's side?

Can i use the wipers without causing more damage?

anyone have a good source for replacement parts (if you think you know what i need)?
thanks.

 

also, why are there google ads in my post???

 

You didn't say what year is your truck but on my 98 same thing happens on the passenger side wiper, it stays put and won't wipe. The wiper on the driver side is okay.

So I thought maybe the gears on the end of the wiper got stripped so I went to the dealer to purchase a new wiper arm. At the parts dept. they handed me a new wiper arm but closer examination of it reveals NO "teeth" at the pivot hole. I asked the parts guy how is it attached onto the wiper-motor spindle if it had no "teeth"? He didn't know and he asked the tech. in the shop and the tech. said there's no teeth, you just force it in and tighten the nut. So now I know why it is so flimsy and stopped working.

Right away I thought of a fix without buying a new wiper arm. I got home and wrap some aluminum foil onto the spindle and put the old stripped wiper arm back on, tightened the nut and it's been good ever since. I just have to make sure I clear ice from the windshield before using the wipers.

 

Remove the window vent cowel between the windown and the hood. You will see a network of arms attached to the wiper motor shaft then branching out to each of the wiper arms. I've never looked at an f-150's setup but i've worked on my silverado and i'm assuming it's the same. One of the bolts or linkages may have come lose. You can try lifting the wiper arm off of the passenger side(or whichever is inop) and see if it operates normal without load. If this is true, it may just be a sliping linkage under load and can be fixed by tightening.....

 

Thanks, i hope my 2001 (see signature) is the same way....did you have to pull the black cowel up to get to it or just the arm cap? Quick Steel putty here i come.

 

No need to open the black cowel. The nut holding the wiper is under the end-cap (just pry the end-cap up) at the end of the wiper.

Good luck.

 

Did the same thing with my 98, popped the arm (inside the cowl)off the passenger wiper transmission. Figured I could go to the dealer and get new clips like with my 88 bronco II and fix it. To my supprise the wiper assembly comes as a unit with motor arms and transmissions as a single unit for $235.00 cad plus a $50.00 core just so you don't keep the spare parts from your old one. Won't turn my wipers without checking if their frozen again...