Wiper bushings....Dakota

[Cranky]

The truck forum seems to be pretty dead....so I come here with this...
My 95 Dakota seems to eat these bushings up every couple of years but since I don't drive it all that much in the rain, well, they don't seem to last long. I figured since they are nylon/plastic or whatever, they don't need to be lubed but they do go on easier with the use of WD-40. Am I doing something wrong here? The pins they fit over look good to me....

 

[roadrunnerman]

i'm sure the wd-40 dries out after awhile.Maybe something like a graphite lube might make them last longer.Just throwing an idea out.

 

[Cranky]

Yeah, someone on another site mentioned the graphite. I stuck in a new bushing late yesterday using graphite so we'll see how that does. It isn't squeaking anymore at least

 

[fiorock]

Ok, so I'm not the only one who's had this problem. We have a '92 Dakota that's eaten up the plastic bushings a couple of times. The wiper linkage falls apart, usually at the worst possible time (my wife was in NYC in pouring rain once when they quit). The first time, I machined some new bushings out of UHMW, & even recreated the snap-fit fingers to fit in the linkage arm hole. Those lasted about a year or so & promptly fell apart again. I finally decided that if the bushings were going to wear out, I'd at least re-engineer it to retain the linkage, so I modified the crank arm on the motor by welding a threaded stud to it. I then made a new flanged bushing with a big washer behind it (bigger than the hole in the linkage arm), & held it on with a nylon lock nut. I figure if it's gonna wear out, at least the linkage will stay together until I get it home. We don't use the truck that much anymore (its kind of a beater), so this fix has lasted several years.

 

[D575]

WD-40 isn't a lube, Just saying. Whats wrong with a little grease ?

 

[Cranky]

Ok, so I'm not the only one who's had this problem. We have a '92 Dakota that's eaten up the plastic bushings a couple of times. The wiper linkage falls apart, usually at the worst possible time (my wife was in NYC in pouring rain once when they quit). The first time, I machined some new bushings out of UHMW, & even recreated the snap-fit fingers to fit in the linkage arm hole. Those lasted about a year or so & promptly fell apart again. I finally decided that if the bushings were going to wear out, I'd at least re-engineer it to retain the linkage, so I modified the crank arm on the motor by welding a threaded stud to it. I then made a new flanged bushing with a big washer behind it (bigger than the hole in the linkage arm), & held it on with a nylon lock nut. I figure if it's gonna wear out, at least the linkage will stay together until I get it home. We don't use the truck that much anymore (its kind of a beater), so this fix has lasted several years.

Mines a beater too so that's more work than I care to do on it. Just stuck in another stock type bushing....took every bit of 15 minutes but only two screws hold my cowl vent on lol

WD-40 isn't a lube, Just saying. Whats wrong with a little grease ?

Actually, it is a very very light lube.....

 

[jessipup]

Just a shot in the dark and you probably have checked. Buy you may want to look at it from another direction and check the linkage arms for a sharp or square edge or a burr. polishing and radiusing the arm stampings may help.
Best of luck

 

[Cranky]

The linkage looks fine. It went for years before giving trouble but I'm leaning towards the made in China bushings as being the problem. If it doesn't hold up this time (after using graphite on them), I may buy my next set from the dealer and see if they hold up any better but theirs is probably from China too.....?