Wiper Bushing Heim Joint Conversion

After having another wiper bushing pop off on the way to Holley Moparty this year, I was talking to James Reeves about more permanent solutions and he mentioned that he wanted to do a heim conversion because the arms were coming off of his Dakota again after replacing all of the bushings with the Dorman replacements.

So after some measuring and research, I ordered the following from McMaster Carr:
4x Right Hand Thread Lubrication-Free Ball Joint Rod End 3/8" 24 Internal Thread: 2458K34 $6.86 each
3 ft Grade B7 Medium Strength Steel Threaded Rod 3/8" 24 thread: 92580A109 $8.70

The rest of the parts came from the hardware store:
4x 3/8x24 hex nuts (lock nuts for the threaded rod)
3x 3/8x1 inch hex head machine screws
1x 3/8x1 inch flat head machine screw
4x 3/8 nylock nuts
4x 3/8 washers

I pulled the drive arm off the wiper motor and the pivots off of the car and then used a dremel to trim off the flattened part of the studs holding them onto the drive and pivot arms and then used a punch to hammer the studs out. Then I drilled out the arms to fit the 3/8" bolts.

Since the arm on the drivers side connects to rods on the top and bottom, the flat head screw needs to be used for connecting the rod between the left and right wipers so the drive rod (from the motor to the left arm) does not contact the head of that bolt. The arm will have to be countersunk to have the head sit near flush with the arm. Also the washers need to be put between the arms and the rod ends for clearance.

I made the rods the same length as the stock rods so the wiper travel wouldn't be changed.

Bolting everything together was pretty straightforward and the assembled mechanism works smoothly.


Attachment 66074
Attachment 66075

That looks like a great solution. Your road rally chances just increased exponentially.

Mann... where was this when I replaced my bushings not too long ago!

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Nice.

Even more impressive to see your motor ground strap appears to be present and functional :eyebrows:

Wow, that looks amazing! I just replaced the bushings in my linkage last week, I wish I would have thought of the heim joint modification. There's nothing worse than driving down the freeway in a rainstorm and the bushing fails.

Welcome to the site! I think the bushings failing during a torrential rain is a rite of passage in the community. It was the deciding factor in the road rally the last time SDAC was in Cincinnati.

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Originally Posted by hopkinsrandall

Wow, that looks amazing! I just replaced the bushings in my linkage last week, I wish I would have thought of the heim joint modification. There's nothing worse than driving down the freeway in a rainstorm and the bushing fails.

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yeah but searching behind the car on an unlit rural road, hoping you find your wiper before the next car comes along and then tying it back on the wiper arm with a piece of shoelace you cut off with your lighter..ranks right up there.. with..