2001 Chevy Blazer Windshield Wiper Motor Repair

The 22-year-old, quarter-million mile, Chevy Blazer decided to get finicky again. This time it was the windshield wipers, which ceased working. It's really hard to see where you're going in heavy rain without wipers. So, it was time to replace the wiper motor.

There's the culprit. Center of firewall, motor on left, gear mechanism on right. Just three screws holding it to the firewall - should be easy, right?



I thought this might be a part number I could look up. But it turns out this is for the motor only, and it now comes as an assembly only.



The good news is, the assembly part is cheap!


Hello old friend. I'm here to pull and replace another tooth. I'll be gentle.



Here we go. Wires and hoses tied back out of the way for clear access. But... nothing ever seems to come easy. The top two screws were easy peasy. The bottom screw was another matter. Couldn't see it, except with a mirror and flashlight. Couldn't reach it but with great contortions and difficulty. Long screwdrivers won't fit in the space. Short screwdriver doesn't have the leverage. Socket wrench with a Phillips head screw attachment and elbow joint got me there. And then the screw dropped into the black hole under the engine. It didn't come out on the ground. It wasn't visible anywhere. Poking around with a magnet didn't bring it up. Poof! Gone! The black hole eats another screw.



Next step, disconnect the wiper motor from the wiper arm linkage. To do that, you have to remove the air intake grill. And before you can that, remove the wiper blades. Open the wiper arm cover at the base, remove the nut which holds it to the shaft, slide it off the spline. The air intake grill is held in place with a bunch of what looks like tiny phillips screws. Looks are deceiving. They're actually push pins. You have to grab the head with needle nose pliers and pull them out. And you can assist with a knife blade underneath the head. There's lots of them.



Air intake grill removed. Oh my, it's dirty under there. I'll clean that up while I'm here.



And there's the linkage bushing from the wiper motor arm to the wiper linkage. Pressure fit, ball and socket joint, like your knee, pops right off. Finally, something easy. The motor makes that short arm spin around, which articulates the longer arms, one going to the left wiper, and another back to the right wiper. And those linkage arms rotate the base of the wiper blade back and forth, which makes the wiper blades sweep the window. Whoever dreamed up this linkage was a genius.



And with that wiper arm linkage disconnected, the motor now comes out of the firewall. Phew, half-way there.



Parts removed. Air intake cover, and wipers. Magnet (orange tape) for retrieving lost screws. Magnet bowl for holding nuts and bolts.



Shiny new motor. That **** on top snaps into the linkage arm bushing. Before installing, put the electrical connector on it, and turn on the wipers. Make sure the motor works and arm rotates. Check!



New motor installed. Easier said then done. That bottom screw again... And since I lost the screw during removal, I had to find another one in my mayonnaise jar of spare hardware. I had the right diameter and thread size, but it was too long. So I had to cut it down to length, and dress up the cut end with a file.



After hooking everything back up, it was testing time! And gosh darn it, it worked only on high. Not on low, not on interval, not on one-swipe. Damn.

These assemblies are notorious for having a bad "pulse board" - the electronic circuit board that runs the timing for the wipers. And it causes exactly these symptoms I'm having with this new motor. The good news, it's also cheap! So, back online to order a new pulse board.



Now it's a week later, the new pulse board has arrived. Thank goodness the motor doesn't have to be removed again. There's an easily accessible cover for the pulse board. Three screws, didn't drop 'em, caught 'em with a magnet. Snap in the new board, attach the electrical plug. The pulse board fits under the cover that goes over the gears.



Pulse board installed. Testing time. Yahoo! It works! I have wipers again. Run it through all the stages; one-swipe, intervals, slow, fast - they all work. Bring on the rain! I'm ready again.

I only spent about $60 on this, but it was hours of labor, and a few cuss words were uttered. :-)