Wiper Motor Replacement (1975-1991) (Gas & Diesel)

The wiper motor was bad in my 1985 Ford E350 RV, having only high speed, no parking of the arms when turned off, and getting stuck mid-wipe sometimes.

This seems to apply to all 1975-1991 Econoline vans based on the wiper motor design. Model years 1989-1991 have a slightly different motor, simply due to a different wire connector on the wiper motor. Aside from that, everything else is probably the same.

Disconnect your battery/batteries before you do anything! You are going to be messing with a lot of electrical stuff on this job!

Start by removing both of the wiper arms and the cowl that covers the wiper linkages. (sorry, no pics of that. It's pretty self explanatory). The wiper arms are very easy, they have a rotating bit of metal with a tab that you can use a flathead screwdriver to stick in between to release the arm from the linkage. The cowl is a bunch of Philips screws. Then it lifts off. Might have to partly close the hood to help it clear the hood when removing/install the cowl.

Disconnect the wiper linkage from the main arm that is bolted to the wiper motor's output shaft.

Remove the bolt that holds the main arm to the wiper motor's output shaft and remove the arm from the motor. (Sorry, no pics of that either. I didn't take any.) You'll need to remove it now, the motor cannot be removed from the vehicle with the arm attached.

Once that's all done, you are ready to go inside.

Remove the 2 screws holding the fuse panel to the steel mounting plate behind it. One upper right, the other lower left. Just let it hang there.

As much of a pain as it is, you will need to next remove the steel plate that the fuse panel mounts to. It's hard to reach the mounting bolts, as it's also a bit hard to remove and install. But, you have to get it out of the way in order to replace the wiper motor. The first pic below is showing a very hard to see/find/get to mounting bolt, which I had already removed in the pic, but the hole is circled. The mounting plate removed is shown backwards and upside down on the ground, but you get the idea. I used a very long 1/4" socket extension to reach many of the mounting bolts from this point forward.

You'll need to remove the mounting screws for the headlight switch/wiper motor switch dash panel on the left side of the steering wheel to help gain further view/access to the wiper motor. The upper side of the wiper motor is circled:

 

Disconnect the wire connector from the bottom motor, then remove the 2-3 mounting bolts that are holding the wiper motor to the firewall. The motor should want to just fall down once the bolts are removed, if you removed the main arm from the output shaft as previously mentioned. If you skipped that step, sucks to be you. You'll probably need to bolt the motor back in place in order to remove the arm. (I did that, so please learn from my mistake)

Now, take your new motor and bolt it back in just like the old one was, and attach the wire connector. The rest of the interior stuff is just putting it back together in reverse order. (Put back the headlight/wiper switch dash plate, put back the steel plate, reinstall the fuse panel to the plate)

Now test that your new motor works (both/all speeds work and it parks like it should when turned off) before you proceed any further, just in case you got a dud. (I don't suggest testing it until you button up the loose wiring stuff, but that's your call). Assuming it's working properly, you can proceed.

Back outside, you will need to line up the main linkage arm with the motor's output shaft. This is easy to do, since both have a triangle with tips pointing toward each other. This is what it looks like. Do not attach it to the motor before you install the motor into the firewall. I took this pic for demonstration purposes only.

With that in mind... now that you have the new wiper motor installed and the arm ready to be installed, line up the triangles as shown. You'll need to use a deep socket and a hammer of some kind to drive the arm onto the output shaft of the motor. A dead blow hammer or something light should work. Don't go crazy, it shouldn't take much force to drive it on. Double check that the triangles are lined up. The install the retaining bolt.

Put some white lithium grease on any/all linkages you feel need it, but especially this one on the main arm since it's going to be bone dry most likely. Then reattach the linkages, turn on the motor and make sure nothing is loose, noisy, or binding.

Getting the cowl screws back in is tough, but if you have one of these types of screwdrivers, it's much easier since it holds the screw to the driver as you are lining it up. Be sure you have a magnetic pickup tool at the ready, you'll gonna be fishing out the screws a lot, even with one of these screwdrivers.

Once that's done... put the wiper arms back on and you're done.