2017 Journey rear wiper arm won’t lay flst

[Airtray]

Just installed a new rear wiper motor. Can’t get the wiper arm to lay flat. Bottom 1/3 nearest motor shaft touches the glass. That’s it. Motor, arm and wiper new. Thanks for listening.

[John/Horace]

Are you sure it’s the right arm. Is there a part number for reference. OEM blade is 14” long.

[Airtray]

Thanks - mine came with a 12” off the lot new and I’ve replaced the blade with a 12” since then. Replacement arm same as original and depth from bottom of arm to body the same. 

[2late4u]

just measured mine ,12 inch's as well... mine wiped good yrs ago but then started leaving a small miss mark on the top of the wipe, I have tried all different kinds of blades with the same result,,anyways are you sure the blade is on the knurled arm correctly and fully seated,also not sure if washers were used on the bolts of the wiper motor ? just guessing what could have went wrong during the install process,,,also what was the problem before the work was completed just a bad motor or what?

[5rebel9]

ODD problem!

 ALL of the 4 DJ's I've had use an 11" rear blade and I get them at Walmart for about $11 US. They work fine and install / swipe / conform to the glas just fine.

[John/Horace]

I must have an aftermarket arm that is longer. Odd. Rocka list several brands and they all say 12".  Even the longer blade works ok.

 

 

 

 

[Airtray]

How it happened is I celebrated Mothers Day by backing into the garage with the hatch open. Wiper base hit the garage header, bent the shaft and pretzled the passenger side lift strut. So ordered a new motor whose swipe goes below the window on the clockwise swipe. Might be the aftermarket arm as part of the issue. New Mopar one is $66 and not happening. Waiting for a used one coming next week, $20 on eBay. If I was going 1 mile an hour it was a lot. And yeah, the guy who’s coming to fix the siding was kind enough to tell me I wasn’t the first one who ever did this. And he’ll cash his check for $460.00 next week or so. My full and unedited confession!

[2late4u]

first thing i can think of is the metal bracket location where the motor brackets  attach are probally pushed in just a small amount causing the motor to not to attach correctly,just a thought.good luck

[Airtray]

Thx. New motor seemed to seat just fine, and your suggestion is well received. I’ve no practical way to measure that presumed difference but it was my next task-just pop it out and put it back to see if it reseats differently. Thanks for the fast response and suggestion. I appreciate it. 

[2late4u]

well if you do remove it, look at the metal  panel or mounting surface to see if it as bent in a bit,,from your pictures it looks like the arm/shaft took quite a hit I would assume the inner panel had to have been damage or bent in even just a bit would make a big difference

[Airtray]

Just received and installed used factory Mopar wiper arm and it lays flat. Hallelujah!  Wiper still swipes 2” below glass on clockwise swipe. NOS factory motor being shipped today delivery next Friday. Siding guys just left. Header piece wrong configuration. They’ll be back when new piece comes in. The saga continues……Enjoy your weekend!

[Airtray]

NOS motor came today and all good. Couple things if anyone has to do this.

1. Get OEM as neither the aftermarket arm or motor fit/worked. Just my experience.

2. I’ve included a pic of the panel to show where the clips are. There are also  two Torx screws at the bottom of the panel. There’s a matchbox sized insert also near the bottom center that can stay. Clips are very stiff and I’d recommend using the interior panel removal tools-great $8.00 investment.