Chevy & GMC Vans

Hey all!
It's been a pretty busy year, using the 'stro to haul wood, drywall and insulation for my addition. It's been great!
For a while now the wipers have been acting weird. Sometime they run smooth and normal, sometimes they "judder" when they run (like the windshield is dry when it's not) and sometimes they stop altogether. Simply reaching out and moving the wiper a bit will get it restarted, but when you are going down the road in rush hour or in a big snowstorm, it's annoying.
Any ideas what's going on here? Seems like a motor/park issue but I'd like to hear more thoughts before I tear into it...

john

Check the wiper control board on the wiper motor. I had problems with water getting in there and causing rust. Also there are a couple of solder joints on it that can fail causing no end of issues including total failure of the wipers to run.

There was a GM recall on the wiper issue. There is some info somewhere on this site. Look around.

I measured van at the seat level and found that it was 7 feet long. Is there a long and a short version of the van?

They made shorties in the 80's I think, but they were phased out. You gotta ask the old-timers as Gary calls 'em.

Meterpig wrote:I measured van at the seat level and found that it was 7 feet long. Is there a long and a short version of the van?

shory or extended was an option until the mid 90's (someone help me here with the exact year.....) after that they were all "extended" so to speak that sure was a random question though well at least it feel that was to me

Great A'Tuin: i think they have already nailed the problem so i have nothing to say good luck

meterpig's question seemed a bit random, but I think he was responding to my comment about plywood and sheetrock.
Through 88, all Astros had the shorter body w/ Chevy adding an "EXT" (extended body) option in 89. The shorty body was discontinued after 94, leaving only the full length bodies
I have my interior set up so I can pull my rear seat/bed and table out in about 3 minutes. 4x8 sheets fit flat though you have to move the front seats forward. I hauled 18 sheets of 5/8" drywall in one load w/ no problems whatsoever...

john

Try the gearbox for the wipers. Years ago, a friend's wipers were reacting the same way. The lithium grease in the gearbox was solidified.

Thanks Capt!
I'll try that.
It seems as though when the wipers hit a certain position (usually around the "park" spot, but not always)), they just stop. If I wiggle them they restart, always. That might also explain the judder, too...

As suggested, there is a post on this topic of concern.
Review the information in this post viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3202
Soldering the terminals as suggested will likely correct your concern.

Great A'Tuin wrote:meterpig's question seemed a bit random, but I think he was responding to my comment about plywood and sheetrock.
Through 88, all Astros had the shorter body w/ Chevy adding an "EXT" (extended body) option in 89. The shorty body was discontinued after 94, leaving only the full length bodies
I have my interior set up so I can pull my rear seat/bed and table out in about 3 minutes. 4x8 sheets fit flat though you have to move the front seats forward. I hauled 18 sheets of 5/8" drywall in one load w/ no problems whatsoever...

john

Ok-thanks. yes it was random...but that's me.

Last night I took the circuit board out of the wiper box and gave it a good looking over. No breaks in the solder, nothing wrong visibly.
I put some fresh moly grease on the worm gear and bent the contact arms to tighten them up and it seems to work fine now.
Thanks again for the tips!

john

I bet its nice pulling the Astro into your new insulated garage to tinker on it!

VanGoGo wrote:I bet its nice pulling the Astro into your new insulated garage to tinker on it!

Yes. Yes it is.