It rained in Houston today, and my wipers on the 2003 Tribute began to tap the driver's side windshield plllar. After 5 minutes, the windshield wipers were not functioning and were left of the pillar - basically floating in the wind.

After waiting until the rain stopped, I drove home and fixed the problem. The spot welds between the motor frame and stationary rod for the wiper transmission had sheared off.

I drilled 4 holes and screwed the assembly back together at some of the weld points, and it is as good as new. I used self-tapping screws and it was a great solution.

I would post pictures, but am new to the site. I just wanted to share in case someone encounters this same problem.