The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Vaccumn windshield wiper woes.

Why aren't my wipers working? Air is getting to the motor(transmission, whatever it is) and is coming out of a small hole, no where else that I can find. Does that mean that the diaphragm(guessing that is what is in it) is torn? The control(valve?) seems to be functioning. What else, if anything, could be the culprit. They used to work just as good as regular electric wipers.

I gave up trying to make mine work and put electrics in it.

Vacuum problem somewhere. My first car was a 1959 F**d with THOSE THINGS, and everytime I floored the pedal, they'd stop. Take Tom R's advice.

Did you recently disconnect and then reconnect the vacuum line at the wiper motor (some motors have two connection tubes (only one tube is correct)?

You say that "air is getting to the motor . . . and is coming out of a small hole". That would be vacuum "getting to" (sucking on) the motor and air might be pushed out a small hole.

Here is a photo of where to lubricate a wiper motor (the photo comes from an article written by Bob Adler).

Tim

and put that wind shield back in

Huh? Tclederman, I misunderstood here. I don't have any gasoline, and the line started splitting. So I used an electric air pump to blow air into the line. But it should have been the other way. And I did also try that too. The line smells like gasoline for some reason, although I don't see how. They barely worked before, even before the line started splitting. Although, they worked great just after I started the truck for the first time in 20 years.

i used to toy around with the idea of putting a vacuum reserve tank on my dad's 40 1/2 ton put just kept taking the wiper motors apart cleaning them out and compressing the felt diaphragm slightly taping the flange with a small ball peen hammer to compress the felt outwards to improve the seal and lubing it lightly with Vaseline ,and made sure the dual diaphragm fuel pump was working .i know it's a pain in the but when you are going up hill in a rain storm .p s rain ex is a great help when that happens then the water just blows off the windshield .i just talked to my ol man and the reserve canister did not work .but these guy's appear to have a interesting kit http://www.newportwipers.com/ saw it in a issue of classic truck's feb 2006 volume 15 no 2

You're either not getting enough vacuum to the motor or it needs rebuilt. The motor in my 38 has a flapper that hangs down in the center, pivots at the top & seals against the sides of the housing. The flapper moves side to side similar to a steam engine piston. As the vacuum pulls it to one side a mechanical valve changes the vacuum to the other chamber and it gets pulled back the other way. You can get a fuel pump that has a vacuum pump built into it to assist the wiper motor. You can replace the vacuum motor with an electric but I like to think of my vacuum wiper motor as the original "delay" wipers.

Thinking it needs rebuilt, or something somehow got out of place or dirt is inside. By the way, Tclederman, in that picture, there seems to be a small port(just above the round upraised circle with lettering on it) and that is what I was referring to. My motor still functions, but nothing close to even moving. It gets enough vacuum to build pressure enough that when the motor is turned on, it raises the arms(what the wiper blade attaches to) about 1/4 inch, then stops. When the engine is actually on, the last time I tried it, they moved, but very slowly, so much so that you could barely tell that they were moving. So something is wrong there. Oh, when using the air pump on the deflation side a lot of air is moving through, so either there is a hole in the vacuum hose or???

Try lubricating it and see if you can get the paddle to move freely. What the heck, shoot some WD-40 in the lubrication ports. Perhaps the seal is gummed up, dried out, and/or cracked?

Maybe someone knows where to obtain a rebuild kit, if there is such a thing. Ficken's Wiper Service does an excellent job of rebuilding a vacuum wiper motor. That's where I got mine rebuilt.

http://www.wiperman.com/
http://www.wiperman.com/rebpagewpix.html


Note:

"What surfaces or materials are OK to use WD-40 on?

WD-40 can be used on just about everything. It is safe for metal, rubber, wood and plastic. WD-40 can be applied to painted metal surfaces without harming the paint. Polycarbonate and clear polystyrene plastic are among the few surfaces on which to avoid using a petroleum-based product like WD-40."

That's where WE B Old got his done too. I hope there are rebuild kits. The wipers move by hand, freely, and just a little more easily when they are turned on. I will try to get some pb blaster(that okay? It's all I have)in there. Just to know, how do I get that motor off? It is kinda dark and cramped up under the dash, what with all of the wiring and all, plus me being 2 or so inches short of 6 foot and me not being the most coordinated among us.

PB Blaster or any other penetrating oil might help.

The motor is held on with two bolts/screws. You have to first remove the arms and they are held on with a retainer that has two clips and a spring between them. I think you push each clip towards the outside to remove the retainer.

Note:

"Use caution when using PB on: plastics, paint, rubber*, fiberglass, belting and similar materials. Always apply to an inconspicuous area before proceeding with application as PB may stain such surfaces.

•The petroleum solvents in PB will impregnate common black butyl rubber. If left in contact with these materials for extended periods of time they will begin to swell and deteriorate. However, these solvents evaporate and are not typically on applied surfaces for long periods. Components such as O-rings, control bushings, and gaskets, made from these materials get dry and hard after years of use. The penetrating/impregnating qualities of PB Blaster can restore some of the elasticity and softness to these old hardened components. "

And instead of trying to get the can up there, can I just poor a little down the wiper hose and blow it into the motor? I doubt that would work well but it would probably be easier than trying to put that big can up there and aim into those little holes.

Many people suggest putting lubricant through the vacuum hose. However, that was not encouraged in Bob Adler's article, wherein he showed the correct place to put lubricant.

You mentioned that the line started splitting--that would be the rubber line running from the engine to the wiper unit, I assume?
If you haven't already done so, the easiest and cheapest thing to try first would be to replace that hose. If it's brittle enough to start splitting and cracking, then it's probably not sealing that well either where the ends are pushed onto the fittings. It don't take much of a leak for things to stop working. A piece of vacuum hose isn't that expensive. Try that first.

Good thoughts there Rich, but what I don't get is that it isn't very brittle. In fact, it is soft. The original end WAS brittle, but the rest is soft. It just split because(I'm assuming and I know what they say about that) because the end wasn't as big as it needed to be when I put the un-split end on? Is the line supposed to be big enough on the end to stick on the fitting on the manifold(?) and then shrink down really small? Where would I get a hose anyway? Napa?

The hose needs to be just large enough to require a bit of a push to slide it onto the fitting so it'll stay in place. You can use small clamps as well for added insurance if you wish. NAPA will have hose as should any FLAPS.

Well, yep tiny, that's exactly what it has to have, infact more than a little push, and it only split 1/8 of an inch, and there is plenty of hose for it to seal. I was wondering why it didn't have any clamps in the first place. I will get some clamps. Think anyone around here could rebuild the motor locally? A local FLAPS I know of might be able to repair it, or just get me another one, but I am not very concerned with it right now. If I get my brakes done(have someone who is a mechanic who could do it very good, don't know what his price would be though, probably a lot), my turn signals working and some gas, I can get it registered, and be ready to drive it when I have my permit(1-1/3 years, geez, that sure is close isn't it? )

Times creepin up on ya JDL!
keep workin at it!
I want to see you pullin into the H.S. when ya get your licence an watch em ALL ..look!!

Oh, vacuum wipers working or not, I'm DRIVING MY TRUCK to school one way or the other. I have faith in her(well, not sure if it is a he or she, probably would better to be a she wouldn't it?) and basically the only thing that urgently needs done is the brake lines. Then for safety, turn signals and stop lights. After that, hopefully, will be patching.

I've turned mine on just once to see if they worked. I wasn't impressed at that action. Are they supposed to move slowly or are they closer to what a modern wiper speed would be?

Mine, at first, before they were slower than a snail, where just as fast as a modern electric wiper motor, if not just a little delayed, although that was at a stand still, and not driving.

I can attest to the quality of their wiper conversion kits, I have one in mine. Got it from Patrick's. Very good product. I would suggest going ahead and popping for the intermittent switch, they usually give a discount if you get both at the same time (or at least Patrick did).
In addition, you might try Rain-X on the windshaild, too. That stuff does work.

Yep, it does, use it in the other vehicles and it just forms little droplets and they slide off, really quick, unless you don't use it for a while.

jdl,

What kind of radio is being given to you? If is an original-style radio, it will not work with any non-original electric wipers. The 1954 Chevrolet radio has a speaker on the top of the radio and all the non-original electric wipers "conflict" with the speakers.

Tim

Not using the original speaker, it must be fried anyway, and the radio I am getting from Tabdoo is a 12v radio which will fit where the original radio should go, but instead it is going where the radio I have now(came with truck on a bracket attached under radio delete panel) is. Anyway, I haven't thrown the vacuum wiper completely out the door yet, but that seems like the way to go, when I get the money.

WOW!!! I have the strangest good luck. I got the gas tank put in last weekend, and finally got some gasoline to put in it today. Took about 5 minutes to get it started. Noticed that when I first turned it on that the wipers automatically went down all the way to the bottom of the windshield, but hadn't ever since they stopped working good. Anyway, I got the truck started and on a hunch, I turned the wipers on. They moved so fast they look like they are on steroids. They aren't just as fast as electric wipers, they are faster!!! Just about half way to three fourths of the wiper control is as fast as I would need them in rain. They act just like electric wipers, and only have delay once you turn down the control, but may delay when the throttle is applied, haven't checked yet.

JD - if the wipers went to the park position as soon as you turned it on [without the motor running], they're electric, and vacuum wipers don't do any of the tricks, NO "delay"

Bill

Ok, I should have corrected that, I knew someone would say that. They moved to the park position as soon as the engine turned over. But, they did move exactly like electric windshield wipers, they had delay on the low end of the control(valve barely opened) but the closer it was to all the way on, the faster they moved and were just as fast as electric wipers that were on all the way.

any vacuum wipers can be as fast as electric ... while you're sitting still with good vacuum, it's on the road under load when the vacuum is low to none that you start seeing the usefulness of electric ... and that ain't "delay", just sticky, don't count on it always being that way

Bill

Well, they will slow down, I knew that, but the point in my post was that they work now, whereas they hadn't before. I was just saying that they work good now.

Any ideas for getting some pb blaster or anything up there to lubricate the motor?

I wouldn't put PB in it if it's working. Also, they'll work better when the windshield is wet.

YES JD, take Cletis' advise, PB is great for rusty nasty stuff but it can eat some rubber and plastic components, it is not a lubricator.
If it was me maybe just a shot of white lithium spray grease to lube up the innards wouldnt hurt.
Tim

Ok. They're working good now, so I'm gonna leave well enough alone, but will keep this thread in mind if they should quit again.

Does anyone know if there is a rebuild kit available for the vacuum motors and if so, who sells it?

Many thanks,

Spot

unfortunately wiperman.com, who got all TRICO's leftover stuff ages ago has disappeared .... Danchuk has gasket sets for 55-57 that may fit earlier years, otherwise e-bay is your only hope

Bill

I NEVER use electric wipers because they are limited to two speeds where vacuum wipers have any speed that is needed at the time. The shortcoming of the vacuum wipers is the vacuum source which is the the engine. Under wide open throttle throttle conditions or under a hard pull there isn't enough vacuum to do the job. Double action fuel pumps and reserve tanks help but not that much. First I send the wiper motor off to be rebuilt by Ficken Wiper Service in West Babylon, NY and second I get an electric vacuum pump off a Mercedes 300 SD (or other diesels with the vacuum pump). In the pull a part wrecking yards they cost from 10 to 20 bucks. You can mount the pump anywhere, they're by the spare tire in the Mercedes, and just run a line to the factory wiper motor. Use tubing for a long run with short rubber vacuum hose at each end or mount it close and just use the rubber hose. Nothing is in the way of any heat/cool/sound systems and the wipers won't slow one iota pulling a loaded trailer up a steep hill. The motor rebuild and pump run less than a hundred bucks--cheaper and better than electric. I even have a intermittent vacuum wiper delay set up.

That's exactly what Bill was talking about, Ficken's web page is apparently gone. There is a phone number if anyone cares to call it and report back. 516-587-3332, 516-661-9125
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Hey, I just got back, last friday, my wiper motor from Ficken. It took a friggin month, because he went to some giant car swapmeet for two weeks. But, it does work fantastically now. The page is still there, but looks different. Maybe it was down for upgrades? My wipers work going up hill, as long as I'm in the right gear, not pedal to the metal trying to crest a hill in fourth.
Christopher

if you see anything here Chris, it's coming from your browser cache, view the source code and all that's there is "<!-- Nothing to see here. -->" - clear your cache and check again

Bill