The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Vacuum Wiper Motor Rebuild

Anybody rebuild vacuum wiper motors to include the paddle seal inside? I have a Trico out of my '53 3100 that I took apart, cleaned and lubricated, but I still don't get any action. Thanks in advance.

Wiper Man ,rebuilds them but You have to send it to him,did you use a very lite grease,I'm right now cleaning and lubing My third one I'm going to post the pic's later today maybe that will help.

Pete

I have a jar of Trico wiper grease it is about the consistancy of Vasilene,just for reference.

I had the one on my 51 apart several years ago and it was quite simple. However, the one on my 38 Chevy has a very complicated valve unit on it. In Hemmings there are two places advertising rebuilding services. The most prominent, I think it is Wiperman charges $100 and the other one charges $67. Wiperman seems to be setup for custom shipping etc.

After a little more troubleshooting.....I found that I get good side to side action from the motor without the wiper arms attached at the windshield....if I put slightly more than finger tip pressure on the serrated shaft, the action stops........any ideas on what the problem is?

I recently purchase some spare wiper parts on EBAY including wiper arms and the hub or unit that bolts into the cowl. It was real stiff and the arms would only turn with a lot of force. With just a little oil on the shaft where it passes through hub they loosened up and now turn freely.

It also helps to have water on the windshield.

I just cleaned and relubed this unit and took some pics.

I hope this helps and gets more good wiper action going

http://s559.photobucket.com/albums/ss39/sparky52/trico%20cleaning/

Pete

Retired Wrench, think you could post a picture of that jar of Trico grease for us to see???? I’d like to add that to my reference library, tks.

Eightfan, like the man said, these are pretty basic vacuum motors, yo problem is a vacuum leak most likely at the piston.
Once the seals wear out and allow any vacuum leak at all, there isn’t much you can do with them, all the grease in the world isn’t going to make it work any better. Vacuum devices have to be absolutely vacuum tight because they operate in a very narrow band of negative pressure. Absolute perfect vacuum is only about 30inHg. If your engine is in top-notch shape it will only pull about 22inHg. If your vacuum motor and system had a perfect seal it would only be capable of producing approximately 25 to 30lbs of force on the paddle at this level of vacuum and this does not take into account any of the friction drag produced in the motor, linkage, transmissions or wiper blades.
Unfortunately the few re-builders have bought all of the Trico surplus parts up so they have a corner on the market. None of them that I have contacted will sell any parts and a new paddle is the only thing that will seal properly. I’ve not been able to find a material that would work as a replacement. The seal is a woven fabric that is impregnated with something, which I have been unable to identify. As close as I can figure the was some sort of grease possibly with graphite in it.

I have a Welch vacuum pump used for evacuating high vac systems that will pump down to 10-3rd or about .001 atmosphere, I use that to test a vacuum motor after I’ve restored it. Even at that high of a vacuum often the old paddles don’t seal enough to produce a lot of torque so you couldn’t expect the vacuum from an internal combustion engine to drive it.
There really was a reason that the industry went to electric wipers!

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

The operation of the thing is clear to me now.....the paddle is definetly going to be my problem. I noticed that the edge of the paddle seemed to have gotten dry and crumbled a little as I cleaned it. I may just have to bite the bullet and send it The Wiper Man. $100 bucks for an inspection sticker! Ouch!

Do it right, do it once.

I have sent several to Ficken Wiper Service in West Babylon, NY and they have all worked very well. As I understand it he bought out the Trico factory and all the inventory. IIRC the price is considerably less than $100. I never rely on engine vacuum but instead use an electric vacuum pump from a Mercedes diesel which is way back behind the spare tire in the Mercedes so it can be mounted anywhere in the truck out of sight and just a hose run to the motor. Uphill, downhill, pulling a trailer, they will just keep running at ANY speed you desire.

Just tore into my motor this past Saturday. After I cleaned out all the 60 year old grease and re-lubed with some light lithium grease my unit works pretty well now(all the innards were in good shape). In case you need new gaskets I found a place that sells them for a fair price... http://www.danchuk.com/ItemForm.aspx?item=11219 .

Alex

Sent the wiper vacuum motor to the Wiper Man for rebuild. When it rains, sometimes it pours and I'll be ready. Thanks for everyones input.
Larry

Pete, Thanks for a beautiful set of your wiper motor rebuild. I've never looked inside one, but have known for a long time I was going to have to take a stab at getting mine to work better. Your series of pics will definately help me work on my first one. Thanks for taking the time to post them for us to enjoy.

Chuck

Nice find. Ordered a set today.

You did notice that those gaskets were for '55-'57 wipers didn't you??
DG

It still might work. Best to talk to Danchuk about application. Their headlight switch stated for 55-57 truck is actually 55-59.

Bill

This may help someone. The flipper inside my wiper is shot. I found a rebuild kit (new) online at Bratton's Auto Parts. They sell Model A parts, but the kit they sell for Model A aftermarket wiper motors looked like it'll work for my 46 motor. I ordered it and it looks right. I'll be installing it over the winter.
I'll report how it goes when I'm done.

$100 to rebuild seems steep.

For $129 you can get a new 12v made in China electric one that doesn't rely on engine vacuum to operate.

Pete,
Thanks so much for your photos and insight.
I rebuilt my Trico motor today. 20in hg but no go.
Cleaned out and used Ultra Blue gasket and new grease.
Bam. Works nice. The left wiper sticks at the start, sprayed the glass with Windex to lubricate. Once it gets going (unstuck on the left side) it runs great!

Thanks for the great work my friend
Cheers
Andy

An extra vacuum tank is never a bad idea too.
Speed

My two ton actually came with a small vacuum motor on it. Wasn't hooked up, but does seem to run on 6 volt. Had my vacuum wiper rebuilt by Ficken also.

Those may be for the 55-57 car motor but when comparing them side by side they look to be the same except for the mounting bracket and arm attachment.

I personally didn't need the gaskets. Followed the steps outlined in the photos above. Used Ultra Blue gasket maker carefully as shown in the pics and works beautifully.

Pete,
I want to thank you for your GIFT: The slide show on rebuilding Trico vacuum motors is EXACTLY what I needed to get started. Also noted that you did not bother with a lot of paper gaskets -- items that are probably very hard to find.

I have several new old stock (NOS) Trico motors that need to be opened up, lubricated, and given a new life, as well as some used ones that date back to 1937 -- all for old Fords. So, your information gives me what I needed to tear into and give new life to some OLD stock.

Thanks
Jerry Linn

Thanks, Pete

I recently installed the vacuum motor from my '59 that Wiperman rebuilt. They did a very good job with it, run like a champ now, about a week turnaround, well worth the $107.00 total IMHO.

Reviving this thread. I have a 1951 3100 with the stock Trico vacuum wiper motor. I cleaned up the inside and outside and everything moves easy and freely now. I checked my manifold vacuum strength and at idle I have around 15+ inches of vacuum - going up to around 20 when the rpms are up.

Is this enough vacuum to actuate the motor? I'm getting no response when I hood it up to manifold using a new piece of scrap rubber fuel line and want to be sure I have a vacuum leak in the motor before pulling it all apart again.

Thanks for some help here!

That vacuum reading is OK.

There are two fittings on the vacuum wiper unit. The one that works the wiper is on the top of the wiper unit - it is harder reach than the other fitting.

Sorry Tim, not following your reply. Can you elaborate for me?

Maybe someone has a spare 47-53 truck vacuum wiper and will post a photo of the fitting for the vacuum hose?

I have 1954 units (which are different).