Making a mountain out of a mole hill ( vaccum wipers )

[bison]

Not sure if this should be in the Tech section but figured i would post it here first .
I have had my truck for about 3 years and have done quite a bit of work to it and to be honest the wipers were the least of my concerns, heck it didn't even have wiper arms when i got the truck .
Well i had some time this past week and among other things though i would try to get the vacuum wipers working .
So the first thing i did was hook the vacuum line to the wipers , i then found that the switch on the dash was frozen and would not rotate, so i removed it and lube up the cable with some PB blaster to get it working , once i had that working properly , i re installed it , i then started the truck , turned the switch on and found that the wipers would only go 1/2 way on the windshield and stop ( i had to manually move the wipers back to the start position ) not an ideal situation
So i did some internet research and found that i could send them in to services such as wiperman or any of the other vendors that will repair them, but as i like to repair things myself i though i would give it a try. There are many opinions on how and what to use , but i will post what worked for me
First i removed the wiper motor from the truck per the service manual and as it was pretty dirty and probably had never been cleaned since it left the factory so i decided to take a little time clean it up, plus all of the rubber bushings and the retainer were trash so i also ordered some new parts to freshen them up , at this point i would like to give a shout out to our vendors as it amazes me as to some of the items that are still readily available , such as among other things , the wiper retainer springs ( come on this truck is 70 years old and these items are still available ?
Once i had the wiper motor fairly clean I proceeded to put some brake fluid in the wiper motor and very slowly move the wiper arms back and forth to lube the internals of the wiper motor , i continued to do this along with putting more brake fluid in until it was moving pretty good.
Once i was satisfied that i had the wiper working properly i reinstalled it back on the truck .
i then started up the truck thinking i had saved myself some money and had made the repairs myself,until i turned the switch on and saw that they still would only go halfway and stop
So i stopped for a bit to think about why they would only go halfway , other forums i read mentioned seals , gaskets and other things that could be the culprit but i though that they go half way with reasonable force , why wont they return ?
i then decided to remove both wiper connecting arms and drivers and found that they were both so dirty with debris and 70 year old grease that there was no way they were going to work properly , i then thoroughly cleaned and lubed both of them up , re installed everything along with new bushings and retainer springs , started the truck and found that both wipers are now working properly
so as the title states , it is sometimes so easy to over think things and make them more difficult then they really need to be , along with spending money on undue repairs and services when all you have to do is stop for a minute and think things out
any ways , here are some photos of the process ( i know we all like pictures )

And btw , i know i could upgrade to electric wipers , and maybe someday i might , but for now these will do

[tim333]

Great job! Don’t you love that feeling when you fix something?!

[52-fan]

It's a great feeling to fix something yourself. The guys who have to pay someone else to do everything are missing out. I have learned a lot from carefully disassembling things and examining them. The last part I did was just caked with hardened grease and needed cleaning and fresh lube.

[(S)]

Thank you for taking the time to post this!! Your post helped me help someone else. Of course I took full credit.

[345 DeSoto]

Sorta the same caked grease/debris thing with the rear window regulators on my Sky Hawk...

[bison]

Ha Ha , no problem S , glad i could help

[StudeNewby]

Bison, your story is very encouraging. My wife and I are restoring a circa-1882 Queen Anne house, and I am fairly clueless on how to do much of anything in it but, like you, I'm taking my time and learning as I go. Fun, rewarding, and saving a ton of money to boot!

As to your pictures, notice the beauty of design...in a wiper motor! We just don't see that kind of care much anymore.

[Dwain G.]

Bison, your story is very encouraging. My wife and I are restoring a circa-1882 Queen Anne house, and I am fairly clueless on how to do much of anything in it but, like you, I'm taking my time and learning as I go. Fun, rewarding, and saving a ton of money to boot!

As to your pictures, notice the beauty of design...in a wiper motor! We just don't see that kind of care much anymore.

Mike,
As one who lives in a vintage house, the only advice I can give you is don't try to modernize anything without some expert advice first. I made so many mistakes years ago that I later regretted and had to have corrected.

[StudeNewby]

Mike,
As one who lives in a vintage house, the only advice I can give you is don't try to modernize anything without some expert advice first. I made so many mistakes years ago that I later regretted and had to have corrected.

Thanks, Dwain... good advice!

[8E45E]

I then decided to remove both wiper connecting arms and drivers and found that they were both so dirty with debris and 70 year old grease that there was no way they were going to work properly , i then thoroughly cleaned and lubed both of them up , re installed everything along with new bushings and retainer springs , started the truck and found that both wipers are now working properly, so as the title states , it is sometimes so easy to over think things and make them more difficult then they really need to be , along with spending money on undue repairs and services when all you have to do is stop for a minute and think things out, any ways , here are some photos of the process.

You didn't state this, but I hope you also took apart and cleaned the intake filter visible in picture #2.

Craig

[wittsend]

I have a 63 Rambler with vacuum wipers. I found the internal seal was shot but took a flat piece of cork and cut a new seal. It worked as good (or bad) as vacuum wipers work. But frankly they kind of suck in two different ways.