VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Wiper Motor for 1929

Trying to stay active on my 1929, looking to see what is the correct make and Model of Vacuum wiper for my 1929 4 door Sedan.

Then what is the best way to test/ verity that it works properly. Not sure if the PO rebuilt it or if it was thrown in a box, bough off ebay, etc...

Figured I would cross this bridge now so that if need be I can have it ready when I get there.

Will see if I can get some pictures and post it when I get home today. Assuming it is in the box of parts ?!?!?

to test it if you have a small air compressor remove the intake air filter and adapt a hose there and also to wiper let all air pressure of compressor and start up compressor wiper should run.
Al

ok here is what I have:

Wiper Parts

This is the Trico Wiper I have:

Wiper Motor 01
Wiper Motor 02
Wiper Motor 03
Wiper Motor 04
Wiper Motor 05

Thanks for the pictures. All I have is the mounting bracket. I will be need to find a motor. Hopefully yours will work for you.

want/ need to validate this is the correct motor

then validate that it actually works correctly

Was going to work on mine when it warms up a bit. Not sure yet if this is the correct wiper for my '29 Sedan yet.

I have a nice vacuum but no movement in the wiper motor. Could be cracked or deformed. Hope to find out soon.



Good luck with yours.

Bob

Well they look very similar :) so that hopefully is a good thing

Yes this is correct. I do have some of these motors boxed up somewhere in various states.

These are made of potmetal. The internal sleeves get corroded and pitted. Most cannot be rebuilt. There is an expert that will look at them to see if salvagble look on google.

Also, since the wiper motor body is made out of pot metal, the body tends to expand and warp with age making it impossible to rebuild the wiper motor.

I am wondering if someone could remanufacture these?

Sure, but it would most likely take a lot of money and the return on the investment probably isn't there due to the high retail cost of the product.

FYI - I have heard of Ficken Wiper Service, have not used them yet, but they appear to have been around for 30 years... This is from their website...

We Will Rebuild Your Trico Vacuum Wiper Motor!
We have many New Old Stock motors in stock.We also stock many Wiper Arms, Blades, Refills,Wiper Transmissions, On/Off Switches & Washer PumpsMost anything Older, American and Wiper Related!Vacuum wiper motor rebuilding service.
1-2 week turnaround, 3 year warranty,
30+ Years experience. (Ask your friends/club members)
$99 plus $8 S&H (UPS Ground)

Ficken Wiper Service
132 Calvert Ave
West Babylon, NY 11704
(631)587-3332 M-F 9-5 EST

I have heard several times in the past that Ficken will no longer rebuild the 1929-31 vacuum wiper motors because the pot metal bodies are usually warped on those wiper motors.

Ficken is not the only option. Have a look at this thread:

http://forums.aaca.org/topic/302219-trico-vacuum-wiper-motor-parts/?tab=comments#comment-1674928

I have talked to Kent a few times. He understands wiper motors very well. He also knows the tendency of the die-cast metal to warp over the years and there are techniques to possibly correct the warp for some period so the part can be functional. One of the good guys not just in it for the money.

I have had good service from both David (dad) and Rob (son). My wiper motor on my 32 was in poor condition for rebuilding and David agreed to repair it as best he could but could not warranty it. He did so at half his standard price and 18 years later it is still working. I did find a couple of 32 motors for spare parts or rebuilding and while Fickens does not sell parts of motors I think his main reason from shying away from rebuilding questionable motors is he does not want to put out product that is not up to par. Possibly he does not have the expertise or interest his dad did but I do believe it is his full time occupation so being in it for the money does not make it a bad thing.

I just tried that with my rebuilt wiper motor. I didn't make a complete connection, just held the barb up against a similar barb on the air compressor suction side. The motor shaft made a partial turn and stopped. Now it doesn't do anything. Did I damage it? Will too much suction cause damage?

Kent who? I would like to follow up with him, what is his contact info?

If it is anything like a 32 motor there is a part inside called I believe a "kicker" . It is spring activated and when the motor travels to the end of one side the kicker trips and causes the motor to reverse. If the cover can be removed (and you are very careful) you can check to see if the kicker or spring is operating properly. Moving the arm by hand you should be able to hear a "click" when the arm reaches the end of it's travel. If not the small control parts are either broke, dislodged or gummed up .

You can't damage the wiper motor with too much vacuum. Too much pressure can cause damage but vacuum is limited to the atmospheric pressure.

To test my wiper motors I use my 83’ Chevy diesel Blazer. It has a separate vac pump and I simply start it up, and connect one of the small vac hoses to my wiper motor. Most cars will pull plenty of vac to test your motor but beware of modern cars that have all the sensors as pulling a vac hose while it’s running and trying out your wiper motor could set off a code and idiot light. It shouldn’t cause any long term issues and with about 5 key cycles, the computer will clear and the light will go off after you’ve reconnected the hose.

I wouldn't even attempt to do that with a modern car because of the computer, the sensors and etc. Might cause more issues than it is worth.

Remember that the code is stored in the ECU memory even after the light goes off. The best way to clear codes is with a reader.