VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 Remove wiper motor?

I was planning on removing my wiper motor and sending it off to Wiperman, as my attempts to lube it back to life have failed.
I don't see how I can get to that screw. Do I really have to take the dash off to get to it, or is there something I'm missing?
Is the screw I showed only in a slot....and the other screw that I can probably reach with a stubby screwdriver in a normal screw hole?

Thanks as always.

Here are some old posts that may help with your wiper motor problems.


Wiper Motor Lub

47 Wiper Motor

Vacuum Wipers

Wiper Runs Continuously

Wiper Motor Switch

Good luck, Mike

Scott,

I think the screw was put in upside down. Maybe not but it seems that as is, it would be a hect of a problem to get out.

Have you tried to get at it with a right-angle screw driver?

Best,

Charlie

So....it should be under that bracket and not on top? That makes more sense for removal. Also, a lot of pictures of motors show one mounting screw still attached. That supports my slot idea.

Scott

Went out and looked at my '40 and the motor sits on top of the brackets with the screws going up from the bottom. Your car is newer so it may not mount the same but from the looks of your picture it does. Your motor looks identical to mine. It is going to be tough to get the screws out from the looks of your picture. I would try an offset screwdriver to loosen them and then turn them out with your fingers.

If you can back it out some with a pair of pliers, then you could cut the head off and bring it back down and out, maybe. If it has a hexagon head, you might have more luck backing it out through the top.

I agree with Charlie, the screw was not installed correctly. I would spray the screw in your picture with a penetrant oil and try to back it out using a pliers. You may need to remove the linkage to give you some more space to work with. The 1st picture is of the screw closest to the speedometer cable the second picture is of the opposite.

Good luck, Mike

P.S. I am pretty sure that you are correct about the slot idea so removing the other side screw may make removal easy. You will need to remove the linkage from the motor to free the motor. The spring mechanism for holding the linkage is shown in the last picture. With the linkage removed you may be able to twist the motor to release it from the side with the screw installed improperly.

I was able to get the other screw out with a stubby screwdriver and the one I showed a picture of was in a slot. I'll reverse the one screws for easier removal.
I finally got the linkage to the wipers off. I didn't have that cool spring mechanisms, mine had a tiny clip on one side...nothing on the other. And..wouldn't you know it. CoT40s has that clip for $2.50 with $15 shipping...and my order is due on Tuesday for other stuff.

It has some vacuum to it when I try it on the bench, will try another round (already did it 3x on the car).
Do the wiper transmissions need lubing too? They look like they've been laying in a field for the last decade. I'm wondering if my motor is good enough but the transmissions are too dry. I don't want to introduce too much gunk under there that might leak later.

Thanks for the help so far.

I use my house central vac to test those motors. It gives me about 11 inches, about the same as a fuel pump/vacuum booster.

I can only imagine how frustrating it was to remove that screw!

I have not had good results testing a wiper motor not in the car. My experience is that you need the load from the wiper drivetrain and the wipers to determine if the seals work well enough.

I have worked with at least 3 different motors that operate great when connected to the engine vacuum but not connected to the wipers. When I re-installed each of them only one would somewhat work. It had to be a very high vacuum and the windshield had to be wet.

Yes, I am now pretty good at removing and installing wiper motors! I have also tried all the tricks with pulling transmission fluid into the motor and even silicone grease to "fix" the seals after I took it apart and cleaned all the old hardened grease out of it.. The only thing I have not done is to remove the paddle and soak it in transmission leak-stop for a few days.

Here is one of the transmissions. It's bone dry...but again I'd be worried about a drip. The mechanism is smooth, just takes force. I guess it's rebuild time. I'm quite certain that the wiper wasn't operated nor lubricated at all in the decade after the car was rebuilt.
The motor runs well without load but once I put the load on it...it's all over. I guess it's off to wiperman.
I often see the comments about having the windshield wet. I don't plan on driving my car in the rain...it's just something that I think is neat to see function correctly.

It wouldn't hurt to remove the transmissions and lubricate them with grease and put a couple of drops of oil on the felt washers where the linkage attaches to the motor. You can also soak the motor in transmission fluid for a night or two to get the leather on the paddle to swell and become pliable. After that you could remove the wiper blades from the transmissions and run the motor with the linkage attached. This should activate the transmissions and exercise them.

$15 shipping for that clip? That's nuts. Did you order on line or call over the phone? The last item I bought from them showed $18 shipping on line. I called and asked if they could put it in a small flat rate box and ended up paying just over $7 shipping. The fellow I spoke to said the computer automatically generates the cost of UPS ground for the shipping cost for on line orders.

I didn’t know I could do that. Thanks. I’ve only placed a few orders and the shipping cost made sense. This car is newish to me.

Ps...I didn’t pay 600% shipping

You might ask them if they'll put it in a padded envelope and send it first class. It would likely be $2-3 then. I don't know if they'll do that but it might be worth asking.

I'm almost there. I removed and lubed the transmissions. I also relubed the motor and then drove around with the motor running (transmission arms disconnected). I'll relube the motor again tonight and repeat.
Right now I think the wipers would work if it was raining. I plan on rain-x'ing the crap out of things. Just trying to pass inspection, but also have the joy that I got one more thing working.

PS...where does all this transmission fluid go? I assume the vacuum sucks it into the motor and burns it making fun white smoke???

The trans fluid will get inhaled slowly into the intake. Likely so slowly there is no smoke.

Been hoping to drag myself out to the garage to find a "Trico Wiper motor rebuild kit" i bought recently. It's very old and the ebay seller would not open the paper sealed with wax. I had a quick look and the kit had some valving pieces? and in the mystery wax paper was what I suspect to be a replacement paddle. Will try to find it and see if it has instructions and post the pics. I bought it more out of curiosity being a sealed wax package but might go well with this thread as we are all going to be working on these at some point by the sound of it...

So I dug into this wiper kit since I'm couch-bound. Parts are smaller than I expected. I bought it for the mystery and enjoyed opening the packs that have been sealed since new.

Not a clue if this is even remotely close to the same design as our old Chevy wipers as I have not opened one up yet. Anything here look familiar or useful in our wipers???

Neat.....thanks for sharing.

It does look like the same parts in my 31 wiper motor.

Dave

I'm hoping and would be really happy if the parts do fit my 38 wiper. There seems to be a lot of overlap of these between years and even other car brands so might get lucky with the shiny paddle actually fitting. I think I can actually get to my wiper motor with this broken leg so might take a closer look. Seems like everything else I try to do requires lifting or too many trips to the toolbox. Few too many workplace hazards to spend a lot of time in garage with crutches...

Sorry you're down with a broken leg. I haven't tried to take mine apart yet. I'm going to check what kind of vacuum my motor is pulling, then cap that vacuum line and then pull the motor. Wiperman says he expects 16-20" of vacuum at idle. Will make sure I have that before I start taking a motor apart. I might just send to him and be done with it (assuming I have good vacuum).

I found the attached document while cleaning up my computer. If you save it to your computer you can zoom and read it. It also prints ok.
It appears that maybe the company in the letterhead sells repair parts? Might be worth a try for someone.

That is "The Wiper Man".

I suspected it could be the same company as my weak memory makes me think this instruction sheet came back with someone's rebuilt wiper from them. Likely on this forum at some point...