FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

I am after information on how to maintain the vacuum wiper motors. I know everyone changes them to electric but I have 9 registered cars and 7 of them have vacuum wipers. Thats a lot of changing and I am trying to keep them as original as possible. I have not been able to find anything in the workshop manual either and searching this site has found nothing on the topic.

Thanks
Robin

Hi Robin. I also have a number of registered cars with vacuum wipers. As you would know , the vacuum is derived from the lower section of the fuel pump.The diaphragm in this section may need replacing.[the replacement kit is readily available].Check for air leaks in the connecting rubber tube from the vacuum pipe on the sideplate to the wiper base. The inner working of the "motor "relates to a bar which moves in pendulum fashion. The change in direction is controlled by a spring switch. If you dismantle an old motor, clean it up& re-assemble, you may surprise yourself by seeing it operate again.
The servicing relates to cleaning & replacing the inner lubricant [petroleum jelly],maintaining the vacuum diaphragm and lubricating the switch & cable from dash to motor.
I hope this helps, good luck! [watch the switch spring when you undo the small front cover-- it has a habit of flying out;never to be found again.   Cheers Old-Blu.

I have also found that a quick spray of WD-40 around the wiper arm pivots works wonders. The mechanism is partially exposed here and gums up, increasing the effort needed by the motor.

I'm just restoring a wiper motor for Fast Eddie and will get him to take plenty of pictures so everyone can see the pieces Kevin talks about.

Cheers,

Craig.

i have just brought an fc for a play toy ;D i've been pulling it apart and found something that might be of some interest. just under the wipers i found a foot operated pump that was connected to the vacume line i have never seen one before it is made by trico in usa if someone nows anything about them or would like to buy it pm me and we will work out a price it is in excellent condition ;D ;D    damo

This is part of a washer set up made by Nasco - It is actually the cheaper generic version rather than the one which was tailor made for FE FC. Instead of the washer bottle having the pump on top of the bottle activated by the push button on the dash, the pumping is done by a foot pump and the bottle has 2 hoses coming out of the top.

Ken

It sounds a lot like this foot operated windscreen washer ($2), that was sold by Nasco.

Another thing to note with the vacuum wipers is that there are two different petrol pumps, the early FE type which only draws vacuum from one of the two chambers, and the later FE/FC type with 4 valves that uses both sides of the diaphragm to generate vacuum. If you buy a kit from Rares (or elsewhere), make sure you get 4 valves if that's what your pump requires.

The early type is completely useless, as opposed to the marginal efficacy of the later type, once they start to get old.

As someone else mentioned, check the rubber line from the pump to the wiper motor. If it's developed angina, replace it - that can make a significant difference.

cheers
RET

 ;)Thanks ken now i know what it is there is one on ebay for $200 not bad for something you have to pump by foot ;D

cheers Damo58

Thanks guys for the info. I think the petroleum jelly may be the cure to the problem I have but it is all good info.

Robin

Just one thing on the petroleum jelly, this is good stuff because it does not react with the rubber at all, but it is fairly viscous, I have tried rubber grease with good success as well  and it is a very free flowing compound.

Ken

Here is a photo of a dismantled vacuum wiper motor. Although I had a genuine rebuild kit, I am confident that the original parts could have been cleaned up and reused, other than the gaskets of course.

Although intricate, they wouldn't be impossible to make.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/fc_58-59/FC%20Resto/ww1.jpg)

The diecast parts were degreased and scrubbed prior to being polished with a metal polish - similar to Autosol. A toothbrush was used to apply the polish compound.

At the risk of being labeled a nitpicker.... petroleum jelly will attack natural rubber, despite popular opinion. It is petroleum based after all, and is no more gentle on rubber than normal oil or grease. I sometimes work with pneumatic valves and actuators, and the only lubricant that is ever used on them is a thin silicone grease. It has the advantage of being very persistent (a little bit lasts a long time) and it doesn't get thick and gummy when it is cold..