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Rain dance


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So I didn't really want to drive the truck in the rain but today what I knew would eventually happen did - got caught in a shower.  Good news, the cab was dry and without leaks. Also the engine compartment stayed pretty dry.  Of course the vacuum wipers acted like a lazy dog who sometimes listens to you but most times just ignores you.  They sometimes work fine at idle and sometimes don't.  They have very little interest in working when traveling along at 55 in fourth gear although if you get off the pedal for a moment they will give a courtesy wipe. 

Oh well kinda glad this happened as now I don't have to wonder if I will get wet sitting in the cab like I used too in the several British makes I have had in the past where a towel was mandatory.?

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I wont say vacuum wipers work perfect, I would think in good condition with no leaks they would work better then you describe.

I am thinking to remove the motor and disassemble, clean and oil. A good rubber line with no leaks .... seems they would work kinda OK.

No question electric is better then vacuum, still vacuum was used for several years.

Then a vacuum canister to add a boost .... or just update to electric.

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lucky you, FEF's first real rain pointed out seal issues between the glass and rubber.  

 

I put the electric motor in FEF because, well, I could.  I'm sure if you are looking for one, a classifieds add would pop one up for you!

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   I bench tested a vacuum motor with a vacuum pump from a refrigerator. End up putting 8 drops of MMO in and it worked well. The other part of the install required replumbing the fittings to be 1/4” ID. You need that size for the volume needed constant to the motor. I used 1/8” NPT with a 5/16” hose barb, turned down a bit for the hose to go on easier. The original system had an inverted flare fitting with 1/4” tubing, that restricted the volume considerably. My wipers worked even worse than your description. I was barely getting a complimentary  swipe on deceleration. The wipers performed much better in a couple snow sqauls I drove in Easter Sunday. 

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Another option for improving wipers is adding a vac pump..  Only really practical if one is also converting to 12v alternator, but there are some that have a vac pump mounted on the back.  I have on I was saving for that, but wound up with a 12v 56 truck so won't be using it.  They are commonly found on small diesel trucks from Japan.  Mine came from a Mitsubishi, was used to power the vac booster for the brakes.

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Ford trucks with the 6.9 or 7.3 diesels, from the ‘80’s and ‘90’s had belt driven vacuum pumps for operating the heater controls. I wonder if one could be adapted to assist the wipers. I also have the electric wiper option in my truck and have no issues. I would highly recommend it if you can find one one. 

Edited by Merle Coggins
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My 47 WC has the Bosch 6volt electric motors. I needed to rebuild them and found some parts on the bay to get them going again. The main issue is a small fiber tooth gear that over the years disintegrates. I think the newer style motors you find on E-bay would be a good option as well, similar in style to the Bosch .

 

If you stick with vacuum I would run a test first to see what kind of vacuum you are getting at the engine and then to the wiper motor, and as was mentioned make sure you have good lines.

The vacuum pumps are readily available used and I purchased and installed one on my 67 to boost my vacuum for the brakes. Most hybrid and electric vehicles are using them so readily available at the recycle or e-bay as well but most will require 12volts. Along with the vacuum pump I used a pressure switch and relay so it only runs when needed. 

  

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On 5/26/2020 at 5:01 PM, tanda62 said:

So I didn't really want to drive the truck in the rain but today what I knew would eventually happen did - got caught in a shower.  Good news, the cab was dry and without leaks. Also the engine compartment stayed pretty dry.  Of course the vacuum wipers acted like a lazy dog who sometimes listens to you but most times just ignores you.  They sometimes work fine at idle and sometimes don't.  They have very little interest in working when traveling along at 55 in fourth gear although if you get off the pedal for a moment they will give a courtesy wipe. 

Oh well kinda glad this happened as now I don't have to wonder if I will get wet sitting in the cab like I used too in the several British makes I have had in the past where a towel was mandatory.?

 

LOL, I've been caught in the rain a couple of times but my windshield (original glass and rubber) leaks like there isn't a windshield there. But I love the quirkiness of the vacuum wipers - they keep you from driving too fast in the rain. I carry a squeegee in the glove box, handy for when the windows fog over and you can also reach out the window to clear the windshield when the wipers stop. I saw a Trico belt drive vacuum pump on eBay a few months ago (like this one), wish I had bought it.

 

pump.jpg

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Properly tuning your engine and setting the timing also affects the amount of manifold vacuum that is generated. You can observe this by connecting a vacuum gauge and adjusting the timing. You will see the vacuum increase as you adjust the timing. Many old timers use a vacuum gauge to set their timing rather than a timing light. One guy recommended to me to set the timing to a point where the vacuum is at it maximum. I did so and found that although the timing was a bit advanced when observed with a timing light, the engine ran better. The 218 and 230 flattie's have a lower compression than most modern engines so pinging wasn't a problem either.

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  • 1 month later...

So I finally got a chance to install the electric motor for the wipers.  Got it from DCM although it is a New Port Engineering product.  It wasn't to bad of an install although doing anything under the dash does require some squeezing and such.  The only issue is the switch - it will not fit in the location on top of the dash due to there being no room for it and the motor.  I did find a location to the left of the steering column under the dash where the switch fits.  Actually this works better as the big ugly black wiper labeled switch is now facing down and cannot be seen!  I do have to do something about the hole on top of the dash - maybe it is time for a hula girl ? 

Also had to plug the vacuum line and the hole in the firewall, but now I have wipers that will actually wipe away rain in a timely and consistent manner!

 

On a side note, driving along the other day and heard the most godawful scraping noise suddenly.  Pulled over and found the large wingnut for the spare tire carrier had fallen off.  I don't have a spare just the carrier so no rim and tire was there.  A short walk back along the road and I found the nut.  Now the wingnut is spun on with the ears up so the carrier covers them and will hopefully prevent a repeat.  Another lesson learned...more to come I am sure!

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Yep, that is exactly the problem.  The new motor extends to right under the hole for the switch and blocks off any room.  Just glad I was able to find a hole to put the switch and did not have to make another!  Anyone considering going with the electric wipers needs to take into consideration where the switch can be placed.

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Anyone know if its possible to bend the 2 styles together?  I have vacuum wipers on my initial 51 cab but the replacement cab I purchased has electric wipers(but missing the passenger arm from the motor to the wiper arm mount, which is also frozen) but do not know if I can mix and match the different parts, and honestly haven't looked close yet but I think the arm lengths are different.

 

In any regards the motor will either need a voltage reducer or rewound(if it works) since my project will be 12V.

 

EDIT:  both are factory wiper options, my backup is to use the DCM electric option but would still need replacement passenger arm)

Edited by Lingle
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I think the two are different.  The New Port Engineering website list motors for replacing stock electric and motors for replacing stock vacuum units. I would imagine you will find the arms are different lengths. Pick your best set of arms and go from there I guess. The kit did come with replacement pieces where the motor attaches to the arm to replace the rubber. Good luck!

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If I remember correctly there was someone on this site that converted from factory vacuum to factory electric wipers without too much fuss. It was maybe 5 or 6 years back if you do a search.

I bought a complete working spare set off ebay back around then for a $125.

Jeff

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The parts truck I purchased, when building my truck, had the factory electric wipers. My truck had vacuum wipers. I pulled the electric unit, with all linkage, and put it into my truck. Piece of cake... I recall that the linkages were all different between the two which is why everything needed to be changed. I ended up giving my vacuum unit and linkage to Bill Pingel for his truck. 

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I can verify that the Pilot-House electric and vacuum wiper motors and linkages cannot be mixed...different motor arms, pivot arms, linkage geometry, and the vacuum pivots have their linkages riveted whereas the electric pivots are attached with a clip.  I tried to make a B-3 parts truck electric setup fit into my '49 over 10 yrs ago, and after a lot of finagling,  a B-1 electric setup popped up on eBay for 20 bucks and my experiment was over...

 

Seeing that big wingnut on the spare tire carrier made me wonder how it kept from falling off, and I was reminded of the original thread locker:  rust.  I figured a fix is to cross drill the hanger bolt for a cotter pin, click pin, mechanics wire, rusty bent 8d nail...

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Not absolutely positive but it seems to me that there might be a difference between the early cabs and the later cabs as far as wiper linkage goes?

Seems to me I remember something about the later (52/53) wiper linkage not being a direct fit on an earlier cab. I know I asked some questions about the set I bought off ebay before pulling the trigger.

Jeff

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the later cab pivots moved from centered below to the corners of the windshield panes, making the linkages longer...also, the angle sweep and orientation changed with the relocation...so just making longer linkages required some 4-bar linkage math that I am super rusty on, but VOÍLA eBay gold mine produced once again...just gotta dig on there awhile and be real patient sometimes  :cool:

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On 7/16/2020 at 9:24 AM, JBNeal said:

I can verify that the Pilot-House electric and vacuum wiper motors and linkages cannot be mixed...different motor arms, pivot arms, linkage geometry, and the vacuum pivots have their linkages riveted whereas the electric pivots are attached with a clip.  I tried to make a B-3 parts truck electric setup fit into my '49 over 10 yrs ago, and after a lot of finagling,  a B-1 electric setup popped up on eBay for 20 bucks and my experiment was over...

 

Seeing that big wingnut on the spare tire carrier made me wonder how it kept from falling off, and I was reminded of the original thread locker:  rust.  I figured a fix is to cross drill the hanger bolt for a cotter pin, click pin, mechanics wire, rusty bent 8d nail...

 

kinda like this?  :)

 

theoretically the pressure against the tire would act like a lock washer and keep things from rotating off, but I figured better safe then sorry!

 

925937700_2012-09-0113_36_17.jpg.a3fab7ff74671602fd42890e048681ea.jpg

 

 

Like Merle I swapped out the wiper assembly for plug and play.

 

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