Wiper motor upgrade?
 

I've just spent an interesting 3.5 hours searching and reading old threads from as far back as '08. There has been a lot of discussion about wiper motors, intermittent switches and delays but most have dead links, parts that are no longer available and websites which have long ago 404'd.

Of the threads I read, there seemed to no single well defined solution, a lot of ideas, many that never reached a conclusion.

So my question is this; before I change the wiper motor in my 70 C30, is there a better option/interchange with a possible wiper delay?

I have the original 2 speed wiper motor which has gone from slow/fast to inadequate/barely acceptable

Re: Wiper motor upgrade?
 

Have you looked at New Port Engineering? I have read some good things about them. They were outside the budget when I was putting my Burban together.

I will say that cleaning and lubricating the factory linkages (Especially the firewall seal) on my Burban made a huge improvement in the wiper speed. I added a Revolution Electronics delay module and for the last 40k plus miles I've been happy with the setup.

Link to my repair thread. See post 127.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=698377&page=6

Just for reference I live in Portland OR and the Burban is my year round daily driver.

Re: Wiper motor upgrade?
 

Thank you HO. I'll look over that thread. And I'll lube everything and clean ground contacts. I wonder though, given the age of the wiper motor, how many revolutions it has remaining. I'll check out Newport also.

Re: Wiper motor upgrade?
 

Eckler's seems to have a few options for intermittent wipers, but the price seems a bit of a shocker. You might want to take a look though.

Re: Wiper motor upgrade?
 

I've just been perusing the Eckler's site. They do have some options but as you say, they're pricey.

Re: Wiper motor upgrade?
 

I used Newport on my 67 Nova project. Worked well.

Re: Wiper motor upgrade?
 

I also used the Newport wiper set up and it works great. Also installed the factory knob on it.

Re: Wiper motor upgrade?
 

I think the factory wiper motors will last forever. I know I have never had to replace one. The washer pumps are a different story. I'm not sure if I've ever had a truck that the washers worked on when I got it. The only thing I feel these trucks lack in the wiper dept. is intermittent mode. We have a member who was selling an add-on but that has fizzled out. I feel wiper performance is fine in these trucks. Maybe I'm different from most, but it's very rare that I ever use the "high" setting in any vehicle. I can't stand the wipers moving that fast and I can see just fine on slow. It has to be a cloudburst to need high speed. What I miss having is intermittent setting

Re: Wiper motor upgrade?
 

There are high priced options out there.

If you are looking for a low budget option,
Buying or making some like this in the link below is the cheaper route.

Link: https://www.ebay.com/p/1527285793?to...-53200-19255-0

Attachment 2221589

Re: Wiper motor upgrade?
 

These seem to work good , :chevy:

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=801366


https://www.amazon.com/Revolution-El.../dp/B00BNZ05LU

https://www.revolutionelectronics.co...-wiper-module/

Re: Wiper motor upgrade?
 

That looks like a decent set-up! Thanks!

Re: Wiper motor upgrade?
 

I know!
I drove the old lady's car once last winter and it's incredible wiper speed freaked me out. With that much inertia involved they will end up beating themselves to death.

I did dare try high speed being afraid my head would explode. :lol:

Re: Wiper motor upgrade?
 

I sure appreciate all the advice here and have lubricated and cleaned grounds. My wiper motor does work but I have to believe there was a day when they actually moved a bit faster.

I am wondering what might be worn in the motor. Bearings? Probably not. Can these motors be rebuilt? I haven't had one off for a long time and don't recall what the motor housing looks like.

Re: Wiper motor upgrade?
 

Of course 50 odd years of use can take a toll on the wiper parts but if you stop and think about how many actual hours the wipers have been used it will be very little in relation to the age of the truck . It would depend on where in the country the truck spent most of it's life and how much rain they get but most should be in reasonably good shape. The bearings/bushings and brushes would be the major wear points but the biggest problem I have found is the wiper transmission towers and linkage. Very few people think to disconnect the linkage from the motor under the cowl vent and see how much drag there is on the linkage. The tower shafts are pretty well protected but they can still get gummed up and stiff. It is hard to get lubricant into the shafts without removing the towers because of their design. If you can bend the tube on the lubricant spray can you can usually get enough up under the top of the towers to lube them. The linkage pivots and outside motor shaft can be lubed down through the cowl vent.

There are more pictures of the motor in this thread.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=413551

LockDoc

Re: Wiper motor upgrade?
 

To Doc's point my Burban's been in northwest Oregon since new and a couple of years back I had to Iocate a good used set of wiper posts as mine were plum worn out. I could wiggle the posts back and forth more than 1/8" and if I used them for more than 15 or 20 minutes continuously they would start squeaking.

Man! Talk about annoying. :lol:

The rest of the joints were fine once cleaned and lubed.

I actually removed the firewall seal and cleaned 50 years of dried grease and dirt off of the shaft under the seals lip. That alone made a noticeable difference in speed on mine. That being said the wipers on these trucks are slow. The high speed is actually slower than many modern vehicles slow speed.

I find the high speed on my Burban is actually useful, unlike many vehicles, where if you need that fast of a wiper, it's raining so hard you can't see past the end of the hood and it's time to pull over.

Re: Wiper motor upgrade?
 

Much thanks for the info. My high speed wipers work ok for most conditions. Low speed seems to serve little purpose as very little rain calls for more of an intermittent than a slow continuous. I have ordered an intermittent module and I believe I'll be doing more intensive cleaning and lube on the system. I'll certainly have a closer look at the towers. Info appreciated.