1940 Oldsmobile Vacuum Wipers

[Guest bobgothard]

I just purchased a 1940 Oldsmobile Woody Wagon series 60 and find that the wipers are inoperable. Does anyone know how the vacuum lines are configured

from the exhaust manifold and the fuel pump to the wiper motor?

I replaced the wiper motor and attached the vacuum line to the fuel pump, the wipers work but very slowly.

The manual states the the wipers are driven from both the fuel pump and the exhaust manifold but there are no illustrations or information as to how they are configured.

Please help!

[Guest Kattosha]

I have a 1940 Series 60 Olds as well and I have found that the wipers do move slower than conventional wipers. I will look through my manuals and documentation to see if I have a configuration for the assembly and operation.

[Jon37]

Do you know that they worked before you got the car? Most of these vacuum wipers need to be overhauled from time to time, due to the seals hardening within them. So, no matter how it's connected, it will always be sluggish until you've rejuvenated it. You can send the motor out for rebuilding (costs somewhere around $100 nowadays), or you could try lubricating it yourself by squirting a solvent inside (I use neat's foot oil, other folks use other things) and work it back and forth, then let it sit for awhile. Or you might get lucky as I did a couple years ago, and find a brand new one in the box, on Ebay, for $45!

You also should lubricate all the moving parts that link the wiper arms to the motor, for unless they work smoothly they'll make make it hard for even the best motor to work the wipers.

Edited February 25, 2012 by Jon37 (see edit history)

[Guest bofusmosby]

Not familiar with you car, but I am on my 37 Pontiac. There is a vacuum line that runs from the exhaust manifold to the vacuum section of the fuel pump. Then, the vacuum line goes on the other side of the vacuum section of the fuel pump to the wipers. They are corect on the old wiper motors. I finally bought a rebuilt one off Ebay, but even that one doesn't work that will. From what I have been told, these pre-war wiper motors had a bad habbit of having the casing warp a bit, so even if they are re-built, they may not work that well for very long. I believe that that is the problem with the rebuilt one I purchased.

[Owen_Dyneto]

The good rebuilders will repair or replace warped or otherwise bad castings. Perhaps the best in the business is Ficken Wiper Service. Properly repaired and with adequate vacuum, vacuum wipers are more than competent.

[Guest bofusmosby]

The good rebuilders will repair or replace warped or otherwise bad castings. Perhaps the best in the business is Ficken Wiper Service. Properly repaired and with adequate vacuum, vacuum wipers are more than competent.

I had originally spoke to them, and he is the one that gave me this info. He said that if the case is warped, it can not be repaired, and have it last very long. He also said that he didn't have any good casings for the one that mine would need.

[Rusty_OToole]

There is supposed to be a pipe from the wiper motor to the vacuum pump then from the vacuum pump to the INTAKE manifold.

The vacuum pump (on the fuel pump) should have 2 pipes and they should be marked which goes to the manifold and which to the wiper motor.

Here is how the system works. Normally, intake manifold vacuum powers the wipers. When vacuum is low, such as when accelerating or climbing a hill, the vacuum pump takes over.

Your motor probably needs to be oiled. There is a procedure for this which has been discussed here before. If you do a search you should find it. All Trico wiper motors are oiled the same way no matter what kind of car they are on.