Wiper Motor 1950 Buick Special 41D

[Sonomatic]

One of the things I needed to address to be able to tag my car for daily operation were the wipers.  On the upsweep the wipers would stop about mid stroke.  A little nudge and they would finish the upsweep and come back down strong with no assistance and park was also strong and positive.

 

After researching the internet, I found a few videos saying all that was needed was maintenance/service, which consisted of putting everything from Marvel Mystery Oil, transmission fluid, even brake fluid.  The brake fluid was from a Model A sight.  Said that Ford recommended putting brake fluid in the wiper motor to maintain the motor.  I found that interesting, because, if you had a Model A back in the day, why would you have brake fluid, the Model A had mechanical brakes.  

 

Anyway, next, I went down the rabbit hole and took the cover off.  First problem are the fasteners, odd shape.  Seems all Trico wiper motors use these odd fasteners.  During the twilight zone, just before you fall asleep, I realized that the late '80s GM electronic Quadrajets used anti-tamper idle mixture screws with the same heads!  And, I had the tool that fit those.....somewhere.  I found the tool the next day in my tool box, and, even though it was a size or two too big, it did remove the screws.  They weren't very tight.  Also, duckbill pliers will work also, in a pinch.

 

I removed the wiper motor, piece of cake, two screws and a small screw with a large washer, that retains the cable for the wiper switch from inside the car.

 

Get the wiper motor on the bench, opened it up, gasket was intact, but, from the MMO I put in earlier, it was saturated, and when I touched the little bit of gasket that overhung the side of the lid, it tore.  Well, maybe RTV or Indian Head gasket shellac.

 

There isn't much inside, mostly just the big door or blade or whatever it's called.  On the side is the valve mechanism that allows the vacuum to be applied to one side and then the other.  Although the parts are very small, the whole thing is very serviceable.

 

After seeing inside, I still thought $150 dollars was a lot to rebuild one of these.  The big thing I was wondering about was where would I source the rivets that hold the two parts of the door thingy together that sandwich the seal?

 

I went online, checked the normal Buick parts suppliers, a lot of them offered a rebuild service, but, no rebuild kit.  Then I went on ebay.  I found kits that had the gaskets, the big seal, even the rivets to put it back together.  Then I googled how to rebuild on of these motors.  A couple of threads stated that these individuals had tried to rebuild these motors and had had less than stellar results. Hmmmm.  $150 was starting to sound a little more reasonable.  If I attempeted rebuilding this motor and botched it, I might, not only be out the price of the rebuild, but also the price of a core which is about $100 dollars.

 

Enter:

          Ficken Wiper Service

          132 Calvert Ave.

          West Babybylon, NY 11704

          631-587-3332

I called this man up on the phone, he told me about people doing all of the stuff I just described above.  He said package it up, pad it real well, enclose a legible note with your return address and anything else you want to say, make sure it's legible, and enclose a check for $150, covers rebuild and return shipping, then wait about two weeks.  Oh, also include your phone number.   One more thing.  I had sworn off the post office for any shipping needs.  Always used UPS.  He said he used to do the same thing.  He told me that UPS has gotten so expensive, plus, they were adding additional charges after the had alread returned the wiper motor to the customer, therefore, could not recoupe these additional charges.  In the mean time, he stated that he has found that the Post Office has substantially upped its game, and, has very reasonable charges, so he's using them now.

 

Shipped my motor, UPS, Monday afternoon, it showed up yesterday afternoon, (Saturday). and put it on last night.  I've attempted to include a short video of operation.  I will say, the wipers work as well as modern wipers on medium speed, on a dry windshield, even at idle.  I am aware that a dry windshield is not the prefered operating environment for wiper use, but that's what it will be in the inspection lane.

 

Very lenghty post, but, I guarantee you will spend less time reading all of this than I did finding out all of this, and you will most likely come to the same conclusion.  Regardless, aren't these old Buicks grand?  

Edited December 18, 2022 by Sonomatic (see edit history)

[Buick35]

I m glad they did away with vehicle inspections in Florida or Is be doing the same thing on my Buick.What state do you live in?

[Sonomatic]

Delaware

[Andy J]

Sonomatic,I'm glad you made this post. I was just about to attempt to rebuild the wiper motor on my '51 Pontiac until I read your post. I usually do as much as I can myself,but turning this over to professionals will likely save me a headache in the future. It doesn't appear too difficult to rebuild myself,but as you probably know,some things are best left alone. I probably won't need wipers because I don't plan on driving in the rain,but may get caught in the rain on occasion. I just want everything on the car to work like it is supposed to.

 

I'm going to call the man tomorrow.

[Sonomatic]

I’m glad it was helpful

[NailheadBob]

This will help other members with vacuum wiper motor issues, thanks for all the details and end result.

 

Bob

[Sonomatic]

That was what I was hoping for. Thanks.