Vaccum wipers

[gt5-33]

If you hook a mighty vac to wiper hose which goes into the motor and it cannot hold a vaccum, will that impact engine performance?

[Rusty57]

In a perfect world you would prefer that the wiper motor hold vacuum when the control valve is closed. The reality is that vacuum wiper motors are not precision devices. You can do some searches and see tips for getting them to seal better when operating. I have never seen any tips to improve the control valve sealing. I did have limited success by putting a lot of silicone grease on the sliding valve but that improvement was only temporary.

Is it enough leakage to affect engine performance? It can make a slightly noticeable difference at idle. Is it enough to make the engine run poorly or not perform as expected? Not from my observations and experience.

While I have not played with the wiper motor on our TBird I have worked with vacuum wiper motors on other classic cars. First of all, a MightyVac will only operate a really good sealing motor that has no load on it. I have never been able to make wipers operate with a MightyVac hand pump.

I assume you get lots of responses recommending that you install an electric wiper motor. I have done that on one other vehicle. I’m not ready to put myself through that ordeal again. Access is already tight and the electric motor and drive is quite a bit larger than the vacuum motor. Plus it took some patience and finesse to select the correct drive pin position as well as get things timed correctly so the wipers would sweep and park in the correct position. Maybe the TBird conversion is more refined.

I just use RainX and let the wipers work as well as they can.

[ward 57]

Yah it's a PIA to convert. Usually it's an issue of the leather wipers inside the motor. Some have suggested hooking up a line to the input at the bottom of the wiper motor with brake fluid to soften them up. I sprayed PB max into there when running and the difference is amazing. They now flip like a squirl tail.

[1957Birdman]

I had my wiper motor rebuilt by “The Wiperman” over 10 years ago and it has worked fine ever since. Having said that, treating the windshield with Rainex is really better than wipers when driving in a rainstorm. I drove to Hershey for the car show from Maryland one year in a pretty heavy rainstorm. With Rainex on the windshield the rain didn’t collect on the windshield and I really didn’t need the wipers at all.
Lew Bachman
1957 Colonial White

[DynoDan’55]

Rainex is great, but, those who typically don’t risk heavy rain should be aware that repeated applications on old glass will eventually leave an unsightly haze, making the wiper tracks stand out. Takes a fine polishing compound to remove.

[fijidad]

Yah it's a PIA to convert. Usually it's an issue of the leather wipers inside the motor. Some have suggested hooking up a line to the input at the bottom of the wiper motor with brake fluid to soften them up. I sprayed PB max into there when running and the difference is amazing. They now flip like a squirl tail.

I recently removed the vacuum motor on my '56 TB and consider myself lucky to be alive. It was THE WORST to get your hands back of the motor to remove and then reinstall the spring retainer for the wiper (under dash) arms. I did the brake fluid treatment on the motor and can confirm that it improved performance 100% in my case. I let it soak for several days full of brake fluid and the result was an amazing improvement. Having said that though, I'll never do that again. Rather pay someone to suffer through it.

And this was with the dash, the steering column, the seat and the shifter REMOVED.

[ward 57]

No doubt. I'm small and still tight for me. I'm so glad the in-place treatment worked.

[1957Birdman]

The problem is that the original radio takes up a ton of room, leaving little space for your hands. I replaced original radio with one from Custom Autocrafters and had plenty of space. If I still had my original radio in the car I would consider taking it out before messing with the vacuum motor.
Lew Bachman
1957 Colonial White

[55blacktie]

I did the Newport electric wipers conversion on my 55. The seat, steering column, soft top, radio, and heater components had been removed. I'm 5' 8", 150 lbs, and it definitely was a challenge, but I would think that having the dash removed would make it much easier. Would I do it again? Yes. Would I attempt to do it without the aforementioned parts removed? Doubtful.

[Paul T. Amick]

Hi, I have owned several lilbirds. never used vac. wipers. Rainx all the way. Went to MN round trip twice, miles of rain. CTCI rules does not require wipers to be turned on. So go RAINX and forget it. Ralnx won't scratch the glass either.