Vacuum wiper rebuild

Be forewarned - if it's a factory wiper and doesn't work after spraying lube inside, the body is probably warped, preventing the paddle inside from swinging from stop to stop. It can't be rebuilt then. Jim Ficken has rejected a couple original vacuum wipers I have sent him over the years for repair. He says once the pot metal bodies swell up, the wiper is history. It's only good for parts thereafter.

If, on the other hand, you have an after-market vacuum wiper, they are more robust and the chances are better that they can be repaired. They look almost identical to the factory wipers, but their bodies don't tend to swell like the original ones do. You can tell the difference between the two by the way the cover over the operating mechanism on the backside attaches. One just slides in place and the other is secured by two screws, if I recall correctly. Double-check me on this, but I think the two-screw cover is the aftermarket design.

Marshall
 
Marshall V. Daut said:
Be forewarned - if it's a factory wiper and doesn't work after spraying lube inside, the body is probably warped, preventing the paddle inside from swinging from stop to stop. It can't be rebuilt then. Jim Ficken has rejected a couple original vacuum wipers I have sent him over the years for repair. He says once the pot metal bodies swell up, the wiper is history. It's only good for parts thereafter.

If, on the other hand, you have an after-market vacuum wiper, they are more robust and the chances are better that they can be repaired. They look almost identical to the factory wipers, but their bodies don't tend to swell like the original ones do. You can tell the difference between the two by the way the cover over the operating mechanism on the backside attaches. One just slides in place and the other is secured by two screws, if I recall correctly. Double-check me on this, but I think the two-screw cover is the aftermarket design.

Marshall
Click to expand...

I wonder if I ever could make a new one on my 3-d printer....like send the mold to be cast...
 
If made once can be made again. Big questions…
How much time involved=cost
Who would you get to cast? Short runs very difficult to get done for me
Who would take the rough castings, clean and machine? Machining would have to be accurate to make work


Looks pretty un-do-able to me. Never say never ….
 
The rebuild kits from the suppliers are fairly cheap. I would be inclined to buy the kit and try to rebuild it myself. Not much to loose and lots to gain. I remember seeing some instruction somewhere. Maybe in the red book or online.
 
I never had any luck with those vacuum wiper rebuild kits. The rubber paddle center is all but impossible to install unless you have a lot of experience doing this and know the tricks of the trade. I tried a couple times over the years and just never succeeded in making the wipers work. The kits are cheap enough, however, that it might be worth your while to try install one. Just don't expect everything to go together easily. That paddle rebuilding is an exercise in frustration, even following the kit's instructions carefully. Someone who sold rebuilt paddles all ready to be installed could make a small fortune!

The pot metal wiper bowls swell mostly in the middle where they are weakest. This is why many troublesome vacuum wipers stop in the middle of their sweep = they encounter the internal bulge and can't overcome it with the relatively low vacuum level entering the wiper. I always wondered if an adjustable tubular sanding bit (like a Dremel mandrel) couldn't sand away enough of the middle bulge to make the inner walls straight again. Start out just wide enough to clean up the bulge and then open up the sanding bit incrementally until the bit could travel the length of the bowl in one sweep, kind of like a street sweeper, only oriented vertically. I think the bowls are thick enough to withstand the little amount sanded away. Finish with a fine grit sandpaper bit and end up polishing the interior walls so that the rubber paddle edges will glide smoothly and swish merrily back and forth. Perhaps I am describing a tool that doesn't exist. But if we can put a man on the moon, why couldn't a machinist come up with just such a tool that could save literally thousands of now-useless Model A vacuum wipers? I am not that machinist, however. Just a dreamer asking why a particular thing could not be done.
Marshall
 
Call Ficken Wiper Service 132 Calvert Avenue West Babylon, NY 11704
631-587-3332


They have been in business longer than I can remember. Quality work, wouldn't have anyone else do mine...


Frank
 
I put a part in the vac wiper unit on my 57 Ford. I was never satisfied with it. Finally I payed the money and converted it over to an electric unit.
 
Thank you all for your insights. I had no idea there were challenges with pre war wiper motors I'll call Ficken and hopefully it can be rebuilt.
 
I had mine rebuilt by FICKEN about 5 or 6 years ago and it still works like new It was a repo to start with
 
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