1957 wipers go half way and stop | Ford Thunderbird club group 1955-2005 T-Bird models

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1957 wipers go half way and stop

  • Thread starter Thread starter bungeeb0b
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bungeeb0b

bungeeb0b

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Thunderbird Year
1957
When I turn my wipers on, they go halfway across the windshield and stop. When I restart the wipers the blades go back down. They will not keep running to clear the windshield of rain, so it is impossible to go out in the rain. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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I don't know the answer, but another couple questions to help find an answer. Are they vacuum wipers? Did you check the vacuum line? Or were they changed to electric? I'll be watching.
 
The wipers are vacuum operated. I am a novice in doing repairs like this, and my age prevents me from crawling around under the dash.
 
Apply a thin coat of diluted liquid soap with a brush on each rubber hose apply the wiper turn on look for bubbles.
 
We switched our '56 to an electric motor due the poor operation of the vacuum powering. Much better. A y good shop can do the installation.
 
I agree with all the above. I have a '56 that has electric wipers. I have a '57 with vacuum wipers. I try very hard not to go out in the rain. I would not go thru the time, trouble and money to convert the '57. Just my feeling,,,,,
 
You may have a leak in the vacuum hoses that feed the system. It seems more likely to me that the leather seal inside the wiper motor is leaking. The cure usually suggested is to feed some brake fluid into the motor to lube and soften the leather. You have to get it into the top port which is on the radio side of the motor. You can attach a piece of vacuum hose to that port temporarily (remove the normal hose that's attached) and put it into a can of brake fluid. Not sure how much you need to suck thru it, perhaps half a cup to a cup. Place a towel on the floor as some brake fluid may drip out the outlet on the bottom. Run the engine and it will suck the brake fluid in thru the inlet. After you are done feeding it in let the engine run to such out any excess. You may want to remove the wiper arms while doing this since they will be trying to wipe the windshield or have someone watering down the windshield.
 
I just finished the installation of a Newport Engineering electric wiper motor on my "56.
Quite a pain getting under the dash but doable. Biggest problem I had was the little circlips for the wiper arms
to the motor shafts as there is "NO ROOM" to easily get in there blind for a backside installation
Finally, I used the original center extension spring clip from the original vacuum unit and that went pretty easy
and upgraded to the 2-speed switch and push button washer fluid, a pump from a 65 Mustang worked well
Sorry I'm not a purist that needs originality; I just want it to work reliably when needed
On another note,
While under there I also installed LED lights in the dash and found several broken Delrin plastic bushings in the light sockets
that illuminate the knobs. 2 of these shorted out and burned up inside. But not the for the gauges HMM?
This is a newer wiring harness that was installed before I purchased the car and they did a pretty good job "BUT"
the newer harness has these plastic bushings instead the old-style phenolic washers, the bushings
can't take the heat from the incandescent bulbs dry out and crack. This shorts out the 12 volts to the spring
and the spring shorts out to the grounded housing. All good now
Just sharing
All be well
 
Hi, I had the same problem with our 57. Inside the wiper unit is blade that is connected to the wiper drive shaft. When the wiper is switched on the vacuum sucks the blade to one side of the chamber and a small rocker valve controlled by a small spring switches the vacuum to the other side of the chamber sucking the blade back. Unfortunately over time the internals of the unit get gummed up, the little rocker valve sticks causing the problem you describe. The solution is to remove the wiper unit and clean the internals. Alternatively throw it in the trash and fit a Newport two speed electric unit, I did and never regretted it. I agree with Widget . Just do it or have a shop do it for you. If you do this do as Widget said use the original spring and clips to connect the centre arm not the silly C clip provided.
 
the vacuum for vehicles with the dual diagram fuel pumps starts at the intake manifold and from there it goes to the fuel pump at the top. There are two connections. One comes from the intake manifold and the other goes from the fuel pump to the windshield vacuum motor. There are two sections of rubber hose that connect the metal lines at the fuel pump, and another longer hose that connects from the metal line that delivers the vacuum to the motor. It is relatively easy to replace these three pieces of hose.

The problem is more likely in the motor itself. After 70 years, the leather in the flap that operates the wipers becomes dry and does not easily go back and forth as it should . I have heard the story about the brake fluid, and I have done that in the past. I have spoken with Ficken Wiper Service who rebuilds the Trico motors for most vehicles that have them and he does not recommend using brake fluid. He suggests carefully opening the motor and cleaning the inside of the motor and flapper. He said to lubricate the flapper with a heavy grease such as wheel bearing grease and reassemble. Good luck with your project.
 
cokefirst said:
the vacuum for vehicles with the dual diagram fuel pumps starts at the intake manifold and from there it goes to the fuel pump at the top. There are two connections. One comes from the intake manifold and the other goes from the fuel pump to the windshield vacuum motor. There are two sections of rubber hose that connect the metal lines at the fuel pump, and another longer hose that connects from the metal line that delivers the vacuum to the motor. It is relatively easy to replace these three pieces of hose.

The problem is more likely in the motor itself. After 70 years, the leather in the flap that operates the wipers becomes dry and does not easily go back and forth as it should . I have heard the story about the brake fluid, and I have done that in the past. I have spoken with Ficken Wiper Service who rebuilds the Trico motors for most vehicles that have them and he does not recommend using brake fluid. He suggests carefully opening the motor and cleaning the inside of the motor and flapper. He said to lubricate the flapper with a heavy grease such as wheel bearing grease and reassemble. Good luck with your project.
Click to expand...
No doubt it's best to take it apart and clean it up but if you go to that trouble seems like it would make even more sense to put an electric motor in while you have things apart. My vacuum motor still works and while I try not to drive in the rain I did get caught out in some light rain and it worked fine for that but I would not want to depend on it if I did any real driving in the rain.
 
bungeeb0b said:
When I turn my wipers on, they go halfway across the windshield and stop. When I restart the wipers the blades go back down. They will not keep running to clear the windshield of rain, so it is impossible to go out in the rain. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
The most probable cause for Thunderbird windshield wipers not working properly is because they are not used regularly. After years of very little use the seals have dried out causing the wiper motor to be sluggish. The procedure to do this is as follows:
  • Connect a clear bottle containing Dot 3 or 4 brake fluid to the inlet tube on the wiper motor located under the dash. The wiper inlet tube is located on the side of the motor facing the radio.
wiper fitting.jpg
  • Turn on the wipers, run the engine at idle, turn the wipers and the vacuum should suck the fluid into the wiper motor.
  • Then work the wipers by hand until they work on their own. The brake fluid will soften the dried leather seals in the motor.
  • Make sure the vacuum hose is always below the level of the fluid. Also, to prevent blade drag on the dry windshield, squirt soapy water on the windshield, this will provide lubrication for the blades.
  • It usually takes about a pint of brake fluid to complete the process. It’s a good idea to have an old rag or towel on the floor under the inlet to catch any drips once the fluid hose is removed.
  • Run the wipers several minutes after the fluid hose is disconnected to remove excess fluid from the wiper motor. There will be some white smoke from the exhaust as the fluid is sucked into the engine. It will not hurt the engine and will clear up soon after all the fluid is purged from the system.
  • Also, check to make sure that the vacuum source lines are connected correctly to the engine.
doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue
 
Lionel said:
Hi, I had the same problem with our 57. Inside the wiper unit is blade that is connected to the wiper drive shaft. When the wiper is switched on the vacuum sucks the blade to one side of the chamber and a small rocker valve controlled by a small spring switches the vacuum to the other side of the chamber sucking the blade back. Unfortunately over time the internals of the unit get gummed up, the little rocker valve sticks causing the problem you describe. The solution is to remove the wiper unit and clean the internals. Alternatively throw it in the trash and fit a Newport two speed electric unit, I did and never regretted it. I agree with Widget . Just do it or have a shop do it for you. If you do this do as Widget said use the original spring and clips to connect the centre arm not the silly C clip provided.
Click to expand...
The vacuum wiper motor has a semi-circular trough. A pivoting paddle swipes back and forth in the trough; the edges of the paddle fit closely to the sides and bottom of the trough and have leather seals. The shaft of the paddle is hooked to the wiper arm and as the paddle swipes back and forth, the wiper arm moves. At each end of the paddle’s stroke, a cam on the shaft nudges a valve which applies vacuum to the other side of the paddle, moving it back the other way.

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

Vacuum Switching Cam.jpg
 
cokefirst said:
the vacuum for vehicles with the dual diagram fuel pumps starts at the intake manifold and from there it goes to the fuel pump at the top. There are two connections. One comes from the intake manifold and the other goes from the fuel pump to the windshield vacuum motor. There are two sections of rubber hose that connect the metal lines at the fuel pump, and another longer hose that connects from the metal line that delivers the vacuum to the motor. It is relatively easy to replace these three pieces of hose.

The problem is more likely in the motor itself. After 70 years, the leather in the flap that operates the wipers becomes dry and does not easily go back and forth as it should . I have heard the story about the brake fluid, and I have done that in the past. I have spoken with Ficken Wiper Service who rebuilds the Trico motors for most vehicles that have them and he does not recommend using brake fluid. He suggests carefully opening the motor and cleaning the inside of the motor and flapper. He said to lubricate the flapper with a heavy grease such as wheel bearing grease and reassemble. Good luck with your project.
Click to expand...
I had the same problem with a '59 Tbird and my inspector would not pass the car (even though I never drive in the rain). I removed the vacuum motor and cleaned out the old dried grease. I used good silicone grease and put it back together. It worked perfectly and even had a fairly wide range of speed adjustment. I even reused the old top gasket. Except for the dab of grease this cost nothing to do, but getting it in and out was a royal pain. Vern
 
As a first resort, definitely try the brake fluid option. Removing the motor from the car is a giant pain in the neck, literally. I did the brake fluid to mine, and they work perfectly. Do it outdoors because brake fluid will go through the engine and out the exhaust pipes with a lot of smoke.
 
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