Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Nothing wrong with vacuum wipers at all as long as "proper service and maintenance" is provided to the wiper system.

HOWEVER, note that when ever the age old phrase : "proper service and maintenance" is ever used it implies a short service life and HIGH MAINTENACE system relative to alternative systems.

In this case the alternative is ELECTRIC wipers. Ever heard of anyone that had to perform much maintenance on electric wipers???

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Offhand, I don't recall that 64 Rambler ever requiring work on the wipers, and we had it 8 years. I remember the carb issue, the grabby brakes when it sat outside in high humidity, the time the brakes froze after driving through drifted snow, and the ceramic coated exhaust system giving out, but not a wiper issue. AMC seemed to have come up with a pretty robust system, robust enough for them to persist with it as long as they did.

This thread got me wondering what AMC did to ensure the vacuum wipers would never completely stop. Found the answer on an AMC forum. They had a vacuum pump piggybacked on the fuel pump.

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Yep. and that is one expensive fuel pump too. IIRC about $80 ca, 1970 compared to a standard fuel pump at about $15. Bottom line: HIGH maintenance. In this case just to replace a fuel pump.