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Of the few items not functional on the Clipper the wiper and washer were the ones to be addressed last due mostly to the fact that the car is driven in fair weather. The washer is certainly a luxury and since a friend had loaned me a wiper motor from his 55 gasser tribute car I was covered for the state safety inspection process and the possibility of a random shower if it occured but I was curious as to why the unit used on the Packard had such poor,weak operation compared to the base loaner model and I did want the original unit with all of the extra features functioning and back on the vehicle. Why were the so many people complaining of poor wiper performance especially on the ones used on the 55-56 Packards? Why did the doner wiper motor work so much better than the original? Why were people afraid to take on a rebuild of their own units? Was there a problem with the vehicle vacuum system or a problem with the trico motor used for this application? Why always a referral to a specialist? Were required parts for a typical rebuild really unavailable?
Upon inspection of these items several issues were evident and hopefully the info, tips and tests here will be of help to those experiencing any of the same problems.
Looking at the washer pump with coordinator and the vacuum systems I first will mention Kevs writup on the washer pump rebuild as it is detailed and should be studied first and followed if a total refirb of it is your preference. My variations on some techniques are due to my preference to disassemble and disturb as little as possible because this Mag-Nu-Matic pump is totally original in its finishes,parts and components and the goal was to renew only what was required to restore function while not disturbing items that tested good. I also want to mention the large vacuum leaks that are present with hardened disc seals in the washer pump and the wiper motor and I would suggest if you are recommissioning a 55-56 from a long hybernation you should remove the vacuum hoses that lead from the balance valve to the wiper and washer and cap off the balance valve as these vacuum leaks will cause issues in tuning and driving your packard and if your experiencing hesitation and stumble or backfire on acceleration by all means check all the items mentioned in other threads such as accelerator pump, vacuum advance,timing,fuel volume and condition, high tension spark etc but a reminder eliminate these potential leaks is also in order.
What I found in the washer pump was a rusted main spring and dirty pump chamber and the 2 small disc seals in the solenoid valve not sealing due to being exposed to the air and turning hard. The rubber not directly exposed to air and washer solvents seemed softer and still good. If a test of the cordinator control valve proved bad, it would need to be removed, rivets drilled etc so removal of everything from the cover and a full rebuild is in order. If it was good, could the solenoid and pump be restored to as new operation without disasembly-the answer is yes. see the pics and captions.

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No kit was purchased as after a cleaning and flush of the pump- all the check valves on the pick up and in the control valve were good. Only the spring was purchased and the solenoid discs were replicated.Next step- test coordinator and balance valve and repair wiper mtr

a sheet metal punch works or substitute the tools of your choice.

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Now on to the wiper. It too will be a steady vacuum leak in the stopped (parked) position, the magnitude of which is determined by the condition of the cup seal. This one was cracked and broken to offer little restriction to leakage. Then there is the balance valve. There is little service info on the balance valve though description of normal operation says it should seal the manifold port with the engine under high load and steep throttle angle. After testing, I will assume it was designed to do the opposite also in a pump failure since this valve did seal(separate) the pump port with zero suction from the manifold port and allow the manifold to supply all vacuum to the wiper and washer but would not seal the manifold port when it had no vacuum and suction was coming from the pump port. This would account for slow wipers or stalled blades under heavy acceleration. I suspect that ,just like early Holley carbs with power valves and no blow out protection, the first hard backfire out the carb would destroy this side of the balance valve. If you have weak wipers at idle, connect manifold vacuum directly to the wiper motor bypassing the balance valve. If you have slow wipers only on acceleration, check your balance valve and pump. The service manual only states - up to 20 inches vacuum at 1800 RPM. Would a simple dorman heater/ac vacuum check valve(1/4X1/4) plumbed in solve this? more on that later
There is a rather long winded prefacecoming-sorry for that. I was advised to keep the text short with pictures and captions but there is some good info there for the novice.

This is the balance valve and the park seal on the paddle. Next will be disasembly of the wiper motor and evaluating if it is a candidate for refirb.

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This is a link for photos and descriptions of all the ports and vacuum flow in normal operation in all driver settings.
https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=153893#forumpost153893

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Note front cover removal procedure for short sweep optioned unit so as not to break the plastic spring guide.

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Hehttps://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=154032#forumpost154032 Here is a link for all the vacuum hose lengths and IDs.


This is in no way meant to be an all inclusive manual for 1955 Packard wiper vacuum actuators and there will be considerable differences in option, years etc, It is only a synopsis of what some common issues and the tips and tricks that were used to restore a sixty year old part to very good servicable condition. This is meant for those who have a good mechanical backround with good DIY skills and the shade tree mechanics with basic skills and hand tool selection. The novice who will have to purchase tools and may break or damage the fragile parts in the unit will be better served to pay the cost of a rebuild and shipping from one of the professionals listed above. You may need a gasket set- 5.95(classicmuscle.com or danchuk), needle nose pliers, screw drivers,razor blade,file, a rivet gun, and a hand held vacuum pump or in a pinch a fuel primer bulb(out board motor hand primer bulb). A phone book cover and a laminated take out menu from your favorite wing joint and a very small piece of 1/16 in rubber gasket material and short lengths of3/32, 3/16,7/32 and 5/32 vac hose.
(though you will be replacing all of the vacuum and washer hose in the car as it will be hard and cracked from the years as mine was)
This info will address weak operation,no movement,movement to only 1 side, vacuum leaks and assumes you are starting with a complete motor with no heavy corrosion,pitting, water damage etc. It will not address broken housings, pitted, heavily scored housings, loose or missing gallery cup plugs and or broken plastic internals or crumbling paddle rubbers as these parts seem to be unavailable and these issues are beyond the scope of this refirb. If the plastic parts are intact and the paddle has at least slight drag on the SIDES(narrow ends) as you pull it out and has no chunks or gouges along its 4 rubber edges the unit should be servicable.
I removed the coordinator and this is the only component you need the hand vacuum pump to test. Quickly squeezing the hand pump should get the diaphram to react and as you stop, it should slowly return. For all else, the primer bulb will do. Even a final test of the motor.
The screws are special oval head so use the proper tool if available but if not they may be loosened with needle nose pliers and I used a 1/8 vac tube to run them in and out quickly to save time (ie rubber hose on spark plug). Carefull-the 8 top cover screws are the same but the 2 slide valve cover screws are sm fine thread and the 2 front cover screws are different yet. Reinstall them in the proper position do not mix. Remove the front cover screws and CAREFULLY and slowly lift the cover 1/16 in and guide the cover downward slightly(some units) and out so as not to disturb the shuttle valve or toggle rocker. If you yank the toggle with the cover spring you can break the toggle rocker spring guide. Carefully remove the rocker pivot and the spring and plastic guide straight out at the same time. Remove the shuttle valve and small spring and inspect all parts for cracks,breaks etc. Remove the 2 slide valve cover screws and remove the cover,slider guide plastic housing, blade spring, and slide valve rubber and set aside. Remove the 8 screws and tap the cover and remove( the coordinator should already be off if equipped). Carefully remove the cover gasket with a slow insertion of the razor blade underneth if reusing or just scrape off if using new gaskets. Pull the paddle up and out checking side clearance as above and remove the other gasket. You will note the gasket has tabs that curve in and sit between the housing and the paddle shaft bushings . Dont worry if these tabs break as we will not be using them even if reusing the old gaskets (if they are intact). Clean the housing of all old lube,dirt and grime and buff the inside with a scotchbrite pad or 1000 grit and inspect for scoring and pitting. the inside where the paddle runs should be clean and smooth. At this point you will decide to procede if all looks reasonable or cut losses and purchase a reman.
A good cleaning of the case and cover as well as cleaning all passages with spray cleaner and blowing them clear is in order as well as cleaning the gasket surfaces . This is the point where multiple issues became apparent on my motor.The surface of the cover where the slide valve rode on was quite rough with burs drawn up along 1 edge and slight pitting on the surface. I also noticed the slide valve dry and rough and its thickness was thinner than the plastic slide valve body. It is unclear if these issues were there since manufacture or were due to corrosion and wear but a simple dressing of the surface with very fine sand paper laid over a machined flat surface in a few minutes the surface is perfect. (I used my carpenters slide square with the blade removed). The shrinkage (or wear) of the slide valve was corrected with 2 or 3 light swipes of the valve on the 1000 grit and a piece of the glossy menu cut to sit on top of the valve inside the plastic slide valve carrier. This will ensure a good seal and eliminate the "slop" and floating of the rubber valve. (see pix). A visual on the shuttle valve and a few swipes (if nec) will ensure a good seal to the housing.
The 2 other problems were the small seal on the paddle which is "park position off" and has to seal to the cup on the cover so there is no large vacuum leak when off however I did notice trico built in a safety position if the slide is controlled just off of the park position toward the run position there is a small setting where there is no vacuum past the slide valve to any chamber. I removed the old "park seal"(mine was dried,cracking and falling apart-see pic) and simply cut with scissor a new disc from the 1/16 (.060-.062 thou) rubber and riveted it on and dressed the cup lip on the cover same as above. Then lay the paddle in the case straight down and pass a feeler gauge or cut strips from the phone book cover and menu and pass them under the paddle to ck paddle seal to case clearance.(Note:skip this step if the paddle has alot of play on the shaft as some do.cut thin bushing strips as the paddle will find its own center) Upon assembling the paddle,case and cover as a dry run pre assem check, you may notice the hardened gasket material in the curved areas of the cover were quite petrified and somewhat thicker than the compressed outer edges of the cover gasket. This causes the paddle bearings and paddle tosit away from the case and the cover also and the cover did not want to sit down flush on the case without flexing/straining. A micrometer check of the old gasket showed approx a .022 in thickness in the uncompressed areas and about . 019 in the compressed areas. (phone book cover=.013, menu paper.009. It seemed to me that by decreasing the gasket material only here in the bushing seat area in the case, I could move the paddle closer to the case and reduce the paddle tip clearance for better sealing and stronger action. There is a limit to this adj as seen when the parts are dry fitted- no gaskets installed the paddle shaft will hit and bind on the stepped shoulders of the bushing cradles (see pic) as evidenced by being able to spin the bushings with your finger tip with the paddle installed in the case. This would render the bushing useless and possibly cause a bind in the axle shaft to case and cover. At this point I cut the tabs off the used gaskets, cleaned and scraped carefully the bushing cradles in the case and cover with a tiny screw driver and cut strips of menu to use as gaskets in this area. Now the perimeter gaskets can both be laid on the case during assem and with 2 sm strips of menu placed under the bushings and the paddle installed ck the clearance of the paddle to the case bottom. You want as close as poss without hitting or binding. Cut your homemade tabs flush with a razor to the case face while holding slight pressure downward on the paddle, install the perimeter gaskets and dry fit the cover making sure there is no binding and the cover laid flat. This resulted in a super smooth operation and close fit of the paddle in the case. The upper sweep area of the top of the paddle to cover clearance would only be adjustable with thinner perimeter gasket material to bring the cover down lower though I did not have an issue here and it was not necessary for me. This one works with enough force now on as little as 5-6 in vac and at 18 it will sweep a dry windshield with authority, Before final assem dont forget to clean the bushings out with wd 4o spray and lube with sewing machine oil and coat the entire paddle rubber,case,lid and slide valve with a lube of your choice.(There are differing opinions on this.) I put a dab of lube on each bushing as well as on the gaskets in this area. . If you used a solid rivet for the park seal you are good to go. With a regular rivet I drove the center stud out so as not to create an interference problem later on and put a rubber plug as cut with my sheet metal hole punch with 1/8 die-or a dab of ultra gray in the holes on both sides will do in lieu of. Remember the paddle must be sealed rt side from left. Don't forget to ck and lube your "fast sweep" cup seal if equipped, clean and dry the vent filter pad and lube the shuttle valve and toggle pivot with lubriplate and install it and and the rocker and springs and frt cover with gasket. Detail exterior to your satisfaction and that's it. Good luck.

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The 2 paddles on these 2 motors were in quite different conditions. Seemed the better one was in the NON FUNCTIONING unit.

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The best results for clearances and smooth operation of the paddle on this motor were to cut the tabs off the old gaskets, scrape all residue from the bushing cradles and use the thinnest home made strips in the housing and cover and reuse the old gaskets.
With the unit off the car you may want to turn the shaft lug and sweep the wipers across the windshield to make sure all is in good order and they are not stiff or binding. A 55 should move very freely this way though I did notice on a dry windshield there was more resistance as the cam-o-matic cam and shoe and the blade passed around the curved sides of the windshield.

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It doesn't rain much here in Phoenix AZ, but when it does I drive my 54 Cavalier in to work so I don't get wet on the motorcycle I usually drive.

So yesterday I was glad I restored the wiper and washer system. The rain was coming down hard all day; the wipers ran at regular speed even though I do a lot of stop and go. I did hit the washer button a couple of times on the way in to the parking garage.

With the pedal to the metal the wipers only slightly slow, seems to have plenty of suckage. The Cavalier has the vacuum pump / fuel pump combination. It also has a Reservoir. The washer pump worked both times I used it even though the wipers were still running. The washer pump did not affect the wiper speed at all.

I did find the tutorial extremely useful when I restored my system. WiperMan provided the wiper motor in good working condition. I used to have a screwdriver like driver that fit those little odd head screws.

My system is the same as shown here except 6 volt.

Jim