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The windshield wiper on my '51 200 Deluxe have worked briefly when I had just bought the car. Ever since then: nada.
I was getting ready to pack it up to send for rebuilding when I ran a search on the web and came up with a posting from the Thunderbird club detailing rebuilding vacuum wiper motors.
SO, I thought I'd give it a try.

Got my can of carb cleaner and a tube of the recommended Silicone Grease and went at it.
I put everything back together and hooked it up the the vacuum hose with the wiper motor sitting on top of the heater box for a try out. It worked, so far so good; but then again it did before - just not when it was installed. Next I installed the motor, crossed my fingers and turned it on. Lo and behold - WIPERS!
Not only that but two separate speeds with park to boot.

I ran inside the house thrilled beyond words and finally choked out my accomplishment - The response?
"That's nice; could you take out the garbage"? I looked at the dog, and he was just as thrilled.

So I took out the garbage and gave the dog a nice juicy bone and now everyone in my house is as happy as I am.

Next, I thought I'd tell some people who would understand my joy - which is what I should have done in the first place.

Jim thats wonderful!

How about a link to the posting on the Thunderbird forum?

Congratulations. As Hannibal Smith would say, "I love it when a plan comes together"

Quote:

Good idea!
It might take me a little while to find it but when I do I'll put it up.

I guess it wasn't the T-bird club but a member.

Anyway, here it is -

http://www.tbirdranch.com/wipmtrep.html

Its rainy season here and now the wiper is an issue ,It is very sluggish on my 52 200. It starts and moves a few inches and stops .If I get out and help it move back and forth itll start working and warms up such that after some time its pretty good .For it to be strong enough to do a sweep the windshield has to be wet .
I ve had a 49 studebaker and and a 50 chevrolet with vacumb wipers and they were happy slap slap slapers. I was intimidated by the cables under the dash ,is there any way to service the thing on the firewall without a dissasembly ? What was the silicone spray you used?Interestingly when I bought the car and was excavating the trunk theres 2 vacumb wiper motors in there one in a box that looks lie it may have been rebuilt at some point or on its way to being a core . I was wondering if I could use a vacumb line from the runnung engine to test them?

The motor only will come off by removing the screw on either end holding it on. Cables and all that mechanism stay intact and untouched. You can run it by hooking to engine vacuum but without a load, it will probably run fine and like the proverbial bat out of ----. Since Jim had good luck, I would try that procedure on it or one of your spares.

What I found inside the spare motors that I picked up is that the lube inside the body where vacuum moves the paddle back and forth turning wipers gets dry and hard and the paddle gets stuck. When yours starts moving as it warms up indicates to me that the lube hasn't quite petrified but is on it's way.
Also, from past attempts to work on them, the silicone spray won't do it. You might get a few swipes but the spray turns to liquid and settles in the bottom of the "U". I used silicone grease. I picked up a tube of it at a local auto parts store. When you slather it round inside the body as suggested by the T-bird site, the lube stays in place, easing the paddles AND providing a good, movable seal.
One of the most important steps in the dis-assembly is to carefully note the composition of the sliding "off-on" switch. There is a definite order to observe in the assembly of the pieces of the switch - especially how the flat and "v" shape metal spring relate to each other. That was how I messed up more often than not.
It sounds to me like the motor on your car is a good candidate for rebuilding - just needing new grease. However I'd practice on one of the motors you found in the trunk.
One of the other real important things is to keep the thin paper gasket inside as intact as possible. That gasket is critical not only for the outside seal, but for the total internal height that is necessary for the paddle to move back and forth and still be sealed. Too tight nothing moves - too loose; same thing.
Good luck - If I can do it, anybody can.

Jim L.
Thanks for the link to the rebuild write up and your suggestions.

It makes me wonder what kind of lube the manufacturer used for the wioper motors. Did the OLD solidified grease look like Lubriplate or what did it look like???

Those with a leather paddle seal are likely to have used Neat's Foot oil. But if you're curious enough to make a phone call, surely Ficken Wiper Service has the answer.