Hi guys. 55 88 Holiday again.

I have most of the dash apart already. Heater control valve is out to Fusick to get rebuilt. Radio is out to be repaired and new speakers.

Fuel pump is out being rebuilt. Prior to the fuel pump job the wipers were very slow. Typical, slow then fast and varied with engine speed and vacuum available.

Do you think the fuel pump rebuild will be enough for functional wipers, or should I go ahead and get the wiper motor done while I can get at it? $109 to rebuild at Fusick.

I just love being on my head under the dash....I'd have to wait for next month for my next pay check.

 

How will the fuel pump affect engine vacuum?.
I say for $109 do it now, or when your next paycheck arrives.

Roger.

 

Why not trash the old vacum one and replace with a electric one , you can buy them to suit your model, they bolt straight in and they have 2 speeds, my 55 has one and still uses the original wiper switch on dash.

 

Sorry, poorly worded question, and you must not have a vacuum operated wiper system from the fuel pump.

Double action fuel pump, engine speed effects pump speed, which effects vacuum available to the wipers...

Electric? Where would be the fun in that?

 

Roger, you probably have never fooled with the old cars with vacuum wiper motors (please do not take offense). If they run straight off engine vacuum, they will stop when the engine vacuum drops during acceleration. What manufactures did was make a fuel pump with two diaphragms called a dual action pump. One diaphragm pumped fuel and the other provided vacuum for the wiper motor and any other accessory that required vacuum. So that is why DFitz is mentioning his fuel pump. I have to admit that to somebody that is used to later model cars (if we call 70's models later model), it sounds pretty crazy.

 

RedOldsman,

Thanks, considering the question. Do the wiper motors typically need rebuilding, or is the culprit usually the fuel pump? Just trying to decide if I need to spend the extra money vs. ease of doing the work now while the dash is apart.

Or do you think an electric conversion is a better way to go? I imagine that when all the parts work, the wipers are acceptable with pneumatics. I still have the original generator, so voltage at idle would be an issue as well.

Thanks in advance.

 

I'd wait...the wiper motor is 100% removable from under the hood, not the dash - disconnect the cable slide (from dash switch) and remove the mounting screws. It comes right off.

If it moved at all, it's probably fine - install the new fuel pump, make sure your rubber lines are good, and try it out.

I use the OE vacuum one on my '55 driver. Yeah, it would suck in a downpour, but how often does that happen...good spring-tensioned wiper arms and blades are the key to these....and Rain-X.

If your motor is not very good after the new FP, then consider rebuilding it, but again, no need to get under the dash to do.

Also, I shot a little silicone spray into mine and it made a huge difference.

 

Olds Dad,

Excellent! This was the kind of advice I was after. I couldn't tell without starting on it if it was just on the firewall side or not. The silicone spray idea is a good one too.

I was planning on the silicon spray to some of the heater cables, a little sticky. One of the heater cable shrouds has also come loose from the back of the ****, so I'm going to try to secure it with a little JB Weld.

 

Do you work for JB Weld?

Those heater cables are the bain of my existence. They're pressed in and crimped soft metal and you cannot take them apart without destroying them if you want to rechrome the ***** and bezels - and the damn ends always break off.

I've used white lithium spray on mine in the past - pain in the a$$.

 

You should consider getting the wiper washer pump working (replace the rubber lines while you're under the dash) -

I did it and it was pretty easy and it's way cool now that it works.

Check it out here:

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...-interest.html

 

The old pumps can wear out since they have a diaphragm in them. Squirting the silicone in sounds like a good idea. If the diaphragm is bad, it will not work. If I were using it for a daily driver, I would probably go electric. I don't even want to get mine in the rain because it leaks like crazy and I don't want to get it dirty.

 

I would probably be considered a purest for originally on this board but after rebuilding my fuel pump and wiper motor(wiper motor twice)I gave it up for safety. Intermittent wipers in a bad storm were to dangerous for me and my old wipers were bad at best. I installed a electric wiper motor and haven't looked back. The electric motor looks stock to someone who doesn't know Oldsmobiles and most people can't tell the difference as it hides behind the batwing. You lose the washer feature if you use the wiper control **** but other than that it's an easy fix. There is a post on this conversion somewhere on this forum that should come up with a search should you go that way. I used the motor put out by Newport and I recommend it highly...Your milage may differ.....Tedd

PS. try this link https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ic+wiper+motor

 

Ha!, That's funny!!

Oh, sorry, you were serious......no such beast on the basic 4-dr Holiday. I didn't know the other trim levels has washers.

 

No offense taken, I know about vacuum wipers, but I didn't know about the fuel pump providing back up, thank you for that, something else I learned from this forum.
I've never worked on a vacuum system though.
Ford (UK) used vacuum wipers up to the early '60s on a few models, well known for the wipers stopping if you went up a hill and trying to fly off the spindles going down the other side....
I suppose in the days of 6 volt electrical systems with puny dynamo generators they had their place. My dad told me some of the old beaters from the '30s and '40s he owned had really crummy electric wipers, in light rain he would slice a potato in half and smear it across the screen, it helped the water run off, if the rain got to bad he would fold the windshield flat and get wet instead. Ahhh the good old days.....


Roger.

 

No, I don't work for JB Weld, but it's a miracle drug..and I see I'm not the only one with a cable issue. Thanks again. I've already tried re-crimping the ends to no avail--hence the miracle of JB Weld!!

Knowing my luck, I'll end up gluing the whole thing together, push rods and all. But then I'll not be any worse off than I am now.

 

Rustyroger it sounds like your Dad could have really used RainX. Too bad it wasn't around in those days. I never heard the potato trick. Great story. Thanks for sharing.

 

I agree with Ted on the electric wiper conversion. I rebuilt the vacuum wipers and fuel pump and the system was not dependable. After reading Teds advise I went with Newport. I do not fear getting caught in the rain now!
Rick

 

If I ever thought I would be in the rain very much, I would go electric for sure. I put the newly rebuilt Fusick wiper motor on my 54 yesterday. A note about the 54 wiper motor. There are two different types. The early model has the mounting screws straight across from each other while the later model they are not. The motor works fine but I cannot get the switch cable to turn it on. I sprayed silicone around the switch on the motor but the cable just won't push the switch. It turns off okay since the cable is pulling instead of pushing. So if I get caught in the rain, I will have to get out and raise the hood to turn the wipers on. I will get back on this on another day. I had some electrical gremlins to fix yesterday and a couple more today.

 

My quick 2 cents on the topic. Vacuum wipers work if everything is in proper order. That also means that they don't totally give up under acceleration because the mechanical pump should provide enough vacuum to cover the drop in manifold vacuum. Just as important is to keep the windshield free of pollution build-up, the stuff that drags your hand when you rub across it. It all adds up. If the engine has any idle issues at all that relate to vacuum such that it would fail a vacuum test, pay heed to this. A valve(s) not fully closing due to cam - pushrod lifter issues Olds are famous for will make proper running wipers impossible. If your carb mixture screws aren't responding like they should, you have a leak somewhere.
As for cables,yes what a pain but soaking them will restore the movement usually. I wish I had a set that I did not care about because I'm sure those ***** must come off somehow.

 

Have controls from a '56 if interested; heat, vent, wiper , etc..