OldIHC

Posted: **Tue Apr 15, 2014 2:23 pm**

On our R series truck it has a I shall assume good vacuum wiper motor.That being said we have considered putting in a electric motor conversion although this truck will probably only see Sunny Sundays. We'll probably get caught out in the rain occasionally. If necessary does anyone know of a reputable rebuilder of these vac. motors? Point me in a direction Gentlemen.

Posted: **Tue Apr 15, 2014 2:33 pm**

I was going to send my wiper motor to this guy but have since changed to electric. Looks like he knows what he is doing.

http://www.wiperman.com/

Posted: **Tue Apr 15, 2014 4:19 pm**

If you want a good electric conversion NEWPORT ENGINEERING is a good company

Posted: **Tue Apr 15, 2014 9:09 pm**

they are pretty easy to "rebuild" if not too worn out, you just take all those funny looking screws off the top, pair of pliers grab em,

clean the insides, I've heard grease the sweep body,, I've heard wax it & just clean it good, I just cleaned mine good,

I like vacuum over electric unless pulling a long grade, whenever my vacuum wipers seemed to slow down, I'd spray WD-40 up into the intake on em while running, it always loosens em up & they go like crazy,

Posted: **Tue Apr 15, 2014 10:48 pm**

I'm going to vote in favor of electric.
Central CA is a very dry place (especially lately) but even I can't ignore the benefits of a fairly steady sweep of the windshield no matter where your foot is on the gas pedal.

Posted: **Wed Apr 16, 2014 9:27 am**

If you're going to keep the vacuum wipers, may I suggest you also invest in a vacuum reserve tank. They sell them for race cars:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/amd-w-349/overview/

Or if you're more into junkyard pickin', you can salvage a "tomato can" vacuum reservoir from a pre-'97 F150:

http://www.wmi.org/messageboard_pictures/newboard_comments/1374751.jpg

And here's a current eBay ad for the D5TZ-9E453-A "tomato can" vacuum reservoir:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FORD-D5TZ9E453A-GENUINE-OEM-FACTORY-ORIGINAL-VACUUM-RESERVOIR-/111327855982?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19eba8456e&vxp=mtr

Just tee into the vacuum line and install the can.

Just a couple of suggestions.

Posted: **Wed Apr 16, 2014 10:20 am**

My 37 Diamond T had a huge vacuum can under the dash, they came stock with them,

made a huge difference for sure,

my pros & cons of vacuum/electric,

vacuum, no one will strip gears moving the wiper to clean windshield, (who does that for you anymore),

vacuum makes a nice nostalgic sound when running, (if you are younger you don't miss that sound)

vacuum cannot push heavy snow off windshield, (probably shouldn't be driving a 50+ yr. old truck in snow anyway,)

original electric conversion expensive hard to find and probably short lived, (retro upgrade kits available, still expensive, but readily available and reliable, do they make 6v. is the question).

new kits self park, vacuum self park too, old electric you have to time your turning off to park them where you like them.

I guess only reason I still have vacuum is I have tons of spare parts for em on a shelf,

I have 1 or 2 of the 6v. electric set ups, never figured I wanted to convert it bad enough to lay on my back in the cab for a few hrs.

Posted: **Wed Apr 16, 2014 10:25 am**

And it is even harder to lay on your back under the dash if you are old and fat like me. :yay:

Posted: **Wed Apr 16, 2014 8:42 pm**

Thanks for your input! I'm leaning towards staying with the vacuum system and installing a vac canister. If I can't find one locally Ill solder one together. Once again thanks to all!