Trico wiper motor rebuild

gorzel · Post by **gorzel** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 7:11 pm

Does any one know of a source for the guts of a Trico wiper motor?

Also what kind of lubricant was used in the motors?

I found a website wiperman.com who will rebuild them but he charges $99 and states he WILL NOT sell the repair kits. They do come with a 3 year warranty. I just need some gaskets and maybe a paddle.

I took mine apart because when I operated it by hand there was no vacuum turns out the tubes are/were clogged. The strait tube was easy to clean out. I have not worked in the U shaped side yet (Maybe this weekend).

Post by **Ryan_Miller** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 7:47 pm

I don't know of any place for good new parts.

You might keep an eye out on ebay.

I have been putting off sending mine to the wiper man also.

Don't get me started on Bob's Speedometer.

gorzel · Post by **gorzel** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 8:01 pm

I think $99 is a bit steep. You can get a NOS on eBay for around $50 it seems. I can make the gaskets myself. Maybe I will experiment with the paddle to see what I can come up with. I will let everyone know what I find out.

And since you brought it up

"Don't get me started on Bob's Speedometer."

I have to ask

jeepers52 · Post by **jeepers52** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 2:42 pm

I rebuilt mine and several others for friends, by making my own gasket. The paddles for the most part are in decent shape, they just need a good lube job. The whole unit needs a good cleaning as the small holes get clogged with dirt and old grease over the years. I do not know if is correct, but I used white grease inside the units. I found them to be a lot of fun to rebuild.

gorzel · Post by **gorzel** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 4:10 pm

Is the paddle made out of rubber, leather or some other material. I am going to clean the unit well this weekend and I don't want to damage anything with the cleaning fluids. I bought a roll af gasket material today and will trace the old gasket and make a template. They seem very straight forward.

Cacti_Ken · Post by **Cacti_Ken** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 8:23 pm

I believe you could make a paddle gasket out of some good quality rubber.

Post by **Ryan_Miller** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 8:38 pm

Bob's Speedometer is very $$$ and I don't say that lightly at all.

I did not feel it was not worth the money in the end. I should have looked around for someone more locally.
I used to know a couple of old timers that did the older gauges back when I worked at a restoration shop 15 years ago. Those people have since quit and it is getting more difficult to find someone to work on the old style gauges.

gorzel · Post by **gorzel** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:14 pm

Cacti_Ken I was thinking silicone maybe. I could make a mold with the old one then fill with silicon. I will have to experiment I guess.

Ryan I have not even though about my gauges yet as they are not original but I bet there might be some local people here in St Louis. If I find anyone good with reasonable rate I will post the info here.

Here are my gauges. The factory chrome needs to be polished.

The speedometer looks like it might be correct, but I will let the experts tell me.

xheadnut · Post by **xheadnut** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 1:45 am

I was told to use transmission fluid to lube, it makes paddle flexible.

Post by **wesk** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 8:54 am

Petroleum based oil products tend to soften old rubber a little too much. A very light oil like WD40 works well. In most cases the dried and shrunk paddle seals cause the poor performance. You can treat these with a little WD40 sprayed into the inlet side of the wiper while it is operating for a minute or two. I'd estimate about only half the wiper motors out there really need to be torn down and rebuilt. Most folks today have no experience at all with the use of a vacuum wiper. They suspect poor performance when their vac wiper doesn't perform like their 2009 Dodge's wiper when in reality these vac wipers never did perform that well even when brand new.