Fixed My C2 Windshield Washers This Weekend - Here's What I Learned
09-05-2006, 05:12 PM
#1
Pro
Thread Starter
Fixed My C2 Windshield Washers This Weekend - Here's What I Learned
Posted a thread asking questions about my 1967 window washer motor last week and only got one response. Either a topic no one knows much about, or possibly cares much about. Either way, I answered my all of my own questions and suffice it to say the washers squirt fluid clear over the sides of my car when sitting still!
Sorry, accidently posted this in the C2 parts section as well. Oops.
Here's what I found out.
1. All I had to do was remove the distributor shielding and then I could get enough access to the washer motor housing to remove it from the wiper motor housing. It was definitedly cramped for hands and wrenches but it can be done. There are four screws to remove (roughly in the four corners) so that the entire housing can be detached from the wiper motor.
2. The screw in the bottom left corner facing the firewall has a ground plug attached to it that will need to be unplugged. Make sure you don't drop the metal plug bar when you remove the screw. Interestingly, this ground is for the wiper motor. So, when it is disconnected the wiper motor will not work and you can't test the washer unit until you reconnect it.
3. When doing steps 1 & 2 be sure you DON'T remove the two screws holding the washer motor to the plate that then attaches to the wiper motor. Those screws are mounted through the plate with locking washers and nuts. They are located more in the middle of the washer motor unit as you might expect (and yes I removed one them and almost the second before I realized my mistake). Once removed, the washers and nuts are free to disappear into the void of the engine compartment as you remove the plate, so be careful if you accidently do this.
2. Detach the line in and two lines out from the driver's side of the washer motor unit.
3. Detach the plastic double plug from the leads on the wiper motor.
4. Now you can weazle the washer motor unit and plate out of the engine compartment, and sit down and begin work on the unit outside of the car.
5. Take the nozzel plate (where the hoses attached) off by removing the four screws. This frees up the plastic piece with the three diaphragms for removal and reveals the rubber bellows. In my case, everything just needed a good cleaning, but if either of the parts are damaged (cracked belows etc.), you can replace them now. Don't lose the three ring seal around the diaphragms - it tends to easily fall out. I could not free up the bellows easily when I tried and since I didn't replace it, I'm not sure what the secret is there.
6. Looking through the back of the mounting face reveals a four-pronged white plastic wheel on the washer motor. At one point on this wheel is a rectangular seat that needs to re-connect to a projection on the wiper gear. This requires a bit of fidgeting when remounting the unit, but after three or four trys, I could tell that the nipple on the wiper wheel had seated. And of course they don't easily line up.
7. Here's what I figured out. The wiper motor runs that wheel continuously and you can hand-crank it counterclockwise to test the functionality of the unit. Movement of the four prong unit makes a metal piece slide back-and-forth over the washer bellows gear (white plastic with curved teeth). However, in the "neutral" position the metal bar can NOT engage the teeth until a larger but similar in style bar (shaped like an oblong "O") is moved out of the way.
8. Now for the magic. Press the window washer button and a small wound magnet just above both metal pieces pulls the larger metal "O" up permitting the smaller metal "O" to now engage the teeth of the diaphgram wheel. The larger metal piece pops into a thin metal catch at the top when it flips up thereby keeping it in place and out of the way until the washer cycle finishes.
9. Now the wiper motor is spinning the four pronged piece which in now engaging the bellows wheel causing the bellows to pop out (if the plastic nozzel plates have been removed). Continued movement of the wheel causes the bellows to pump in and out creating the suction necessary to move the washer fluid.
10. As the wheel turns a given number of time a missing section of the outer edge slowly progresses around counterclockwise until the metal retainer for the larger "O" bar that the magnet caught is now permitted to move out of the way. A couple more turns and BOOM down comes the large metal "O" dis-engaging the smaller "O" from contacting the gear teeth and OFF goes the washer fluid.
11. At this point, I cleaned and greased all the parts and determined that everything seemed to be working correctly. You can plug the washer motor back in while it's outside the car, just MAKE SURE and REATTACH THE WIPER GROUND. Now, hit the washer button and watch everything work. It's pretty cool. Also, there are a lot of wires just above the wiper motor, which at this point is running uncovered. S, BE CAREFUL that none of the wires are in the way before hitting the button.
12. I next got a glass of water, filled up my mouth and blew water through both of the washer nozzel hoses to check and make sure the nozzels were clear and fluid could flow. I then primed fluid through the feeder hose from the revervoir and no washer fluid does not taste good.
13. At this point I reattached the plastic pieces over the bellows. First, seat the three diaphragm piece over the bellows. Make sure the the single in diaphram is up and the lower two exit diaphrams are down. Now place the plastic nozzel unit over this piece while holding it in place. My diaphram unit had two small plastic nipples at the top making the orientation only fit one way. But simply put, the in line in the middle should line up with the single upper diaphragm and the two out lines with the lower two diaphragms. Now, hold the pieces in place and attach the four screws.
13. At this point, the unit can be re-attached to the wiper motor housing MAKING SURE to RE-ENGAGE THAT NIPPLE TO THE PLASTIC RECESS ON THE WASHER GEAR. Just engage the two pieces off center from attaching the unit and then slide the unit to the left until the holes line up for re-attachment. That way you can feel the springiness (word?) of the four-pronged wheel when it's engaged. It takes a bit of handywork at this point to get the screws in place without letting the two pieces disengage. Make sure you have the screws handy before starting the re-attachment process.
14. Tighten up the screws, reattach the hoses, and reattach the electrical plugs. There is a correct front to back orientation for the washer magnet double-plug as it only works one way. You can determine this while you're testing it as the magnet part of the action will not work in one orientation. AT THIS POINT, I REALIZED THERE REALLY IS NO SEPARATE WASHER MOTOR, SINCE THE WASHER BUTTON SIMPLY ACTIVATES THE MAGNET PERMITTING THE WIPER MOTOR WHICH HAS BEEN TURNING THE WASHER MOTOR THE ENTIRE TIME TO ENGAGE THE BELLOW'S GEAR. Go figure, I guess that saved GM a motor?
15. Press the washer button and step back - ok, you might have to press it several times before water squirts freely, but when it does watch out because it can give you an eyeful if you're standing next to the vent window having just pushed the button - duh!
16 Nozzels can be adjusted by just turning them in/out from the center of the windshield.
Hope this thread helps someone down the road. Trust me, if I can do this, so can you. Good luck!
Sorry, accidently posted this in the C2 parts section as well. Oops.
Here's what I found out.
1. All I had to do was remove the distributor shielding and then I could get enough access to the washer motor housing to remove it from the wiper motor housing. It was definitedly cramped for hands and wrenches but it can be done. There are four screws to remove (roughly in the four corners) so that the entire housing can be detached from the wiper motor.
2. The screw in the bottom left corner facing the firewall has a ground plug attached to it that will need to be unplugged. Make sure you don't drop the metal plug bar when you remove the screw. Interestingly, this ground is for the wiper motor. So, when it is disconnected the wiper motor will not work and you can't test the washer unit until you reconnect it.
3. When doing steps 1 & 2 be sure you DON'T remove the two screws holding the washer motor to the plate that then attaches to the wiper motor. Those screws are mounted through the plate with locking washers and nuts. They are located more in the middle of the washer motor unit as you might expect (and yes I removed one them and almost the second before I realized my mistake). Once removed, the washers and nuts are free to disappear into the void of the engine compartment as you remove the plate, so be careful if you accidently do this.
2. Detach the line in and two lines out from the driver's side of the washer motor unit.
3. Detach the plastic double plug from the leads on the wiper motor.
4. Now you can weazle the washer motor unit and plate out of the engine compartment, and sit down and begin work on the unit outside of the car.
5. Take the nozzel plate (where the hoses attached) off by removing the four screws. This frees up the plastic piece with the three diaphragms for removal and reveals the rubber bellows. In my case, everything just needed a good cleaning, but if either of the parts are damaged (cracked belows etc.), you can replace them now. Don't lose the three ring seal around the diaphragms - it tends to easily fall out. I could not free up the bellows easily when I tried and since I didn't replace it, I'm not sure what the secret is there.
6. Looking through the back of the mounting face reveals a four-pronged white plastic wheel on the washer motor. At one point on this wheel is a rectangular seat that needs to re-connect to a projection on the wiper gear. This requires a bit of fidgeting when remounting the unit, but after three or four trys, I could tell that the nipple on the wiper wheel had seated. And of course they don't easily line up.
7. Here's what I figured out. The wiper motor runs that wheel continuously and you can hand-crank it counterclockwise to test the functionality of the unit. Movement of the four prong unit makes a metal piece slide back-and-forth over the washer bellows gear (white plastic with curved teeth). However, in the "neutral" position the metal bar can NOT engage the teeth until a larger but similar in style bar (shaped like an oblong "O") is moved out of the way.
8. Now for the magic. Press the window washer button and a small wound magnet just above both metal pieces pulls the larger metal "O" up permitting the smaller metal "O" to now engage the teeth of the diaphgram wheel. The larger metal piece pops into a thin metal catch at the top when it flips up thereby keeping it in place and out of the way until the washer cycle finishes.
9. Now the wiper motor is spinning the four pronged piece which in now engaging the bellows wheel causing the bellows to pop out (if the plastic nozzel plates have been removed). Continued movement of the wheel causes the bellows to pump in and out creating the suction necessary to move the washer fluid.
10. As the wheel turns a given number of time a missing section of the outer edge slowly progresses around counterclockwise until the metal retainer for the larger "O" bar that the magnet caught is now permitted to move out of the way. A couple more turns and BOOM down comes the large metal "O" dis-engaging the smaller "O" from contacting the gear teeth and OFF goes the washer fluid.
11. At this point, I cleaned and greased all the parts and determined that everything seemed to be working correctly. You can plug the washer motor back in while it's outside the car, just MAKE SURE and REATTACH THE WIPER GROUND. Now, hit the washer button and watch everything work. It's pretty cool. Also, there are a lot of wires just above the wiper motor, which at this point is running uncovered. S, BE CAREFUL that none of the wires are in the way before hitting the button.
12. I next got a glass of water, filled up my mouth and blew water through both of the washer nozzel hoses to check and make sure the nozzels were clear and fluid could flow. I then primed fluid through the feeder hose from the revervoir and no washer fluid does not taste good.
13. At this point I reattached the plastic pieces over the bellows. First, seat the three diaphragm piece over the bellows. Make sure the the single in diaphram is up and the lower two exit diaphrams are down. Now place the plastic nozzel unit over this piece while holding it in place. My diaphram unit had two small plastic nipples at the top making the orientation only fit one way. But simply put, the in line in the middle should line up with the single upper diaphragm and the two out lines with the lower two diaphragms. Now, hold the pieces in place and attach the four screws.
13. At this point, the unit can be re-attached to the wiper motor housing MAKING SURE to RE-ENGAGE THAT NIPPLE TO THE PLASTIC RECESS ON THE WASHER GEAR. Just engage the two pieces off center from attaching the unit and then slide the unit to the left until the holes line up for re-attachment. That way you can feel the springiness (word?) of the four-pronged wheel when it's engaged. It takes a bit of handywork at this point to get the screws in place without letting the two pieces disengage. Make sure you have the screws handy before starting the re-attachment process.
14. Tighten up the screws, reattach the hoses, and reattach the electrical plugs. There is a correct front to back orientation for the washer magnet double-plug as it only works one way. You can determine this while you're testing it as the magnet part of the action will not work in one orientation. AT THIS POINT, I REALIZED THERE REALLY IS NO SEPARATE WASHER MOTOR, SINCE THE WASHER BUTTON SIMPLY ACTIVATES THE MAGNET PERMITTING THE WIPER MOTOR WHICH HAS BEEN TURNING THE WASHER MOTOR THE ENTIRE TIME TO ENGAGE THE BELLOW'S GEAR. Go figure, I guess that saved GM a motor?
15. Press the washer button and step back - ok, you might have to press it several times before water squirts freely, but when it does watch out because it can give you an eyeful if you're standing next to the vent window having just pushed the button - duh!
16 Nozzels can be adjusted by just turning them in/out from the center of the windshield.
Hope this thread helps someone down the road. Trust me, if I can do this, so can you. Good luck!
09-05-2006, 06:12 PM
#3
Le Mans Master
Glad ya got it working, I replied to your 1st post. Those washers do squirt more fluid over the car than on the windshield. If ya recall I was helping a friend with his pump. We got a very thin drill bit, just a hair bigger than the hole in the squitters and made them a tiny bit bigger. Now the fluid sprays the windshield and not the car across the street.
09-05-2006, 06:46 PM
#4
Burning Brakes
I'm not sure this is true thoughout the C2 years but my original washer nozzles were ajustable....my just purchased one were not but originally the actual nozzle was a brass ball that could be pivioted inside the chrome housing to adjust the angle of the spray so it would hit the windshield, not as in my case shoot up over the windshield header and into the face of the driver when the top was down...
09-05-2006, 07:32 PM
#5
Race Director
Good info - Thanks. Repairing mine is something I've been meaning to get to for years.
Dan
Dan
09-05-2006, 09:01 PM
#8
Pro
Thread Starter
John 65, yes thanks for the single response. Your pic was a help.
Macdarren, I was wondering myself if the brass part of the nozzel pivoted and I place a large pin in but could not get it to move and began to think if that pin broke off I would bring what had been a successful fix to a screeching halt. So, even though I kept thinking, I bet it moves, I quit. But if I ever get one detached, I'll definitely check it out.
I was kinda hoping when the car was moving the air would help to deflect some the spray to the windshield - maybe my hopes were misplaced!
Macdarren, I was wondering myself if the brass part of the nozzel pivoted and I place a large pin in but could not get it to move and began to think if that pin broke off I would bring what had been a successful fix to a screeching halt. So, even though I kept thinking, I bet it moves, I quit. But if I ever get one detached, I'll definitely check it out.
I was kinda hoping when the car was moving the air would help to deflect some the spray to the windshield - maybe my hopes were misplaced!
09-05-2006, 11:07 PM
#10
Melting Slicks
Member Since: Jul 2005
Location: Cuyahoga Falls OH
Posts: 2,509
Received 334 Likes
on
261 Posts
2016 C2 of the Year Finalist
Thanks for taking the time to write a detailed account of a job I've been meaning to do. I'm filing your info and it will guide me when the time comes to finally get to it. Appreciate your hands on account!! dave
dave
The following users liked this post:
Larold (05-19-2020)
09-06-2006, 07:17 PM
#15
Team Owner
Member Since: Oct 2000
Location: Washington Michigan
Posts: 38,899
Received 1,857 Likes
on
1,100 Posts
If your old (original) washer nozzles have the brass ***** stuck and you can't adjust them with a pin, remove them and soak them for a day or two in PB Blaster, and you'll be able to adjust them. The old reproductions with a brass orifice pressed in are NOT adjustable, but the new repros from CSoM are EXACTLY like the originals. 
09-06-2006, 07:50 PM
#17
Le Mans Master
Originally Posted by JohnZ
If your old (original) washer nozzles have the brass ***** stuck and you can't adjust them with a pin, remove them and soak them for a day or two in PB Blaster, and you'll be able to adjust them. The old reproductions with a brass orifice pressed in are NOT adjustable, but the new repros from CSoM are EXACTLY like the originals.
09-06-2006, 08:38 PM
#20
Burning Brakes
Member Since: Dec 2004
Location: North Royalton Ohio
Posts: 802
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
2 Posts
Allow me to add my thanks for a well written informative post. This is one of those "roundtoit" things not working on mine. I'll be more comfortable tackling it now thanks to you.