Hello to all.
I am helping a friend get his 1977 Corvette back on the road by repairing all that is needed to be roadworthy according to a DMV inspection.

The corvette was purchased, and at the time the wipers did not work. I have never worked on a corvette before so there are a couple of things that stump me at this time. I have found that the wiper and turn signal lever on the column seems to only work the turn signals. The picture on the lever **** illustrates turning the know will operate the wipers, and pushing it in towards the column will operate the washer pump for water.

The lever **** seems to be broken because it turns without seeming to be connected to the rest of the switch. I have confirmed this because the lever pulled out of the switch in the column. From that point, I used a pair of needle nose pliers to turn the stem counterclockwise and there is a noise coming from the wiper motor. We wanted to remove the motor from the firewall but the three nuts on studs holding the motor just turn without coming loose.

There is a plate on the other side of the firewall that the three studs are permanently affixed to it. If the nuts are stripped, logically they need to be removed from the studs. However, there's not a lot of room for working on the two fasteners that are on the bottom and passenger side with everything else in the engine compartment present. I thought about grinding the stud heads on support plate opposite the motor and firewall but stepped back from proceeding to do some research and avoid any stupid mistakes.

Has anyone else ran into this problem of trying to remove the wiper motor and finding all three nuts holding it without loosening? I suppose that it why the Corvette came into my friends ownership with this wiper problem.

As for the steering column wiper turn signal switch, I had already resigned to the fact that it will have to be removed and replaced. The pictures of the part on parts vendor sites shows extra part of lever that is separated from the part that pulled out (please see attachment).
Long winded babble short; How to remove three nuts from wiper motor without phucking it up more than it already is?

-----Kevin

 

trying to sort through this post it seems the wiper motors are not at fault but the column switch is, ive worked on many different makes/years through the years mostly custom jobs people have brught to my shop after trying to mis match parts in rat rods, one thing I have found to be gospel is never overlook the obvious, most times a complete disassembly of the column is required to inspect for hidden damage whenever a column switch is questioned because they typically will not mechanically separate from the column unless some force has been applied. I would be very hesitant to rely on the screwdriver or needles test to check the connections in the column also be certain that the vacuum override switch is in good order and that no bubba has modified or bypassed this system.

removed link for wiper diagram, was wrong make/model


https://www.ecklerscorvette.com/corv...****-1977.html

 

sambrand,

Thank you for your response. You are correct that there will be some work necessary for the wiper/turn signal switch.

As I stated previously, I was able to turn the wiper switch as shown in the picture on the **** end of the lever using needle nose pliers with key in "On" position. When doing so, there is sound from the wiper motor but no movement of wipers. I wanted to perform a bench test on the motor, but cannot remove motor from firewall with all three nuts spinning on studs and not loosening. I suppose I could perform any test with the motor bolted to the firewall, which would then make removing the wiper motor moot point in the scheme of things. It's just that now that I know the nuts won't come off, it is bothering me in an OCD capacity of "having to remove them".

I am waiting to find out if someone else had this problem and what technique they used that may have had more finesse than what I am planning to do.

My friend told me today that he found a tool kit he had for stripped bolts and stripped nut removal. I have not seen it so I don't know if it will work yet.

Also, why is vacuum related to wiper function? I have read that elsewhere but thought that it was only applicable to years that had to operate wiper door. This car does not have that; hood reaches windshield. Am I missing something that concerns vacuum and vacuum bypass on dash? This is all new to me and any knowledge I gain is very much appreciated.

Thank you again for your response SamBrand.

 

73 was the cutoff year for the wiper switch, your correct my bad. was going from parts listing on ecklers that states the wipers have vac but I don't see that in the service manuals.
https://www.ecklerscorvette.com/corv...1973-1979.html


as for the bolts turning loose I cannot find any similar issues on the forumns but from what I can tell if you cant cut the acron nuts with a dremel you may have to sacrifice the motor itself into tiny bits with a cutoff tool until you can reach the nuts, no stripped nut tool or ez out will remove the nuts if the backing bolt is free spinning, and obviously a cutting torch cannot be used in this area. cam you send pictures of the area? if so I might think of some tricks that I cant think of while looking at the diagram on paper.
http://www.corvetteamerica.com/part/...earnmoreid=286

 

The e-bay link is of the wiper motor mounting plate, the page from the 77 assembly manual shows 3 pop rivets securing it to the body item #4. It doesn't help you with the turning nuts, but gives you an idea what your dealing with.
Hope this helps.
Link:https://www.ebay.com/itm/68-79-C3-CO...e4WH:rk:1:pf:0

 

the part that is confusing is whether this has been replaced before, if it has then chances are a bolt/nut was substituted for the rivets which is what I assumed from the post, but if it still is the original rivets this could explain why he said they were rounded and turning free, imo the column switch being mechanically broken free of the column is more troubling, any force required to break free the lever/switch usually is enough to damage the switch terminals or housing, a couple of pictures here would solve the questions and we could provide more detailed help.

 

Keep in mind this 77 wiper switch is one-year-only. Changed it in 78 to a better design. Means they knew after less than a year it was a bad idea. You need wipers and headlights to pass inspection. I doubt there is a law says wiper switch can't be taped to the steering column and headlight dimmers can't be old style foot switch. Then, once it has a sticker, drive the Accord on rainy days and live with low beams while you try to figure out a less Bubba-esque real solution.

 

Yep and can be hard to find.

 

And that's why I suggested bubbafying it to get it to pass inspection.

 

I don't know why everybody so down on Bubba. Just look at how many cars he fixes.

 

bmotojoe -nice diagram showing the plate located on firewall, opposite of wiper motor.

Sambrand - the plate has the three studs attached permanently, and the studs are not turning with the nuts holding the wiper motor. There is about 1/4 of threads showing past the nuts so I believe that the hex nuts are actually nuts and not rivets.

Plan A is to try removing the nuts without damaging threads on studs with a Dremel tool, as suggested, if my friend's kit for stripped nuts and bolts does not work.

Plan B may be to grind the heads of the studs mount on the plate, which are flat and the size of a dime, if possible to free the motor. There is plenty of room on the cavity where the wiper blades park and actuating arms are located. Afterwards, install new bolts as studs through the plate as were the originals. This is not what I really want to do because if the turn signal wiper switch is difficult to get, this plate would probably be non-existent unless one was to be obtained from a donor car.

Please stop me from Plan B if it sounds like a bad plan.

I will post pictures as soon as I am able to get them.

Thank you everyone for good information and promising suggestions.

 

plan b is the suggestion I had however I would recommend sacrificing the wiper motor not any of the mounting plates, motors can be replaced easily sometimes those brackets that put stuff together cant be had as they don't wear out and no one would reman a replacement for a part that in theory should never have to be replaced (mounting bracket)

 

Can you dremmel a slot in the end of the studs so they could be held with a screwdriver while you turn the nuts? A thin blade screwdriver will allow the nut to pass over it while still holding the stud-----maybe.
Just thinking.

 

The studs have what looks like a flat head the size of a dime where the thread stud passes through the plate and firewall with the heads pressed against the plate, and maybe thermally bonded.

I was searching the Internet for tools that remove stripped bolts and nuts, and what I found was for removing the fasteners that had stripped hex heads and not threads. That is probably what my friend has and will not be useful for this task. I also found a thread on ferrarichat.com forum for similar problem with stripped threads on a nut that was 6 pages with 146 posts. The original poster finally resolved the problem. I don't intend on stretching this thread to that length, but I will report back with the method, success, failure, and damage.

Thanks to all for the strategy and great information.

Will try to get the pictures that were asked for.

Happy Thanksgiving Day

-----Kevin

 

 

I was able to finally get back to working on the stripped nut problem yesterday.

I had to grind the heads of the 3 studs off from the windshield wiper motor support plate. Once I wiggled the three stripped studs/nuts with needle nose vise grips, the studs worked free of the plate.

I have attached pictures of the result.

I would like to thank those that responded to my problem.

-----Kevin

 

I just wanted to conclude my original post with the final results, that being, that the wiper motor was removed and reattached with new bolts and nuts.

After the new motor was installed and wires attached, the windshield wipers operated successfully. The wipers also returned to the correct parked position.

However, I had to use needle nose pliers to turn the stub that is left from the broken wiper motor lever on the column. I suppose that this will be the next challenge as it looks like some disassembly of the steering column trim is necessary.

I was wondering if this can be accomplished without removing the steering wheel.

The damage seems to be that the end of the wiper lever is detached from the original lever. My first post has the part circled in red in the picture. My friend did purchase and has the new lever in hand.