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Sun Jun 10, 2007 1:03 pm

I'm rebuilding my wiper motor and need to know what type of grease I should use for the gears.

Sun Jun 10, 2007 5:45 pm

I removed the wiper motor, cleaned and lubricated everything and put it back together. When I turn the wiper on it moves five or six times and then stops. If I rotate the wire-wrapped piece that sits inside the magnet a few turn then it starts right back up. This is going to be a naive question... can I lubricate that part? What other things should I be looking at to solve this problem?

Sun Jun 10, 2007 6:54 pm

It sounds like your armature is binding up on the fixed magnet. There is no lubrication for that problem. You will need to have it rebuilt, if you what it to work properly. Although, sometimes it is not cost effective to rebuild them and then you would have to buy a reconditioned one. Pm me if you want me to take a look at it.

Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:53 am

Can anyone post an exploded diagram of the Thing wiper motor?

Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:18 am

halfgut wrote: I removed the wiper motor, cleaned and lubricated everything and put it back together. When I turn the wiper on it moves five or six times and then stops. If I rotate the wire-wrapped piece that sits inside the magnet a few turn then it starts right back up. This is going to be a naive question... can I lubricate that part? What other things should I be looking at to solve this problem?
-
You don't need to rebuild, you need to adjust. The "Armature" is binding on the magnet. Looseen the screws that retain the magnet, there should now be a bit of slop to the magnet. Adjust it so it doesn't bind against the armature, then carefully re tighten the screws. That should fix the problem. However, I've had a couple of motors that needed a shim under two of the magnets mounts to fix the bind. Keep in mind this is a VERY thin shim

Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:01 pm

Are there bearings anywhere in the motor and could these be the problem if there is?

Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:26 pm

-Bearings, no. Bushings, yes. But most likely not your problem. See my reply above... Go ahead read it again... I'll wait...
-
-I've had several Thing and Bug wiper motors do the exact same thing after they were taken apart and then reassembled.

Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:37 pm

Sorry. I did read your post and I will follow through and let you know, it's just that when I was putting it all back together I found a very tiny ball bearing about the size of a pin head stuck to the magnet. Since I don't know the motor very well I thought it might have fallen out of the motor. Apparently it came from somewhere else.

One more question: Should the plates in the armature be offset or should they all line up perfectly? Mine are offset. The wire is tight and the varnish on the wires isnt' burnt and the outside of the armature is smooth and even but the plates are offset side to side like they were turned slightly before the wire was wound on.

Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:45 pm

One more quick question. The cover gasket was shot. Can you buy new gaskets or do I have to fabricate one?

Tue Jun 12, 2007 4:45 pm

No worries,
-The plates in the armature are fine. In a perfect world they would line up, but not always in mass production!
-I make my own gaskets as I've never found them anywhere.
-Good luck

Tue Jun 12, 2007 8:14 pm

That tiny ball bearing belongs in your wiper motor. The magnet is a fixed magnet, I would not call it adjustable. But you can put it back wrong. It has two pins that have to line up in the little holes. It has very little adjustment, if any. If the gasket you need is paper then yes you need to cut it yourself. If you are talking about the rubber gasket for the top cover then you can buy a new one. Finding extra parts left over is not a fun thing.

Wed Jun 13, 2007 8:11 am

Al,
Where in the motor does the ball bearing go and is there only one?

Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:25 am

Maybe it's not "supposed" to be adjustable but after disassembly it may need shifted to clear the armature. I find that with the screws loose the magnet wants to pull itself towards the armature, you know, because it's a magnet!
---
I too am curious about the ball.

Wed Jun 13, 2007 7:44 pm

The tiny ball bearing should be in the tip of the armature shaft. There are two of them, one on each end. Although, the armature is free floating it still rides on the bearing in a nylon cup. This is often over looked in a rebuild and lost. The real question you should ask yourself is, was the armature rubbing before you took it apart? Are the little rubber mounts for the brush plate melted (usually only one)? If it was rubbing before you took it apart and one or more of the mounts are melted or very soft,you have a problem that grease is not going to help. I will try to post a picture of the tiny bearing installed on the armature.

Thu Jun 14, 2007 8:42 am

Thanks Al. No it wasn't rubbing before it was seized up with rust on the armature. I cleaned it up and put it back together and it works but stops. My rubber mounts are in good order. How does the ball bearing at the top of the armature (where the brushes are) work. There seems to be a gap between the top of the armature and the cone shaped piece of metal that's mounted to the plate with the rubber mounts.

Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:14 pm

It a good sign if the rubber mounts are not like jelly. Like I said before, the armature is free floating. It can move up and down. Why? I don't know, is the tiny bearing at the top important, somewhat, but not going to hurt to much if it is missing. The bottom one in my opinion is more important. But, that said, they would not cause your armature not to spin smoothly, just slow it down a little. If you have cleaned the armature and magnet really good and it still does not spin freely, the rust may have damaged the armature or the magnet to the point where one or both may need replacing. From my experience, when you have a problem in this area, and you don't resolve it, it will lead to over heating and death to the little motor. K-mann may have some ideas too.

Fri Jun 15, 2007 8:06 am

Did you take the transmission apart? I suspect you might have put the eccenric gears back in in the worng postion. That is a common cause of motor bind. Both Al or I can look over your motor and figure out what is wrong. Most of the time it comes down to parts needed. And none of them are easy to find. You gotta buy a lot of wrong motors to gt any good Thing wiper motor parts. Al and I both have boxes of wrong wiper motors along with our own supply of the "right stuff".

Fri Jun 15, 2007 5:31 pm

Good point, and yes, I have a lot stuff that does not work... more then I would like, but that is the only why to really find out what works. Hey RW one of these days I'll ship you all my stuff that doesn't work and you can compare our junk pile!

Fri Jun 15, 2007 11:12 pm

Aside from us both typing somewhat like shit, we both have wrong and right parts to fix Thng wiper motors. Like I would selll a like new Thing wiper motor brush plate. GEt a clue....

Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:46 am

Uber - Your trick worked. My motor is running like a champ. I loosened the bolts and it oochied over very slightly and freed up the armature. Thanks for the advice.

Another question: The motor works in both speeds. It works in slow fine but will only work in high speed if I don't let the on/off lever lock into position. If I hold the lever between low and high it works fine.

1. is it easy to take that lever apart
2. is there a fix without removing the lever from the steering column?