Heres a different issue... Got a 1972 GS with some "minor" electrical issues. One issue is that the wipers run on slow, BARELY. Likely a worn out switch. It feels worn as well... I picked up 2 spare wiper motors, plugged them in and grounded them with the same results, with the exception that it sounds like one has the pump continuously clicking. I opened one motor up as far as the pump contacts and a bit farther down to the worm gear. Pretty gnarly old grease. I sure would like to take it apart for a detailing/cleaning... whats the logical progression? Sure don't want to bust anything! Pulled the two long motor screws out and the rear case half and fields slipped out about 1/4" and that was it. Didn't want to force that issue either. Ideas? Thoughts?? TIA... Bill in TR We did manage to get all 14 header bolts in at a cost of 23 man hours of labor. Each bolt probably took a combination of 5-6 wrenches and a flashlight in yer teeth.
C'mon! Wheres your spirit of adventure??? I should pay some outfit $300 for a rebuilt motor that a high school kid rebuilt... or worse? I really prefer to do my own work... that's the hobby part. Just finished a highly modified Model T Ford from yard bones to a first place local show winner. Some guy in Flint built this thing, so I feel more than able to take it apart and clean and paint it. Being on a fixed income doesn't help either, but Ill always give things a shot myself first. Bill in TR
Bill: I'll send you the scans from the service manual tomorrow. I am confident you can fix it yourself. UticaGeoff
Bill: Scans were emailed about a half hour ago. Good luck and let me know if you need anything else. UticaGeoff
If you took out the screws and pulled the motor apart, you are already in trouble. The brushes have now pulled off the armature, you are past the point of no return. I've never seen a motor run slow, I think you need to look behind the 3 wire terminal under the pump. Behind that is a resister, a small tube with wiring wrapped around it. It's called a terminal board, I've seen that resister broken or rotted many times. The Corvette website has a very good post on testing and fixing wiper motors. ---------- Post added at 10:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:24 AM ---------- Logical procession is to pull the washer pumps and look at the 'vette website that shows you how to test the speeds and function.
Thanks Mr Olds!! That was pretty informative as to the two speeds and a ground interruption to "park" the motor. I knew immediately yesterday when the case separated and the fields came with it and stopped that the point of no return had been reached! Utica Geoff just sent me the download from the chassis manual. For any one else that may want to see it heres a quick copy of the run test. Now on to the tear down and clean up and repair of the mess made yesterday! ws http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-...-motor-testing-video-done-68-and-69-72-a.html
Sure, glad to help! Yeah...that's a really good article if it's the same as the one I was talking about. The motors are usually good, the pump, park switch + resistor are usually the parts that cause probs. Sometimes the plastic gear, also. The clicking is a pump prob, or the park switch is not engaging. ---------- Post added at 02:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:51 PM ---------- Yeah...that's the same video I was talking about...great for bench testing!
For the first 25 years of my 30 year tenure as a power plant mechanical engineer it was turbines, boilers, and generators. Guys couldnt believe how easy mechanical stuff came to me (thanks Dad!!) then the last 5 was spent as a gas turbine operating engineer which was about 75 electrical trouble shooting. Easy street turned into PITA ave. Ladder logic with multi million dollar equipment hanging in the lurches... what a nightmare. So today I hot wire the motor off the battery with all the recommended jumpers and grounds, and SHAZAM... got a bad switch in the dash. Got fast, slow, pump and park (which is about 1/4 too high from the old fat replacement blades which have been changed. It should be a simple linkage adjustment to correct that one. Saying that the previous owner didn't have a clue about wiring would be a GROTESQUE compliment. He probably licked the wire to see if it was hot. If he grounded out and burned a hole in the Kodiak tin the amps were good enough to gitter done. Under the hood is a mess which when finished, may not pass judging (who cares right??) but the SOB is gonna run and stuff work like its supposed to. Right now theres a red and a green spliced into a "Y" with an orange going to a red splice, and that's just the ground circuit for the hood tach. To be continued... coffee break is over! ws
The wipers won't park well if the ground to the firewall or the ground to the switch aren't really good. You can adjust the linkage a bit. Mine didn't park at all, and park better now. But still not 100% like my 442.
Discovered the ground strap not connected to the firewall today, at least the passenger side one... Were there two or just the one? Straightening out a spaghetti bowl of PO wiring, I discovered some stuff that I don't have a clue as to what its for. There was a device that was vacuum, electric, and had a resistor in the plug with the vacuum line Y'd off to the heater door accumulator. The other side was open to atmosphere. It was bolted to the intake manifold adjacent to the EGR valve that's now been blocked of. The vacuum line to that's been missing so it didn't do anything except crowd the rear engine area. Never believed in EGR anyway. The air pump is long gone so this one is gonna be naturally aspirated only. So whats the doo-dah in the picture??? ws The last pic shows the errant ground strap with a factory(?) black wire coming outa the loom, to a yellow, Yd into a red going nowhere. What a stoopid mess! That ground strap appears short, so Im gonna run a tech screw into the firewall for the chassis ground. That should work... but then theres also a missing fusible link on the positive battery cable. Ground one is there. Comments? Ideas??? Bill in TR
Ground strap goes from the back of the head to one of the voltage regulator screws. If it's too short, it might be in the wrong hole on the back of the head. I think the widget is a solenoid related to smog or tranny function. My 70 has a different set-up. On a 70, only 455 TH400 cars had the resistor, manuals didn't. The clip (don't lose it, HTF) by the EGR on the pcv line should be bolted where the choke stove for the carb is. The PCV line should be a molded line, it's available. All those wires should be taped or enclosed in tubing and stuffed by the bracket deal near the valve cover. Your choke stove looks disconnected, the car won't run well when cold. I'm not picking on your car, I'm just trying to help! UGHHH ....I just found out MY recently bought car has the wrong valve covers for a 70, I just spotted it myself. It sucks when peeps hack these cars up.
Dang it... just typed about 4 paragraphs and bumped the ESC key... that was that!! That carb is fresh and just sitting on the manifold, along with the new alt, and associated AC stuff. This job started out with a 1/2 amp drain from the alt. and a blown out header gasket. The PO was a real carneador (Spanish for butcher!) with the wiring. The car was actually a GS 350 that two owners ago converted a 455, then the PO redid the 455 with a GSX clone. Its got all new GM rear fenders, trunk floor and inner wells. The resto was done in 1990 and its showing its whiskers, mostly from sitting. I did drive it home 60 miles tho... Gotta get her done. In January Im getting both knees replaced. Mobility is gonna be a real issue. Right now I can barely walk so working for 6 hours a day on this guy is killin' me! Ive had 11 other GS 455s but only one 1972 that I flipped and made a few bucks on, but it was a rust bucket. The first one I owned was a 1970 Stage 1, 4 speed car that my brother ordered new. He sold it to me when it was 2 years old and I was 17. It was the baddest car in the school parking lot in 1972 lemme tell ya! A pals dad owned an Olds dealership and he always had nice stuff. I did blow his doors off with his 1970 W30 (maybe even a W31 or 32???); his doors being a full fender anyway. That's it for tonight... my wifes walking in the town parade tonight as a cancer survivor for the American Cancer Society. I gotta go pick her up. Bill in TR
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! Just putsing around getting stuff ready. Got some more wiring straightened out, got the alternator-A/C bracket bolted up, then decided to extract the broken lower alternator arm bolt that was busted off in the water pump. Had a drill perfectly centered and it wouldnt even make dust. Went to pure carbide drill and it did the same thing... nothing. Turns out it was a grade 8 bolt. The only solution at hand was to pull the fan, shroud, and pump to get at the culprit to relieve the aluminum and take a cut off wheel to the bolt. Putting the pump back on will be a finesse job with some JB weld to the rescue. Really didn't wanna pull the timing chest off. I guess nows the time to change all the hoses and belts while Im in there. Bill in TR
Bill: I admire your persistance given the health issue you described. I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving and good luck with the car. UticaGeoff
Thanks pal ! If this were the old days, Id pull that timing chest off and tig weld the bad hole up and remachine a new one. These days I try to use "mechanic in a can..." Just getting kinda tired of taking one thing apart to find 3 others that are bad. Of course that chest job would lead into timing chain and gears, plus an oil pump and on and on. Hey! While is apart lets pull the heads for a valve job and some rings and bearings too... YIKES ws
Sorry guys... mail box WAS full... still waiting on word about AC ducts; the rigid plastic ones for the '72. I may only need the passenger side (with any mounting stuff) as the passenger side may be un molested. Ive gotta get my big ol' fat head up in there for a look see... Bill in TR
