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Hello backyard mudslingers, and today's question is: Shall I replace my windshield wipers with vacuum rebiulds, or electric conversions? Are there advantages to the electrics? As in snow?...

electrics are infinately better, but, I think I am going to try these on mine when I get to that point:

http://www.customclassictrucks.com/tech ... index.html

I don't know of any advantages or disadvantages with going electric, and can't compare as I'm not real familiar with the vacuum wipers in the first place. I do remember however my dad's old Rambler back in the day whenever you'd step on the gas as in going up a hill, etc, the wipers used to practically stop working until you eased up on the pedal and they got the vacuum going again.

My truck has a civilian type fuel pump that doesn't have the vacuum line so I went with electric wipers. I only wanted working wipers and wasn't too particular so went with a set that I bought from Hingsing M37. I haven't really tried them out in the rain yet, and really only wanted wipers for the off chance that I am caught out in a rain storm, as I don't usually drive my truck when skies turn grey. Just from trying my wipers out in the garage with a spray bottle to act as rain, I don't think the wipers I bought will be up to the task in anything more than a drizzle, as they are very slow in cycling. They're fine for me as again all I wanted was working wipers, but for snow you might want to check into something stronger.

You might call them vacuum "creepers" when under load due to low vacuum, with little movement at all; some electrics can be slow and not handle anything other than rain. I have electrics which are slow, but being in CA they are sufficient when I need them.
Gary

I thought the vacuum pump on the fuel pump was supposed to supplement when engine vacuum was low at high rpms?

refit1701 wrote:I thought the vacuum pump on the fuel pump was supposed to supplement when engine vacuum was low at high rpms?

It's not so much to help at high rpms but at low ones with a wide open throttle plate and low intake manifold vaccuum. My wipers flop around like mad at highway speed but going up a hill they die, but that pump won't do much at all when you need the blades to move anyway, that's what those little handles on the wiper motors are for

These questions have straight forward answers.

Vacuum wipers will never be great, the pump that is supposed to boost vacuum is nothing quite honestly but something else to maintain, doesn't do anything for the wiper motors.

The cheap electrics that are on ebay & a few other sources are really not much better. Don't waste your $$ on Chinese junk.

There are some nice electric conversion kits that will handle rain, snow, dependably if you want to spend the money for them. Nothing that works well comes as a bargain these days. We have a nice kit in either 12 or 24 volt versions for $450. Not cheap, but hey, they work well in any conditions. Also offer a heavier duty version for extreme harsh conditions.

I went with electric, and love it! I sprung for the wicked heavy duty - meant for marine use, made by Ongaro - and I think it was well worth it. Haven't been let down yet.

GULP ! ...Well Charles and all, I guess I'l have to give this issue some thought..

$450 is alot of dough to drop on just wipers IMO.......Just my .02c.

As previously stated, electric wipers are vastly superior to vacuum wipers from an operational standpoint. The vacuum pump helps to alleviate the "dead wiper" problem under load, but it doesn't cure it completely. If you want to retain the original wipers and have (slightly) improved operation during acceleration, you might consider installing a vacuum reservoir.

I grew up with vacuum wipers, so I'm very familiar with their little quirks, but since I got used to electric wipers I find the "quirks" annoying.

I am planning on finding either the electric wiper conversion kit that was used on the M35A3 and on some A2s or will see about getting the wipers off of a M998. There are some kits out there that use a motor that is put in one place and then a cable is run to the arms to control them. These can be found from the Hotrod crowd and I believe they are in the 100-200 price range. Also I believe some Marine wiper applications are 24V. Here is a link to Garbee's website about electric wipers.
http://www.garbee.net/~cabell/electricwipers.htm

Good luck.

Hey Lifer, I like your idea abuot the reservior...sounds like plumbing work too ! Where would I get such a device?

A lot of '70s & '80s vintage cars had them because they had numerous vacuum operated accessories on them. The climate-control system on my '79 Cadillac, for example, has 7 vacuum lines routed to it! The vacuum reservoir is basically a "tin can" with a tube going to a vacuum source, such as the intake manifold, and another tube going to whatever accessories require a vacuum to operate...in our case, wipers. This allows you to build up a "reserve vacuum" for those short periods when the engine does not create enough for your wipers to operate.

Thank You Lifer, now I recognize what those cans are that I see in the engine compartment in the vitage restored hot rods show ! learn something everyday !