So, last summer I got a smoking deal on a set of IBP electric wipers. Included the motors, switches, pump, and new blades. Invoice on this kit was $1400. The guy that I got them from had
bought them to put in a Newell coach. He had started hacking them up to make them fit, when he decided there wasn't any way they were ever going in that hole. So he stopped and since
he had already hacked them up, he couldn't return them. So there they sat for several years, until I come along and find out about them.
I bought them for a fraction of the invoice price.
And there they sat until I decided to see if they would fit in my MC9.
Of course they didn't. Turns out, they were for a GMC.
I debated if I wanted to reconfigure the brackets and try to make them fit. I was on the edge, and was leaning toward going back to air, since I found that the one air wiper
that didn't work well was just gummed up and I was able to clean it up a bit. Then I called Brian Diehl, and he talked me into it.
So I started hacking up the brackets to try to make it fit somehow in the hole on the front of my bus. I ended up cutting each bracket into multiple pieces and then pick
and choose and weld back together into something that will fit and turn the wipers without binding. What a pain getting it all lined up where it will fit. The easiest way, wouldn't
fit. But I finally found the ticket and got one done. Just have to do the other one.
It's gonna be good.
I didn't get any directions with this kit, so wasn't completely sure about the wiring, so I called IBP and talked to Steve. He was very helpful, and in talking to him, he mentioned
what the MC9 brackets look like, and that one off the cuff comment pointed me in the direction I needed to look at for aligning the motor on the bracket so it would fit the hole,
because what I was trying wasn't working out at all. He even offered to sell me MC9 brackets.
It's gonna work, and it's gonna be good to get away from the iffy air wipers. But it's been a pain in the arse, so far.
I'll post more info and photos when I get them done....
craig
Sorry I can't help, I thought this thread was about Cody, but congrads on your wipers. LOL
Sorry I don't know where that came from. Cody when all else fails you are the one that keeps things in presective!
I went with RainX. I didn't have to alter anything!! :D
Great Craig. I'm glad you dug into the project! I'm sure with your attention to detail and skills it will turn out really well. Post us some pictures when you get a chance.
Now I'll have to buy those pesky air ones from you ... now that you got them working great ;D ;D
Momma always said good things come to those wait.
Signed
Just another mortal with air wipers
You're gonna kick my butt next time you see me aren't you
Rick
Quote from: RickB on May 25, 2010, 07:31:44 PM
Now I'll have to buy those pesky air ones from you ... now that you got them working great ;D ;D
Momma always said good things come to those wait.
Signed
Just another mortal with air wipers
You're gonna kick my butt next time you see me aren't you
Rick
I may make a special trip over there just for that purpose... 8)
If these electrics work ok, I should have a few excess air motors to find good homes for. I know I have at least one extra, besides the two that were in the dash, maybe two extras. I'll have to dig
them out.
I may also have a set of wiper mounted sprayers. I think the new wiper blades have them already installed. I bought the sprayer kit several years ago and never got them mounted.
$1400.00 seems like alot to pay for a system. Just a note here Autex priced a complete system for my conversion, for under a thousand dollars and the guy called back after sending them out to find out how they worked (most don't really care after the check clears), the Autex system was well made easy to install and work really well sitting in the driveway.......one day I'll try them out on the highway! Here is their link; http://www.autexacs.com/ContactUs.htm (http://www.autexacs.com/ContactUs.htm)
Quote from: Chopper Scott on May 25, 2010, 06:57:54 PM
I went with RainX. I didn't have to alter anything!! :D
With the awesome aerodynamics on my bus, rain-x just let the drops dance in front of my face. :D
I had to lean to the left where some drops were running off. :)
Enjoy, say what you want, the only opinion that matters is that of a little kid in houghton, his name Huntar Gustafson, he was born with a tethered spine, one of only 9 cases ever reported in the world, we do fundraisers whenever they need anything and his smile is the only thing that matters, you can read more about him by pulling up the local news on yahoo for the Houghton Mining Gazette in houghton michigan, I couldn't get the article to load so I couldn't post it, they just did another article on him, being called an arse is pretty minor in the long run, this is what matters. His problem is so rare they don't even have a name for it, but the beauty of it is that he is so young and innocent he doesn't even realize he is different or special. I've been an arse in the past and I'll be a pain in the arse in the future but when the good lord opens the book on me, maybe he's say that i've been a arse 925 times, but maybe I've done something right 926 times, thats the only time it will matter to me.
Quote from: NewbeeMC9 on May 26, 2010, 04:22:24 AM
Quote from: Chopper Scott on May 25, 2010, 06:57:54 PM
I went with RainX. I didn't have to alter anything!! :D
With the awesome aerodynamics on my bus, rain-x just let the drops dance in front of my face. :D
I had to lean to the left where some drops were running off. :)
you need to drive faster. my air wipers don't work well, but the rainx keeps clear for seeing with just an occasional wipe when i slo up for traffic lights. all the drops usually just flow rapidly off to the side. and the bugs don't stick well, either.
Tom, bugs don't stick very well, and snakes go squish on the way to jacks place too lol.
Quote from: cody on May 26, 2010, 06:03:09 AM
Enjoy, say what you want, the only opinion that matters is that of a little kid in houghton, his name Huntar Gustafson, he was born with a tethered spine, one of only 9 cases ever reported in the world, we do fundraisers whenever they need anything and his smile is the only thing that matters, you can read more about him by pulling up the local news on yahoo for the Houghton Mining Gazette in houghton michigan, I couldn't get the article to load so I couldn't post it, they just did another article on him, being called an arse is pretty minor in the long run, this is what matters. His problem is so rare they don't even have a name for it, but the beauty of it is that he is so young and innocent he doesn't even realize he is different or special. I've been an arse in the past and I'll be a pain in the arse in the future but when the good lord opens the book on me, maybe he's say that i've been a arse 925 times, but maybe I've done something right 926 times, thats the only time it will matter to me.
Someday, I'm going to come meet you, Cody. I have a feeling there's something special going on up there in the woods. ;)
I think it's the water, water is a great beverage if taken in the right spirit lol. http://www.mininggazette.com/page/content.detail/id/510195.html (http://www.mininggazette.com/page/content.detail/id/510195.html)
Well, still working on the dang wipers!
Today I got the brackets all put together and fitted. I then installed a washer reservoir from an old Explorer I junked a couple years ago, and wired up the new switches and harnesses. I then
redid the washer plumbing to the front in prep for the new blades which have integrated sprayers on them.
I then put the driver's side assembly in and tried it out. I worked, but didn't have enough arc swing to give me adequate coverage, so I had to shorten on of the linkages. I took 1/4" out of
it and welded it back together. Better, but still a little short. So I took 3/8" out of the passenger side, and with a slight adjustment to correct a clearance issue, it was perfect. Tomorrow, I'll
pull the driver's side and take another 1/8" out of it. I also have to beef up the bracket a bit as I noticed quite a bit of flex when on high. Another small piece of steel should do the trick.
Then I can put it all back together and wait for the rain!! :D
Oh, yeah, I need to find something to plug the holes in the dash where the old switches were. The new switches wouldn't work in the old holes. Too much interference, so I had to drill new
holes.
Intermittent wipers are gonna be so nice! Heck, just having dependable wipers will be nice!
Someone above commented on the price. The wiper motor assemblies were just under $1100, and the new arm assemblies were just over $300. Total invoice was $1442. That was in 2007.
Again, I bought this kit for a fraction of that price. There's no way I would have bought it for that kind of money. I had considered salvaging the wipers from an old ranger I'm going to scrap
next week. This was better, I think, even with all the work.
I've learned a lot about wiper geometry. If I could recall my high school geometry, I probably could have calculated exactly how much I needed to remove on the linkage adjustment, but
trial and error got it done.
Craig, you've cornvinced me to just rebuild my air wipers when the time comes, the electric conversion is way to involved for a slacker like me lol.
Quote from: cody on May 26, 2010, 05:47:30 PM
Craig, you've cornvinced me to just rebuild my air wipers when the time comes, the electric conversion is way to involved for a slacker like me lol.
Well, you know, I considered that for several months after I bought this kit. I knew they probably wouldn't fit, and I'd have to modify them some. I guess I didn't really know what to expect.
I thought it was just going to be whacking off some of the old bracket and figuring out how to attach them in the hole. Turned out to be a bit more complicated than that.
It probably sounds worse than it's really been. Part of it is that I don't have a shop, and don't have room in my garage to work, so I have to do everything on the driveway, and the last
few days have been hot and humid with rain showers here and there. That just makes the job 10 times worse than it really is. Also, part of it is the trepidation of taking a perfectly good
set of wiper motor brackets that were engineered for a different bus, and for which I paid good money, and chopping them into little pieces without knowing for sure that I'm going to
be able to reassemble them into something functional.
But I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now. Just hoping it's not the locomotive heading for me. :)
I could do the next one a whole lot easier, though. If I could find a supplier for the motor and gearbox and switches, I could probably come up with a fairly simple kit or even templates
for others to use to build their own.
My drivers side wiper works great but my passenger side is a little difficult and I think it may have some problems with being gummed up, I did pick up another air wiper from a friend up here that run coaches like BK does so I could take it apart and see what makes it tick, once I get a good idea on how it is designed to work I'll spend some time rebuilding mine, Bob Houle at superior coach, they do charters up here, said in all likelyhood a good cleaning and some new O-rings would make them happier than they've been in years, while I'm tinkering I need to putter with my windshield washers, the spouts are on the front and the washer bottle is down in the compartment under my seat but there is no tubing and no control switch on the dash, only the hole where one had been, so I'll putter with that as time allows. Lots of just plain fun to be had.
Quote from: cody on May 27, 2010, 04:44:46 AM
My drivers side wiper works great but my passenger side is a little difficult and I think it may have some problems with being gummed up, I did pick up another air wiper from a friend up here that run coaches like BK does so I could take it apart and see what makes it tick, once I get a good idea on how it is designed to work I'll spend some time rebuilding mine, Bob Houle at superior coach, they do charters up here, said in all likelyhood a good cleaning and some new O-rings would make them happier than they've been in years, while I'm tinkering I need to putter with my windshield washers, the spouts are on the front and the washer bottle is down in the compartment under my seat but there is no tubing and no control switch on the dash, only the hole where one had been, so I'll putter with that as time allows. Lots of just plain fun to be had.
I removed my air powered washer bottle and pump yesterday and replaced it with a bottle I salvaged from a 91 Explorer. It was the washer fluid and radiator coolant in the
combined bottle. I just cut the bottle in half between the two, and next to the coolant side, so it left me with a flange on the washer bottle that I could drill and run a bolt
through. I mounted it in the compartment under the driver. The electric pump was already in the bottle. You could do something like that, and then use a momentary switch
in the hole in your dash to control it.
There is also a kit you can get to mount the sprayers on the arms.
The motors are not difficult to overhaul. I've noticed, though, that the piece where the air fittings are is plastic, and usually cracked where the brass fittings are screwed into it.
I smeared epoxied on one that was leaking through the crack, and that worked for a few years. The main problem I found with mine was the main shaft that goes through the
bracket was gummed up. It has a snap ring on it to hold it in place and an o-ring. Pull that shaft and clean it and re-grease it.
I really don't think its a major project in my case, just something that I haven't gotten too yet.
I like the idea of a electric wash motor, the air washer pump bothers me more than the wipers, maybe beacuse that is the one that is causing me more grief. Always sprays some at around the 90 lb stage.
On the wiper fluid, I went all electric. I used a fuel injection pump (submersible), that I dropped into the five gallon original tank. Then I installed the wet arms, and sprayers on the front of the bus. That pump soaks the front of the bus, just like I want ;D.
I tried the little electric car washer pumps. FWIW, they didn't work for me. I even tried a total of FOUR of them (to per side). They didn't cut the cake. The fuel pump? NICE!!!
God bless,
John
Quote from: gumpy on May 26, 2010, 05:15:38 PM
Someday, I'm going to come meet you, Cody. I have a feeling there's something special going on up there in the woods. ;)
If the road signs say "Witch Mountain 10 miles" you might want to turn back. "Special" isn't always a Good Thing(tm).
Well, I got the wiper brackets finished today. I cut another 1/8" out of the one link and it now works very well on the driver side. I also added a small support to the
brackets and they are more stable now at high speed. I didn't quite everything put back together because a wannabe brought his family over to get the grand tour as they are
in the learning phase of the disease. I think the diagnoshis is grim for them, though.
I also had to run a new 12v feed from the front bay to the front j-box. The original one was only good for 10 amps, and the wipers were showing current spikes upwards
of 7-8 amps when pushing a wiper across a dry windshield. I put a 10 ga wire in and a 15 amp breaker. Should be good. That was touch because I had to tie it into the
A/C j-box and there's a big generator sitting under it, and this ole boy is not a thin and flexible as he once was. ::)
I'll get it all buttoned up tomorrow and hook up the washers and see how they spray. Hopefully that will work well and I won't have to mess with any of it.
Oh, and I changed the title to be more descriptive of the thread.
Gumpy good for you
I bought two Freightliner wiper motors and did some work on the kitchen counter with some Ford switches and intermittent governor. I had luck making them work but not as good as I would have liked. I bought two air wiper motors rebuilt for hundred each. I am not sure that was a good deal but thought the head ache or pain in the arse of fitting the electric ones made it worth while. Now you post this and I now feel better about air but have not sold my electric motors YET.
John
I'll put some photos up in a day or two and you can see what a mess I've ended up with and decide if it's worth the effort or not. I can tell you one thing, though. the next rain we get here, the neighbors will be calling the guys in the white coats to come drag me away because I'll be sitting out there in my driveway wiping the rain off my windshields and grinning from ear to ear!! 8)
Well if it is anything like here you will not have to wait long to get carried off.
John
Craig, why wait? get someone to stand in front with a garden hose!!! ;D
Quote from: gumpy on May 27, 2010, 08:00:07 PM
I didn't quite everything put back together because a wannabe brought his family over to get the grand tour as they are
in the learning phase of the disease. I think the diagnoshis is grim for them, though.
Gumpy, I resemble that remark. Yes, folks, it is my fault that he still doesn't have those wipers on yet. We took up most of his afternoon (see related post). And yes, I'm afraid we do have the disease, good thing there are so many bus doctors around to help us!
I guess we'll all have to wait another day for the end result on this project. :D
Mike
Craig,
We checked ours by using the "wet arm" washers to keep the windshield wet (and check washer operation at the same time). Jack
Quote from: JackConrad on May 28, 2010, 11:06:04 AM
Craig,
We checked ours by using the "wet arm" washers to keep the windshield wet (and check washer operation at the same time). Jack
Jack,
I will do that this afternoon when I get the new blades on. But it won't be half as fun as sitting in a real rain storm! ::)
Craig
Ok, here's some photos...
First the original bus motor and one of the new assemblies before modification. Then the new assembly after a bit of modification.
Next, the washer bottle, and the final frontal view.
The washer buttons on the new arms suck. At least while the coach is standing still. Hoping they will work better when doing 50 mph down the road. Otherwise, I'll have to make some further modifications.
I got the sweep just about perfect, though.
All in all, it's going to be good, I think.
Oh, here's a photo of the switches. Couldn't mount them in the original holes because the body is a large box the interfered with the dash angle.
Nice post and pics! thanks
Quote from: gumpy on May 28, 2010, 10:00:24 PM
The washer buttons on the new arms suck. At least while the coach is standing still. Hoping they will work better when doing 50 mph down the road. Otherwise, I'll have to make some further modifications.
Just curious, why do they suck? not enough volume? not enough pressure? not sprasying in the right area? When I installed our wet arm wipers (attached to ORM arms), I had to "aim" them. We used a separate universal pump for each arm, both feeding from the OEM tank. Jack
Quote from: JackConrad on May 29, 2010, 03:43:33 AM
Quote from: gumpy on May 28, 2010, 10:00:24 PM
The washer buttons on the new arms suck. At least while the coach is standing still. Hoping they will work better when doing 50 mph down the road. Otherwise, I'll have to make some further modifications.
Just curious, why do they suck? not enough volume? not enough pressure? not sprasying in the right area? When I installed our wet arm wipers (attached to ORM arms), I had to "aim" them. We used a separate universal pump for each arm, both feeding from the OEM tank. Jack
I think the volume is ok. Pressure is probably ok, too, but could use a bit more. I like the idea of two pumps. I have another tank in a Ranger I'm getting ready to scrap. Maybe I could mount
it next to the other one and run each side off a separate pump. I may disconnect one side and plug it and see if the other side works better of the single pump.
The arms have little round buttons on them up near the blade hinge. There are 4 holes around the button that spray. While sitting in the driveway, only one or two of the four streams
actually hit the windshield. One sprays off at a 90 degree angle towards the side of the bus and never touches the glass. There is no adjustment or aiming of these.
They may work better when traveling. We'll have to see next time I take the bus out on the road.
craig
I don' see you sitting there smiling from ear to ear :)
John
Removed
Quote from: Jriddle on May 29, 2010, 07:16:45 AM
I don' see you sitting there smiling from ear to ear :)
John
It's not raining, yet... 8)
Quote from: Now Just Dallas on May 29, 2010, 08:14:12 AM
Craig, I have an immersion fuel pump from a VW Cabriolet you can have. It's used but still puts out about 65 psi at a pretty good volume.
Hmm... Seems like a lot of pressure for a windshield washer. Would probably go through a gallon of fluid pretty quick. On the other hand, it might knock the bugs right off the
windshield, too.
Let me think about that a bit. :)
Best of my memory Fred Hobe has a "kit" or set up that takes much of that work out of installing electric wipers on an MCI. I don't remember the price as I never got a chance to take our MCI's (back when we had MCI's) down and let him install me a set.
FWIW ;D BK ;D
Our wet arm nozzles consist of 2 small round pieces of plastic attached near the pivot point at the center of the arm. Each nozzle has 1 opening and can be aimed by turning with a straight bladed screwdriver. Jack
Quote from: JackConrad on May 30, 2010, 04:44:09 AM
Our wet arm nozzles consist of 2 small round pieces of plastic attached near the pivot point at the center of the arm. Each nozzle has 1 opening and can be aimed by turning with a straight bladed screwdriver. Jack
I have a set of those nozzles, and may end up adding them to the arms. I bought them awhile back to put on, but never got around to it.
Craig, your new wipers look exactly like they were made by Autex, you might check them out if you need information! http://www.autexacs.com/ContactUs.htm (http://www.autexacs.com/ContactUs.htm)
Quote from: muddog16 on May 30, 2010, 06:14:24 AM
Craig, your new wipers look exactly like they were made by Autex, you might check them out if you need information! http://www.autexacs.com/ContactUs.htm (http://www.autexacs.com/ContactUs.htm)
Pat,
They were! The plastic bag they were in has an Autex number on it.
I don't know about the motor and bracket. The motor is Bosch. I suspect IBP puts the kits together from parts they buy from other mfgs, like Autex. They probably have the brackets made
to their specs and assemble everything, but I don't know.
craig
The kit they sold me came direct from Autex.
Thanks Bob, I thought that looked familiar! Needless to say it was much cheaper from Autex, and the guy I dealt with was very good at answering questions when talking to a dummy he couldn't really explain what he needed! ::)
Craig,
Here is a photo of my nozzles, each nozzle has one opening that is line with the screwdriver slot in the top of the nozzle. The other photo is of the washer pumps which are in the compartment under the drivers seat, near the washer fluid container. The only problem we have is that the lines drain back when we shut off the pump, so it takes a little while to pomp the water back up to the nozzles. I have not found any check valves small enough for the 1/8" tubing. Jack
Removed
Thanks Dallas. I never thought about those as a source. I will check at Car Quest tomorrow. OR, I could just tell everyone, my system has the specially designed anti freeze design. LOL Jack
Jack,
That is interesting that you used the washer pumps for your washer fluid. I tried a total of 4 of those pumps (two per side). Those pumps just didn't put out enough fluid. Maybe the difference is the size tubing. I used vacuum tubing (the walls were fairly thick). I don't recall what size it was, but it was bigger diameter then the regular wet arm tube was.
Anyways, just wondering/thinking out loud, because my original pump design should have worked. But then again, my immersion fuel pump, works well.
God bless,
John
When I decided to make this system, I went to my local truck parts supply place and asked for 2 universal windshield washer pumps and 2 wet arm nozzle assemblies. I used 1/8" vacum tubing (since that was the barb size on both the pumps & nozzles). Jack
Interesting, Jack. Thanks for the info.
God bless,
John
Jack,
Those are the exact nozzles I had purchased before but never installed. If the buttons on the new arms don't spray the windshield while under way, I'll change to those.
Thanks.
craig