I will fix this thing or it will be the death of me. I tried a new actuator relay and no change. I am getting vacum to the new actuator that was installed in January. I think it is the new actuator. Correct me if i am wrong, I should be able to open and close the actuator by sucking on the rear outlet to move the piston out (open the door) I can not extend the piston, I can retract the piston by sucking on the front outlet. The vacum reading i am getting when i check any part of the system is about 14 How much vacum is needed to open the wiper door or how should i check the actuator. I have purchased the trouble shooting $10.00 piece of worthless copies that is sold but still cant figure this out. any help would be apppreciated
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Re: wiper door actuator one more time (1971)
Jeff,
Have you tried disconnecting the actuator from the wiper door and applying vaccuum? If the actuator then responds correctly, your door linkage may be adjusted incorrectly. I have seen doors close too far so the linkage goes "over center" and locks up. Before disconnecting the actuator, try opening the door part way by hand with the wiper switch on. Turn the wiper motor service switch off so that the wipers do not move while your hands are in the way. If the door opens, the actuator is probably OK. Don't give up, the answer answer is out there!
Wild Bill -
Re: wiper door actuator one more time (1971)
From reading your post I don't think this could be your problem, but I experienced a breakage on my 68 many years ago and had to replace the cannister. This occured in 1973 and I went to Chevrolet and ordered a new cannister because the shaft coming out of the vacuum cannister broke off. This shaft is covered by the boot and is easy to check. The new vacuum motor I got from Chevrolet was the pie pan later design with an adapter bracket for the 68. Wish I had kept the original vacuum cannister, who knows mayby some JB Weld could of repaired it.Comment
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Re: wiper door actuator one more time (1971)
Jeff,
Normal vacuum should be 18-20 in. on the gauge. Take a reading at the intake and note it then take a reading at the actuator. According to the troubleshooting guide, anything more than a 2 in. drop indicates a leak somewhere. This doesn't mean that 14 in. won't open it. What's the reading at the headlight actuators? If they are working with 14 in., then chances are the wiper actuator should too.
The way to check the actuator for proper operation (I just did this the other night) is to first pull the front line off with the engine running and wiper switch OFF and see if you have vacuum. Then pull off rear line with switch ON and you should have vacuum to there. If so and if the readings are within limits then it has to be the actuator. To make sure, take the actuator off by removing two mounting nuts and loosening jam nut on shaft. Then unscrew it from door linkage and remove it. Apply vacuum direct to each fitting. If it doesn't move in and out then it's a bad one. If it does and the door still won't budge then there may be a linkage problem as previously mentioned in above post.
On the one on my car, sucking on the fittings with modest force was sufficient to move it. On my car, the door would close but not open. I used this method to determine that the seal that fits around the shaft was leaking. A $15.00 item was all it was.
Good luck, Bob BoothComment
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