Help needed with windshield washer

[Zorrodeporro]

Hi guys,

I want to replace the whole windshield washer unit of my '70 Cadillac, but I have no experience with this so I need some help.
In the first pic, it says where I can unbolt the wiper arms. But where is this located on a '70 cadillac?


And in the second picture, I don't understand the text after point 3. It says something about lining up with a drill (?)


I hope someone can help me with this. Much appreciated in advance.

Marcel

[TJ Hopland]

The photo you posted with the nuts in it looks like the linkage that goes to the wipers themselves.  You would have to deal with that if you were removing the whole motor assembly.  That linkage would usually be in the cowl area.  Thats the area between the lip of the hood and windshield.  Some models this is where the intake screen is for the heater.  If its not a screen it should be some sort of cover you remove.  On the 80's cars its a plastic rubber thing that does not hold up well with age.

Do you have a picture of the whole wiper motor assembly?   From the description it sounds like the same unit GM used well into the 80's.   The washer unit was a plunger/ piston type of pump that was mounted to the wiper motor and operated off of a cam that was part of the gear box.  When you pressed the washer button on the earlier models I believe there was a mechanical interlock that pushed the wiper switch to on and then operated a solenoid on the pump assembly.  When the solenoid operated this caused the pump mechanism to then engage the cam on the motor and it would then do 2 or 3 pumps and release.  In later models the pump assembly was where they included the electronics for the delay mechanism.    Anyway this pump assembly was held on the motor with 3 screws so I suspect this is what they are talking about.  When you remove the pump you will be exposing the gears of the wiper motor. 

The rest here may not do you any good unless you have someone in the USA to get you the parts.

If you dont have the fancy delay type I think you can purchace a complete new pump assembly that bolts onto your original motor.

Some company that Napa carries made a more modern electronic replacement assembly for the pumps. They were not that expensive so I gave one a try in my 80.  It had a lot of quirks and I finally pulled it off yesterday and swapped in a used unit I pulled off a parts car.   They covered a lot of years so its likely they may work better with slightly later models that had a different switch type. 

You can buy a repair kit for the OE style pumps.  What usually causes them to be weak is the check valves in the head.  The kit is like $6 and includes the top part with the nipples in it and then the valve body and some o rings.   Its got extra parts in it because I think it covers about 40 years of GM products.  If its not pumping at all its often a mechanical issue.  Sometimes you can bend things back and get it working but since the gears and such are plastic often times it cant be repaired.

If you just want some sort of washer function for a decent price you can buy a generic electric washer pump and wire it to the 2 wire connector that went to the original pump section.   Its not too expensive and it works.  Down side is it looks sort of hacked and because its not timed you seem to go through the fluid pretty quickly.   

[Zorrodeporro]

Thank you very much for the clear explanation. When I 'll be working on it, things will start falling in their place.