Upgrades to windshield wiper motors

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fauxfour2

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Apr 21, 2020
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Lol! Yeah, that's the nature of the beast. I've broken at least one before. don't feel bad. If I had a decent spare I'd let you have it, but my spare has the broken clip. Sorry.
All good my friend thank you. Yeah i always forget when i start working on something with this car that i cant use gorilla strength as the plastic and rubber parts are old as hell. Salvage yards suck around here so i will have to check when i head out to PA.
 

Longroof79

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The motor pigtail came with the motor when I bought it, but they are pretty easy to find in the junkyard. I bought mine off of ebay due to the COVID lockdown crap that was going on, but they are pretty easy to find.

Those motors actually wire perfectly to the 2 speed switch in 84-87 positive ground systems. I don't have a negative ground switch to check against.

View attachment 163346 View attachment 163347

The wiring isn't terrible on the motor.

Yellow - +12v, goes to acc tap in the fuse panel
Purple - High Speed
Brown - Low/Delay, +12v for low speed, 0-680k variable resistor inline for delay
Red - Wash cycle, +12v while switch is in wash position.
Dk Green - Unsure on that one, may not be connected on mine, but I will have to look.
Thank you again for refreshing this thread, providing the wiring diagrams, and further discussing the subject.
 
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Ace Burt

Greasemonkey
Jul 23, 2017
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My 87 El Camino wipers are too slow and only has only two speeds...no variable or pulse or delay. Has anyone upgraded their windshield wiper system to have variable and faster speed capabilities? I am not only referring to swapping motors within the G Body family but would be interested in capabilities from other GM vehicles. I once read that a wiper motor from a 2000 Camaro would work but don't want to try going this route only to be disappointed.

I have seen lists of what wiper motor are best for these features, but many are out of production and hard to find. Because of these parts being out of production, getting the one with the exact features desired becomes even more difficult with each passing year. Actually, solving these needs for better features is not as simple as replacing the motor for the reasons mentioned.

Here is what I am hoping to get: a reference/part number to a more recent GM model replacement motor with faster speeds, variable and pulse speeds, etc. which someone has adapted to work in their G-body.
I just ordered a new wiper motor from OPGI and the kit to give me intermittent settings too. It will prolly be 90 days or so before I get my elco back together and can tell you how it works though.
 
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medgas

n00b
Nov 22, 2014
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All good my friend thank you. Yeah i always forget when i start working on something with this car that i cant use gorilla strength as the plastic and rubber parts are old as hell. Salvage yards suck around here so i will have to check when i head out to PA.
I don't know what area of PA you are referring to but if you are in the northeast, EZ-Pull in New Rinegold puts all the old cars in one section. I have gotten a lot of parts for my 78 ElCo (stock parts, steering, brake, and other part upgrades) there and their prices are cheap.
 
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fauxfour2

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Apr 21, 2020
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I don't know what area of PA you are referring to but if you are in the northeast, EZ-Pull in New Rinegold puts all the old cars in one section. I have gotten a lot of parts for my 78 ElCo (stock parts, steering, brake, and other part upgrades) there and their prices are cheap.
My place is about an hour west of Scranton so i think i pass by there. Will definitely look into it. Thanks for the heads up!
 

Longroof79

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Wageslave,
I read in your original thread that you also mentioned about using a Pontiac Montana wiper motor due to having a built-in park function as opposed to the Bonneville part. If I could procure a Montana wiper motor in lieu of the Bonneville motor, would that be the preferred choice?
The reason I ask is because one of the local U-pull-it yards has two Montanas' in their inventory.
Would it require having to modify the transmission linkage to park properly?
 

Wageslave

Royal Smart Person
Jan 25, 2017
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Wageslave,
I read in your original thread that you also mentioned about using a Pontiac Montana wiper motor due to having a built-in park function as opposed to the Bonneville part. If I could procure a Montana wiper motor in lieu of the Bonneville motor, would that be the preferred choice?
The reason I ask is because one of the local U-pull-it yards has two Montanas' in their inventory.
Would it require having to modify the transmission linkage to park properly?
Although this is purely theoretical, the Montana motor should be able to reproduce the 1/2 turn in reverse to park the g-body wipers.

The Montana wiper setup is pretty convoluted and has this weird crank arm that allows the opposing wipers to pull down when the motor reverses. I believe that the Montana crank arm will not be needed, but is worthwhile to grab while you are there, as those are kind of expensive to buy and may offset the cost of the motor if resold.

The Bonneville and Montana motors use the same motor body with a different control board, so fitment should be the same. I haven't looked at schematics lately, but I think the wiring didn't change between the motors either (although the connector points up instead of down).

If you can find one with the square cover, then I would definitely grab it. 2005-2009 Montana's used a rounded motor with a different bolt pattern. That one might work too, but I can't vouch for it.
 
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scarborough

Master Mechanic
Sep 30, 2016
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I just ordered a new wiper motor from OPGI and the kit to give me intermittent settings too. It will prolly be 90 days or so before I get my elco back together and can tell you how it works though.
hate to highjack your topic. doing a restoration job on 1987 olds cutlass. the car didn't have the wiper motor when in got it . the wiper arm and its mechanism are their . all it has is the mounting base and wiring harness. so do I need any others parts besides the motor to get my wiper system work again. any one has a good part number for a wiper motor for a 87 cutlass and a how to install would be appreciated
 

Longroof79

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hate to highjack your topic. doing a restoration job on 1987 olds cutlass. the car didn't have the wiper motor when in got it . the wiper arm and its mechanism are their . all it has is the mounting base and wiring harness. so do I need any others parts besides the motor to get my wiper system work again. any one has a good part number for a wiper motor for a 87 cutlass and a how to install would be appreciated
Did you look in RockAuto for your wiper motor? You'll also have to find out if your wiper switch is for delay wipers or not. I assume it probably is equipped with a delay wiper system. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...id+v8,1222962,wiper+&+washer,wiper+motor,8824
Don't rule out your local auto parts stores. Shop around.
 
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random_farmhick

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Dec 13, 2020
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I'm wondering, I know you wouldn't have park, but you could have delay, putting the module from say an 85-87(91) squarebody chevy? Only thing is the switch on the column are different part numbers on rock auto, so I don't know how the wiring would match up. Just another thought anyways as I have several of those modules from parted out squarebody's here
 
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