vacuum pump for windshield wipers?

**kevin** · May 25th, 2011, 03:36 PM

Since I have swapped my gas motor to a diesel my original plan was to convert to electric wipers.
But has anyone just installed a vacuum pump and run the wipers that way? if so what did you use?

I kinda like my vacuum wipers and having a small 12v pump to run them would be easy and maybe cheaper then other solutions.

**kwai** · May 25th, 2011, 04:11 PM

Redneck solution would be a 12V dust buster and duct tape.

Personally, I would replace the vacuum wipers with electric. My biggest problem with them is that they don't "park" and at highway speeds are always in my line of sight.

**glenn** · May 25th, 2011, 06:02 PM

Ford superdutys with the 7.3 diesels had a small electric vacuum pump and reservoir mounted on the right inner fender. Do some junkyard scrouging and you could probably get one pretty cheap. The Ford breadvans retro-fitted with the 4bt had a belt driven vacuum pump too. Look on ebay or 4btswaps for some.

**myJEEPisAfatty** · May 25th, 2011, 06:12 PM

I plan on keeping the Vacuum wipers too. Im not a big fan of the way the electric ones are designed. I considered at one point running on board air and using the compressed air to run the wipers but im not really in NEED of an on board air setup...not just to run wipers anyways lol

**brute4c** · May 25th, 2011, 10:07 PM

The vacuum system draws in through the wipers to the motor...so an on board air system would need to intake through the wipers...I think?

**randygar** · May 26th, 2011, 01:14 AM

I think if you applied low pressure (15psi or less) compressed air to what was the vent port, and left the former intake port open, they'd work fine.

--Randy

**randygar** · May 26th, 2011, 01:25 AM

Thinking back to when I replaced mine, I tested them off an electric air compressor rigged as a vacuum pump. The performance wasn't very good. A dedicated vacuum pump would have been better, rather than a compressor used as a vacuum pump, but it still only barely had enough flow to slowly move a single wiper motor. You might want to go belt drive instead of electric.

--Randy

**Mikel** · May 26th, 2011, 07:27 AM

Mine work very well. My 6BT has the stock power steering/vacuum pump.

**kevin** · May 26th, 2011, 08:29 AM

thanks for the ideas everyone! sounds like time for some salvage yard hunting and ebay....

**defbob** · May 26th, 2011, 09:24 PM

would air pressure kill the wiper? My Deuce has pressure fed wipers and they work fine in the rain. When you crank them up, they really fly!

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