Remove stock wiper motor & Replace with a modern 2 speed wiper motor from New Port Engineering
Cost: $200 + shipping and import to the UK
Replacement Motor From: New Port Engineering
Background:
Since day one when I got the car this has been bugging me big time. When I first looked at the car I looked inside and I spotted the damaged wiring which was down to the previous nut job of an owner shorting all sorts of things out and causing what looks like a small fire. I was told it happened when he was taking out the Air Con and dropped it on the loom. The bloke I bought it from said it was a quick job and cheap to replace. Ignorance is bliss at the time. That was before I realised there no wire loom for the wiper and I would have to replace the whole motor. Today I decided it was coming out as I need to replace it anyway. The internet and guides say it’s a fairly quick job. Was it?
What do you need? 7/16ths sockets and a stubby 7/16th spanner, thin screwdriver and maybe a larger screw driver for leverage.
Process:
Removal:
Where to start? I had visions of me taking the motor of and leaving the bracket in place. But I was having trouble getting to the three 7/16ths bots that hold the motor to the bracket. This was down to the fact that the pivot arm that comes out of the motor through the bracket to the wiper control arms was not moving. So it was bite the bullet and take the bracket of. There are two bolts at the top of the bracket and two at the bottom. The two at the top are simple enough once you take the dash dials out. The two at the bottom are a nightmare. What made it worse was the fact my American Autowire fuse box was now in the way.
To remove the wiper control arms there is a clip at the bottom of the left control arm, a screwdriver to lift the clip and slide it a fraction and it will ping off, so watch out where it goes. Once the clip is off if you’re lucky the arm will just pull off. Again a little twist of the screw driver and it came away no problem. The top clip for the right hand side was a total pig. The internet suggests that there should be another clip, but I had a C-clip and it was a real pain to say the least, I tried long-nosed pliers, circlip pliers and the screwdriver. The way I removed mine was to wedge my hand in the gap and hold the clip still while I levered up one side of the C clip. This worked and again pinged of into my hand. The top control arm lifted straight off once the clip was removed.
Now was the turn to remove the bracket itself. The bolts at the top were easy access and I was going to remove the one on the left last and the one on the right first as it was slightly easier to get too. The removal of the top bolt(s) was a straight forward process, they could even be left in place to be honest. The bolts at the bottom were a completely different matter, they were located further forward almost on the firewall itself. The only way I could get in to the bolt was via a 1/4inch drive flex head Snap On with an extension bar. The furthest away was the worst so I went for that first on the left hand side. I had one or two clicks on the ratchet at any time, it was slow and difficult as these had not been out for nearly half a century! Eventually the bolt came out and it was time for the right hand sides, I loosened the top left which was no issue, then I got to the bottom right. This was easy to see and a lot more forgiving to work in space wise. The bolt came out a lot easier than the left side. Once the bolt was almost out I took the weight and took the bottom bolt out. The top bolt was only there for guide as the slot moved away from the bolt and the whole bracket was now away from under the dash. Now if the car had original wiring I expect there would not have been much trouble. But as my fusebox was now there in the way it was an incredibly complicated removal process. I had to move wires around undo my cable tie clips just to give me room to manoeuver the wires out-of-the-way. Eventually after a while the bracket was free and the whole thing was out.
Getting the bracket on the on the bench it was clear to see the damaged cause by the previous owner. The wires were broken, they had gone brittle and it was obvious there was a fire of some sort, but I can’t see any evidence of the flames apart from the melted plastic on the fittings and the wires.
Next job was to remove the actuator arm from the motor. The arm is on a two flat key way and needed to be lifted up once the retaining bolt had been removed. I used a small bearing puller to ease it up. Once the arm was off the removal of the motor from the bracket was quite easy, the three bolts came were just a little over hand tight. There was a rubber grommet to the bracket that insulated the motor away from the bracket. The bolts had their own washers to hold the motor in place top and bottom sides. One of the motor bolt holes was actually broken, which can just be seen on the top left.
Treatment:
Next was to clean the bracket and de-rust it. FE-123 was used to treat the metal and then once dried I used Hycote Satin Black spray to the final coat. I was quite pleased with the results and I didn’t think the lacquer was going to be worth it. Last was the arm for the linkages, this was again treated and sprayed with the same process. Inspection of the arm showed no signs of wear and was in good condition.
Refitting:
This is going to be done in two stages, the first will be the bracket put back in and then the motor once I get it. The little stubby spanners I have will get into the inner space no problem as the arm is off. locating the arm back on should be straight forward as there are two flats locate it.
As the bracket now had no motor attached to it the location into position was much simpler, a bolt at the top to hold in place and then a bolt in the bottom right to locate the bottom position. The left hand side screw on the bottom was indeed the pig I was expecting it to be. I applied a small amount of grease onto the threads in order to help the process of starting the thread. This did work after about three attempts and getting more over the wires than the thread of the bolt. Again the flex head was the way to go and eventually tightened up. The bottom right was tightened and the top left bolt put in place and both the top bolts were tightened up.
New Port Engineering 2 Speed Wiper Motor – 1964 1/2 – 1968 Mustang Ford Passenger Car
What’s in the box:
The box was well wrapped and the motor was pre mounted on its own single plate the same shape as the under dash mounting bracket.
The rotating actuator arm was already attached via three allen screws or capped screws to the top of the motor spindle. The switch(s) came in a bag along with some screws, washers and spacers. There are two options for a standard switch with this motor. The first option is the standard two-speed black knob switch, this has a two stop movement setup and a retro style wash wipe print on the front. The second switch is the wash wipe version, the switch looks exactly the same except for the slight print change to show the washer function. The connections on the back of the wash wipe version are in a different order to the other standard switch and has more connections of course. The wash is activated by a push in process and movement of only around three odd millimetres. The original switch is activates the wash process by pulling out the knob out from the dash about an inch or so.
Also in the box is a colour printed four page document on how to remove the old motor and replace it with the new one. The document is well explained and to be honest the whole thing is quite intuitive anyway. The wiring loom for the motor is bespoke and will not plug directly into the original under dash wire loom. The original loom has seven spade connections to the back of the correct switch and this loom has four plus an earth. There is a block connect about twenty centimetres from the motor should you need to remove the motor without the hassle or removing the wires or switch, if you do split the sire apart make a note of the wires position, they do not match up with the different colour wires from the motor itself.
The product:
The gloss black finish is very good and finished with the New Port engineering sticker attached. The wires are quite long and reach the switch with ease. The first thing to notice is the size of the original motor compared to the new style motor. The new one is smaller than the original and a little lighter as well.
The wiper actuator arm is a different design to the original. The new actuator arm’s design is a single spindle on the top. whereas the original motor had the pins split top and bottom in slightly different locations. The new design has the step effect for the linkage arms, the left wiper whole on the linkage being a fraction bigger than the right hand side. This obviously ensures the correct locating of the arms on the spindle.
The knob on the switch is held in place on a flattened shaft held in position by a small grub screw into the plastic.
The full product review has a copy of the instructions, this can be found under the Reviews Menu – Car Parts, or the quick link can be found here
Fitting the motor:
There is a couple of ways to fit this motor. I would suggest that you do remove the original bracket from under the dash to mount the motor. It would make fitting a little easier than trying to fit the motor in situ as it were. But, it’s not to difficult to do it the way I had done it on the car.
First thing is to remove the wiper arms, this may be easier said than done. I had some real issues with this and they were stuck solid. I used my Gibbs Brand lubricant and left it for a few minutes, I came back and with a large screw driver and a cloth they just popped off the spline.
It’s recommended the wipers are in the park position in order to remove the wiper linkage.
Once the motor is out there are three spacers that will sit in the rubber washers on the bracket. Keep the original washers from the original that have the larger hole in the middle as they will be required later.
Remove the actuator arm from the top of the motor with an allen key, and keep the little bolts safe.
The next part was the motor to be offered up, the mounting plate fitted to the edge of the main bracket perfectly, and the top of the motor spindle fitted through the main bracket hole with only the smallest of gaps. The bracket was pretty much in position now and just need the final locating. I found the easiest way for this to be held in place was to put the screw into the rubber washer without any steel washers at this point in order to hold the motor in place at the top.
The bottom fixing and the middle fixing I mounted properly, I put the larger washer on from the original motor mounting, followed by the smaller washer supplied for the bolt. The larger hole in the original washer allows for the spacer to be centrally located within the rubber washer on the main bracket. I found that here my only moan, the screws are only just long enough to reach the mounting plate with the fairly thick washers and rubber washers in place. The screws could have done with being a quarter of an inch longer. This would have allowed loose lining up of the bolt and thread onto plate. Also this would stop you having to press the motor into the rubber washer in order to get the thread started. This part took me the longest to do, once I had the two correctly spaced bolts in place I then removed the top bolt and replaced it with the washers as required. Using a small stubby spanner I tightened up the bolts to a good tension.
Now came what I was expecting to be the difficult part, the wiper arm linkage. If the bracket is off the car then this particular part would be a lot easier. With the bracket fully mounted now to place the wiper arm to the top of the motor. Remove the “C” ring clip on top of the arm pin. Mounting of the arm is done via three small bolts that have to be felt into place. Starting with the middle screw I found the middle location and fiddled the movement around until it located, tightening up as much as possible by fingers, but also allowing a little movement for aligning up the other two bolts. The other two were a lot quicker as the main location was now pretty much in place. Using the allen key tighten the three bolts up.
At this point the main under dash bracket will now be in place. Apply some quality grease around the pin for the arm linkages. The left hand arm will go on first as it has the fractionally bigger hole for the larger diameter pin at the bottom. I also applied a good blob of grease to the inside of the linkage mounting holes. This part was a bit tricky as I found I had to ever so slightly twist the linkage to make the arm go over correctly.
The right hand side was tighter and again needed a tiny tiny twist with the pliers to allow it to seat correctly. A small tap with a screw driver on the linkage made sure the arm fully down to expose the recess at the top of the pin for the “C” clip. Then I pressed the “C” clip onto the pin and it was located and locked in place. A further application of grease should keep it all free and lubricated.
Wiring:
As I have rewired my car completely I have a wire from my loom called “Wiper Feed”. This is a hot wire from the ignition “on” position. The red wire supplied with the switch is to be connected to a live feed and be protected by a 10amp fuse. I was able to remove the supplied main live wire and use the one from the wire kit straight to the switch. The black earth I attached to the other earth point behind my dash gauges.
Next I routed the wires up to the switch and connect them to the switch as described in the supplied note. I then re-attached the battery up and placed the recommended 10amp fuse into my fuse box.
Turn the ignition on and operated the switch and the wiper motor moved. Single speed, two-speed and the correct park process all worked perfectly. At this point I have not connected up my washer function in order to test. Next task was that I applied black insulation tape all around the wires and to make it look stock. That’s the job done.
Issues:
Only one really; The supplied bolts were a little too short and mean that you have to squash the motor into place in order for the bolts to bite into the plate and try to locate the correct positioning. Perhaps a key way design for the locating of the actuator arm secured by a locking bolt would have been nice. But, the provided mounting works fine.
A nice touch here was that the bag of bits had an extra of each of the smaller allen bolts and a spare washer.
Conclusion:
If you want to keep the two-speed wipers and you have a motor that has died then this could be an option you. This is no way concourse correct as the original loom for the wiper motor is not used, nor is the motor marked up the same or even the same design. To keep the “stock look” of the original Mustang bezel you have purchase the optional “Switch Shaft Extension” at a further $20. I would like to have seen extension supplied with the motor. I can’t imagine for one minute anybody who owns one of these cars to use the knob on the switch supplied.
This was a job waiting to be done but I was holding out for an original part, but it was not to be. I am well pleased with the results and lets face it, single speed wont cut it by todays standards.
Secret:
Before I do anything like this I tested the motor on an old battery I have that will not hold a full charge enough to turn a car over. I use the battery as my test rig and charge it up now and again. I tested the motor on the test battery first to make sure all was well before I fitted it!
Links:
- Wiper Motor 2 Speed Replacement Project – Photos Menu – Inside the Car, or click here
- I have placed a video on YouTube of the motor in place and working on my One man and his Mustang Video channel, or for a quick link click on the YouTube logo:
My wipers stopped working on my 65 Mustang, but the wiper motor still runs (i hear it). I felt around with the dash removed and my hand came back with a couple of bolts which were dangling there. I believethe actuator arm is no longer attached to the inner wiper arms. However, I can’t seem to see the pivot arm thats supposed to attach the motor to the wiper arms. ANy tips on how to get this done would be greatly appreciated!
Hi, When you say bolts do you mean the bracket bolts? If that’s the case take the chance to remove it and grease it etc. before refitting.
The actuator arm is held in place by flats on a bolt, This in turn holds the arms in place with a sprung ‘C’ clip on the top of each pin. It could be these that has broken away. It’s a real pig of job to get back on. It’s good news the motor is still running as it sounds like it just needs re-assembling again. Small hands, angled long nose pliers and a mirror are your best friends to get this back together again.
I hope that helps a little, without seeing the actual problem its difficult to advise.
Thanks for posting this – and the rest of the site. I’m working on a ’66 with my son for his first car and your info realy helps!
Hi William, glad it could help. I try to write the blog with the information that I couldn’t find at the time. I would love to know how it goes. 👍
I finally finished this project. Thanks to you for making it much easier. It had been so long I forgot where the thing mounted and it was much higher up in the dash than I remembered. I really didn’t have much touble getting it back in since the who dash is taken apart and I didn’t put the wiring harness where you did. Things like this make me wonder how I ever did stuff like this as a kid before the internet. .. I think I’d destroy more than fix. Thanks again!
Pleasure, glad it helped. Like you as a kid I never had Internet, people don’t realise how lucky they are nowadays. 🌐
Awesome job! This was well written and the photos were clear and very helpful. I’m quite sure this saved me from hours of messing up and trying over and over! Thank you very much for taking the time to put this together.
Richard
Thank you Richard, feedback like that makes it all worth while. Thanks again. 👍☺