Grease for brass worm drive in wiper motor

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Oct 16, 2010
Messages
2,600
Location
california
I have a new motor, I've not yet opened it up, but it is just 3 screws where the original was riveted and would not have been easy to clean and regrease and close back up.

The 30 year old original one, I will assume Lubrication failure played a big part.

The lube was dry, and the consistency of blue cheese, with all the plastic of the failed gear.

Any Idea what material this is, and what would be the best grease to use if I decide to open it up?

[Linked Image]


The newer motor with a sept 2018 build date stamped on the motor body, feels a smidge lighter, and does not appear to be as well built as the original.

It is neither a difficult, or costly part to replace(32$), but its failure of course happened at the worst possible time and was inconvenient to say the least, and dangerous, So I would prefer this one to be able to last 30 more years, but I have little confidence it is as well built internally as the original, with replacement parts being what they are today.
 
Last edited:
the sliding aspect of the worm gear would be great for a pplication for a moly greaase, I suspect, but would it ever get hot enough to do that plating sliding card thing?

I worry about the composition of that 'plastic' gear, and if it would perhaps soften with some greases.

And I assume that the same material is used in the new motor, although I have not yet opened it up to check. The thing might be dry or seriously underlubed.
 
White Lubriplate - the same stuff used on Cessna 152 & 172 electric flap jackscrews.

It's sticky, and not too thick.
 
that had to be a slow degradation before it failed. it does not look like a sudden strip of the plastic would not be so smooth. The general plastic grease recommendation is slilcone. id worry about what was already in there and adding new grease may cause more problems than it fixes.

Have a look and see of there is sufficient grease in there. If so leave it be and see how it turns out. 30 years is asking a bit much from modern parts. easy to change and cheap.... I would run it like it is looking for sign of excess slop over the life of it.
 
I'd look into one of the mid viscosity Dow molykote grosses that are suitable for plastic parts.
 
Ok if I were to use an entirely new lube, to insure there were no grease compatibility issues, the motor would need partial disassembly, which I am not really keen on doing. Disassembling the old one made it seem like the motors armature would have to be backed out/ unthreaded, though this one looks like the cuts in the white plastic go to both sides of the disc

I opened up the new one. Seems they could have packed it tighter with grease.

No idea what type of grease it is. It has No discernible smell whatsoever, and looks kind of like Syl-glide but a smidge thinner

[Linked Image]


I do have some Syl-glide, I could fill the rest of the cavitiy with it.
I do not thik I am going to buy 15$ worth of an Ideal lube for a 32$ part which does not appear likely to fail for the rest of the life of the vehicle

Opinions?

I do have some LiquiMoly Mos2 gear oil additive I could add to thegrease already in there.
[Linked Image]
 
Last edited:
Thats a nylon gear that absorbs water. Coat it with a nlgl2 grease good to go.
 
Packing tighter with grease isn't always best. It can affect heat rejection, and can cause grease to separate and bleed if too tight. Doubtful that wouldn't be an issue in this unit, but perhaps so if on high speed for long times moving slush or snow.
 
Thanks. I wound up running the motor for a bit uninstalled and unloaded.. Then adding a teaspoonful of syl-glyde to the worm gear. Sounded the same.
its now installed
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top