'98 headlight motor compatability

[kevin-design]

Hi,
So i just bought my first house last week and pretty well decimated what was left of my bank account. I can just barely afford a new passenger side headlight motor for my vette, but this one from a '98 on ebay sure looks like it would fit mine. All dealers can tell me is that the assembly is different, but in my case it is the motor that's burned out- the assembly works fine. If it goes off really cheap, I'm thinking its a worthwhile chance to take. Either way, I could likely make it work with a little machining.

Anyone have any bets on my liklihood of success?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7964899786
thanks!
-k

 

[Vettefan87]

I dont know if it would work or not. The C4 headlights roll up they spin like 270 degrees until they are in the right position. the C5 headlights just pop up. I don't know if the motor is strong enough to rotate the headlights to the proper position.

 

[rrhayden]

Kevin,


What is wrong with your motor? There are two primary failier modes, and both can be repaired easily. Does the motor run and the door not open?

 

[kevin-design]

The motor doesn't run, the wire windings on the motor armature are thouroughly burned out. The mechanism that it drives is intact and working though.

 

[Jeb]

I think I'd try a salvage yard before trying to juryrig something.

http://www.corvettesalvage.com/

A phone call is all it takes.

 

[kevin-design]

Called. $100+rebuildable core. I can already do $50+rebuildable core. If this auction doesn't go any higher- then I'd be doing >$20 for the decent chance that the motor will fit right in. Worst case scenario is that I slice the motor shaft off and press in the old one to the new armature. This task might sound daunting, but its actually pretty easy when you have the right tools (precision lathe/mill) available.
It's not that I'm cheap- just temporarily poor!

 

[kevin-design]

it's a little hard to say from the picture, but it is visually identical from what I can tell. Thanks for the info on the rotation, but if the motor is strong enough to rotate 30 degrees, it should be strong enough for 270 degrees, just a longer duration. Here's hoping for no bidders!

 

[WhalePirot]

How about calling the dealer and asking for the part numbers on both?

 

[kevin-design]

hey- whatdya know? no bidders! So even though it probably won't fit quite right, I get a motor for a grand total of $12! (shipping included!) I already have plans for the actuator if I can't make it work in my car. The dealer could only tell me that the part # on the assembly is different. How different I'll have to see for myself. I'll keep you posted!
-k

 

[kevin-design]

Hi!
So I got my '98 headlight motor and here's the rather interesting result:
Apparently what's the passenger's side assembly on my '92 is mechanically 95% the same as the driver's side assembly on the '98's. There are some internal differences (improvements?) as the 'rollers' that people keep talking about are absent and replaced with a rubber 'bushing' component which appears to be intended to absorb shock when it hits the stops. The one I received actually had some damage to the rubber component, and I picked out a few pieces of rubber before installing it. Anyway, the worm gear is the same as is the motor, armature, windings, and brushes. The actual worm wheel is the same pitch and teeth but is a tad thinner overall. The shaft is the only real external difference I observed. Whereas my '92 uses a split pin through the end of the (geared down) drive axle, '98's apparently use some type of screw-on system and thus the end is a bit shorter and has threads in addition to the cylinder with two flat sides found on the '92. I welded this threaded area completely, then milled it back down to a cylinder and milled flats on either side. Now it works perfectly. Incidently, the only difference between passenger and driver's side motors is that the cap has a hole/bushing on one side and a cap'ed off area (closed) to hold the other end of the axle on the other I don't imagine it would be too difficult to convert a passenger side to a driver's side motor. All the bolt holes and mounts are identical in my case.
And now that I've shared that hopefully useful bit of into (I saved about $200 by discovering this), my question:
Though the repaired assembly works when I bypass the system and apply current (either direction) it's no longer responding to the usual control when I wire it in- no response from the wires as if a fuse was blown or something. What's inline with the passenger side light to make it respond that way? It's not like the motor is stalling either- just doesn't try at all.
Anyw help appreciated!
-k