Hello,
Perhaps a daft question, but is it possible to lubricate the various motors in a car(not just my model)
ie windscreen washer pumps, electric window/sunroof motors?
They eventually sieze, so surely a bit of oil would go a long way to preventing that. They are not cheap to replace.
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Most manufacturers class these as 'sealed for life' parts and don't advise any periodic maintenance on them. The bearings should be behind waterproof seals in things like the window and sunroof motors. The windscreen washer pump probably gets some of its lubrication from the water that goes through it as apart from the motor itself (which again should be a sealed unit) the rest of the moving parts is something like nylon rubbing against nylon.
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Despite the many luddites, and those who also keep lubricants on the outside of their sumps, on here, items like sealed for life ball joints last much longer than those with grease nipples - the act of greasing also included contamination which negated and worse the good effect of the grease.
It is easier to go with the flow, and simply replace them when they eventually fail - in most cases, you'll be waiting a long time.
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Sorry NC I can't agree with you on this.
In my experience those components that have had a lubrication facility (the last was a grease cup on my daughter's Skoda 130L water pump) have never failed with regular attention.
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It is way too easy to over grease bearings, especially rolling element ones, sealed bearings are far preferable to giving the odd sqirt of a possibly incorrect or incompatible grease. Sealed bearings also don't rely on the conscientiousness of the maintainer, your regular attention to detail is probably not commonplace enough amongst the general public.
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I have never know a motor seize actually - especially on a Toyota.
Regular use is probably the best prevention.
As people say, they are mainly sealed or made of nylon on the smaller motors and so do not need any attention.
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Thanks for the replies and thoughts folks- appreciated.
just thought I'd ask because some of the electric motors in the car don't get used much eg sunroof, windows etc.
Well, seems like I should just roll with it. 11 years old and still going strong..
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Im my exp. from Toyotas of this era, it is the waterproofing that can sometimes fail (plastics go brittle, etc), so seizing is due to corrosion of parts rather than lack lubrication.
Washer pump is all plastic so will not suffer this, window and sunroof motors - once window seals/membranes and sunroof seals/ drain channels start to fail then action is needed quickly before motors corrode. You'll know when they go as will hear water sloshing around.
Had a 1993 Toyota where the door windowseal failing caused door motor to go due to excessive water getting into door.
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As a rule of thumb, the electric components used on Toyota's are of the highest quality, and rarely go wrong, even on epic mileage vehicles. HOWEVER, this does not always apply to the european (dare I say...British!) built examples, as especially in the early days of UK production the components were not always sourced from Japan. The Carina E from say 1993-1996 is a classic example, most components were lucas or bosch sourced and I have to say they are nowhere near as good as the Denso/Japanese equivelents. Also things like electric sunroofs for eg, some of which were fitted port of entry, and were manufactured by a company called Zani, now this company is italian.... I'll say no more!
I am pleased to say since 1996-7 the quality of components such as motors is now very good indeed, as Denso has built factories in the UK and Europe and the standard of manufacture is as high as ever and faults are very few and far between , so much so as not to be issue at all. One of the posters stated that it's best to use things like electric windows and sunroofs often and he is absolutely correct, seizure is normally a sign of lack of use.
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"now this company is italian.... I'll say no more!"
Tell that to Fiat (Ferrari) in Formula 1 - the car behind - some way back - is a Toyota...
;);)
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"now this company is italian.... I'll say no more!" Tell that to Fiat (Ferrari) in Formula 1 - the car behind - some way back - is a Toyota...
...... The Ferrari F1 team tend not to use 50p components, especially on the sunroof ;-)
... although the Toyota F1 team may well do.....
Seriously though, Italians and electrics tend to be an iffy combination.
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