Kangaroo/Washer bag and motor troubleshooting

[wasabi]

Hello all, what is the best way to troubleshoot/repair the Kangaroo/washer bag/motor? Bag holds water, seems to be power to bag. Thank you

[datzenmike]

The ground must also be there.

[DanielC]

The ground is supplied by the washer switch on the wiper wash knob, by twisting the knob clockwise.

Remove the bag from the truck.  Using a heat gun on the hoses will soften them up so they can be pulled off the connections easier.   The motor pocket in the bottom of the bag is held closed by some brass clasps, like loose notebook paper pages in a theme paper binder you turned your homework in school, in about 1970.

With the motor out of the bag pocket, if it is not rusted too bag, remove the pump cover off the pump, and try to turn the rotor by hand.  If it turns, try applying 12 volts to the pump motor, and see if it turns.   If it reliably runs, put it back together.  If the motor does not work, look in a junkyard, for a washer motor in another car.  You can also search Amazon for new washer pumps, look for the smallest one that will fit in the bag pocket.  You probably will not find a new pump with a inlet and outlet port that will fit the port holes in the bag, but you might find a washer pump that will fit into one of the port holes on the bag, and have to run one  hose through the same slot in the bottom of the bag pocket that you put the motor in.

 

One of my 521 trucks did not have the kangaroo washer bag.  I put a washer tank and pump  from a 720 truck in the same location as the OEM bag and pump.

 

A lot more pictures near the bottom of this page.

https://ratsun.net/topic/30606-my-ratsun-datsun-521-now-with-l-20-b-and-a-five-speed/page/25/

 

 

[mklotz70]

To add to what Daniel posted.....

The little can motors can be taken apart and "fixed" in some cases.  I've done it before, but it's been so long ago, I'm sure the write up was on NWDE.org's forum and it's long gone. 😞

 

[datzenmike]

My '68 dime didn't work. I was surprised to fine tiny nuts and bolts. Took it apart pulled the armature and magnets out removed the rust and away it went. There were several things on this old car that were not working probably because the original owner never drove it in the rain.

[thisismatt]

Yeah, the motors can be disassembled, de-rusted, and reassembled to work.  The main issue is that the rust prevention (galvanizing) has failed and they will quickly rust again.

[datzenmike]

The 510 wasn't a bag. But the motor was exposed. The distributor vacuum advance wouldn't work either, the distributor was stuck

[dat521gatherer]

I've taken mine apart and fixed them many of times. They don't stay rust free for very long. The rubber grommet on the motor shaft is toast on all of them letting water into the motor housing. The position the motor sits in the bag does not help this. Once it's working the best thing to do is keep cycling it every couple weeks to a month year round regardless of the weather. . Letting it sit too long without turning it on is your enemy.