Windscreen wipers

Bodywork, interior and exterior trim and glass, bumpers, etc.
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osholt
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Windscreen wipers

#1 Post by osholt » Sun Feb 19, 2017 10:01 pm

I had a look at a few cars at Stoneleigh today for details about 2000s. It was nice seeing a few of you today!

I know the windscreen wipers on my car are wrong becuase they protrude over the edge of the windscreen but every car I saw today had a different configuration.

The photo I have from 1978 (presumably with factory windscreen wipers still) shows 2 wipers which look the same length. Is this correct?

What is definitively correct regarding length, positioning etc.

Thanks,

Oliver
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Triumph 2000 Mk2 Sapphire Blue (1972) - Currently being upgraded to 2.5 EFI
Triumph TR7 Convertible Persian Aqua Blue (1980) - Press car, nearly on the road!
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torque2me
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Re: Windscreen wipers

#2 Post by torque2me » Tue Feb 28, 2017 11:34 am

osholt wrote:I had a look at a few cars at Stoneleigh today for details about 2000s. It was nice seeing a few of you today!

I know the windscreen wipers on my car are wrong becuase they protrude over the edge of the windscreen but every car I saw today had a different configuration.

The photo I have from 1978 (presumably with factory windscreen wipers still) shows 2 wipers which look the same length. Is this correct?

What is definitively correct regarding length, positioning etc.

Thanks,

Oliver
Well, 14 inches is the "official" wiper blade length. I don't know if it manufacturing tolerances or a re-sizing exercise by the manufacturer but I too have had wipers which exceed the windscreen trim but only really on the n/s. Besides the blade size issue it might be that one or both wipers arms are from a different vehicle model (for instance MGB wipers were the "official" type specified for Stags when stocks of the correct "Speedline" (I think that they were the correct one's) type were exhausted. So, you might have Dolomite ones on for instance. However, the crank angle in the n/s arm should be obvious.

So, you could try a 13" wiper blade on the n/s (I have done that in the past) but what I have done over the last few years is to get hold of original blades, get a pack of 14" rubber blades, cut to "my wanted size" and fit to the wiper. Only seems to work on originals as retro are all sort of sizes and fitting types and I don't feel like life is long enough to work through all the problems.

Kev

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Re: Windscreen wipers

#3 Post by johnnydog » Tue Feb 28, 2017 8:09 pm

It's also worth checking that the arms are fitted on the correct side. From memory, the drivers arm is more or less straight, whereas the passengers has a distinct bend in the arm at the blade end, so that the arm sits horizontal to the trim in the parked position. If they are on the wrong side, the wiper will slap the trim on the passenger side. I have also seen cars with two straight arms fitted; no doubt over the years incorrect replacements have been fitted. They don't look / sit right on the passenger side using a straight arm.
You can also replace the passenger side arm with an adjustable type - the arm itself is notched on the underside with a sprung clamp that allows the length of the arm to be altered simply by hand in seconds. They look identical to the originals (except for an extra rivet head), but this allows you to reduce the length of the arm to prevent the passenger arm slapping the windscreen trim. I have one on my Royal Blue Mk1 and it works a treat. Of course, the height of the swept area is reduced slightly but I've never found this to be an issue.
Excess travel resulting in the blade rubbing on the windscreen trim can also be attributed to slop /wear in the motor or wheel boxes. I'm sure this has been talked about before on here - excessive wheelbox wear can be addressed by removing the wiper motor from its bracket, undoing the large nut at the cable tubing, and gently pulling the cable out complete with the motor as a unit. Don't forget to remove the wipers first (!!) as the wheelboxes will spin round fast as the cable is pulled out. Turn the wheel boxes 180 degrees and then feed the cable back in. The wheelboxes then should be in a different position which should reduce any slop from wear in the teeth.
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1967 Mk1 2000 in Gunmetal Grey
1969 Mk1 2000 in Royal Blue
1970 Mk2 2000 in Valencia Blue
1972 Mk2 2.5 PI in Triumph White
1973 Mk2 2.5 PI in Sienna Brown
1976 Mk2 2500S in Carmine Red

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Re: Windscreen wipers

#4 Post by torque2me » Wed Mar 01, 2017 6:54 am

johnnydog wrote: You can also replace the passenger side arm with an adjustable type - the arm itself is notched on the underside with a sprung clamp that allows the length of the arm to be altered simply by hand in seconds. They look identical to the originals (except for an extra rivet head), but this allows you to reduce the length of the arm to prevent the passenger arm slapping the windscreen trim. I have one on my Royal Blue Mk1 and it works a treat. Of course, the height of the swept area is reduced slightly but I've never found this to be an issue.
Might try that solution johnnyd, do you have a link to a selling site?
Excess travel resulting in the blade rubbing on the windscreen trim can also be attributed to slop /wear in the motor or wheel boxes. I'm sure this has been talked about before on here - excessive wheelbox wear can be addressed by removing the wiper motor from its bracket, undoing the large nut at the cable tubing, and gently pulling the cable out complete with the motor as a unit. Don't forget to remove the wipers first (!!) as the wheelboxes will spin round fast as the cable is pulled out. Turn the wheel boxes 180 degrees and then feed the cable back in. The wheelboxes then should be in a different position which should reduce any slop from wear in the teeth.
The only problem I have found doing it that way is that it is impossible to know which teeth are worn as one cannot see the cog. I did try it once but I had to take the dash out to enable me to take the back of the wheelbox off, mark the worn cog part, remove the cable, feed in (in my case) a new cable and adjust as necessary for it to run along the unworn part of the cog. Re-assemble. Bit of a faff but it did cure the "slap".

Kev

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Re: Windscreen wipers

#5 Post by johnnydog » Wed Mar 01, 2017 10:00 am

torque2me wrote:
johnnydog wrote: You can also replace the passenger side arm with an adjustable type - the arm itself is notched on the underside with a sprung clamp that allows the length of the arm to be altered simply by hand in seconds. They look identical to the originals (except for an extra rivet head), but this allows you to reduce the length of the arm to prevent the passenger arm slapping the windscreen trim. I have one on my Royal Blue Mk1 and it works a treat. Of course, the height of the swept area is reduced slightly but I've never found this to be an issue.
Might try that solution johnnyd, do you have a link to a selling site

I have never seen them advertised on EBay, but then again, I have never specifically looked for them. As they aren't an original fitment for our Triumphs, they probably wouldn't show up on a search for 'Triumph 2000 wiper arms'. The ones I bought were from autojumbles over the years. I may have a couple spare, but would have to check. As said, they look identical to the originals; stainless steel but with a chromed cap over the wheelbox and the same dimensions. They were no doubt made by the same manufacturer as the originals.
Excess travel resulting in the blade rubbing on the windscreen trim can also be attributed to slop /wear in the motor or wheel boxes. I'm sure this has been talked about before on here - excessive wheelbox wear can be addressed by removing the wiper motor from its bracket, undoing the large nut at the cable tubing, and gently pulling the cable out complete with the motor as a unit. Don't forget to remove the wipers first (!!) as the wheelboxes will spin round fast as the cable is pulled out. Turn the wheel boxes 180 degrees and then feed the cable back in. The wheelboxes then should be in a different position which should reduce any slop from wear in the teeth.



The only problem I have found doing it that way is that it is impossible to know which teeth are worn as one cannot see the cog. I did try it once but I had to take the dash out to enable me to take the back of the wheelbox off, mark the worn cog part, remove the cable, feed in (in my case) a new cable and adjust as necessary for it to run along the unworn part of the cog. Re-assemble. Bit of a faff but it did cure the "slap".

Kev
[/quote]

I think removing the dash just to reposition the wheelboxes to remove any slop is a lot of extra work. It is a 20 minute job to remove the wipers, wiper motor bracket, the electrical connector, and undo the nut at the start of the tubing before pulling the wiper motor and worm drive cable assembly out in one, turn the wheelboxes whilst the cable is out, then reassemble. The chances of the worm drive contacting the same teeth again when reassembled, I would say, is worth 20 minutes work! Perhaps the longest part of it would be regreasing the worm drive cable before putting it back!
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1967 Mk1 2000 in Gunmetal Grey
1969 Mk1 2000 in Royal Blue
1970 Mk2 2000 in Valencia Blue
1972 Mk2 2.5 PI in Triumph White
1973 Mk2 2.5 PI in Sienna Brown
1976 Mk2 2500S in Carmine Red

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Re: Windscreen wipers

#6 Post by Clifford Pope » Wed Mar 01, 2017 11:27 am

The problem I have always had with my Mark 1 is that the blade pressure on the windscreen just doesn't seem to be enough to get a proper wipe. I have tried new arms and blades, but the problem seems to be that the spring inside the arm isn't acting with enough leverage because it is only just past the fulcrum point. If the spindles stuck out further then the spring would be at a greater angle to the arm and the blade would be pulled down harder.

The other problem is that the blade won't bend enough at the driver's side to follow the curve of the screen, so it always parks with a slight gap between blade and screen. This over time distorts the next section of rubber along, which takes all the pressure while the blade is parked and so becomes slightly flattened compared with the rest of the blade, giving a smeary wipe.
I suppose fitting removal chocks under the blades when parked might be the answer, to relieve the pressure, but a tedious and surely unnecessary procedure.

It's about the only slightly irritating thing about any old car, how poor the wipers are compared with modern. It doesn't matter with my landrover because it doesn't go fast enough for visibility to be that important.

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Re: Windscreen wipers

#7 Post by Alec » Wed Mar 01, 2017 4:50 pm

Hello all,

when I started running a Triumph 2000 I was irritated by the unwiped spot on the top of the drivers screen.
When I rebuilt my current car I changed them over to left hand drive configuration. This entailed a bit of work and involved drilling the scuttle and moving the wheel boxes etc. I also fitted a twp speed motor from a MK 2 and I'm quite happy with the result. It required some judicious bending of the drivers side arm and as a result it parks high on the windscreen. I subsequently thought that I could try stag arms with their parallelogram action but have not done so.
LHD Wipers.jpg
LHD Wipers.jpg (11.26KiB)Viewed 8295 times
,

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Re: Windscreen wipers

#8 Post by johnnydog » Wed Mar 01, 2017 5:53 pm

I think the choice of blade is an important factor in how it sits and copes with the curvature of the screen, and the quality of the 'wipe'.
If you fit modern refills, they vary a lot in quality, and don't seem to last resulting in a smeary wipe. It's like a lot of modern replacements - the rubber in cheaper replacements may not be of a good quality, and go hard quickly. Plus the majority of arms are black and are not in keeping with the cars age, so refills are the only way.
I think it is worth spending a little more on a pair of original Trico blades if you can find them; I have fitted replacements to my cars, and they do clear the screen well, apart from that small section where the screen curves sharply. I managed to buy a job lot many years ago, but a pair of genuine originals are very expensive today.
The design of replacement arms vary too - the originals flex in the centre and are spring loaded, and some have several 'legs' (for want of a better expression) that allow movement of the refill /blade over the curvature of the screen. These tend to stand off the screen slightly more and because the arm is effectively further off the screen, create a little more pressure for the blade on the glass.
Does that make sense?? :?:
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1967 Mk1 2000 in Gunmetal Grey
1969 Mk1 2000 in Royal Blue
1970 Mk2 2000 in Valencia Blue
1972 Mk2 2.5 PI in Triumph White
1973 Mk2 2.5 PI in Sienna Brown
1976 Mk2 2500S in Carmine Red

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Re: Windscreen wipers

#9 Post by Clifford Pope » Thu Mar 02, 2017 3:43 pm

It does, but it depends on the mechanism that tensions the arm against the screen at the spindle end. Mine seem to develop most springiness as they deviate from 90 degrees, ie not very against the screen. Paradoxically, they would press harder if bent away from the screen in a large S, but that would look silly. The best kind would be those with an adjustable tension spring inside the arm, like a Dansette record deck.

Perhaps I need to have another look at the whole set-up. I got the traditional chrome arms because they looked nice, but perhaps they aren't the best functionally.

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