TR folks,
Thought that I would share this with the list.
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Bill,
The most current chapter is attached to the bottom of the message
string.
Thanks for your help.
Ken
-----Original Message-----
From: Ken Dahman
To: Bill Redinger [SMTP:aredinger@juno.comDahman, Ken
Subject: Re: TR3-A Windshield Wiper Wheel box
Bill Redinger
VTR Vehicle Consultant - TR2 - 3A
Bill,
My name is Ken Dahman. I am VTR Member 12700 as of 6/25/1999.
I own a 1959 TR3-A Commission Number TS/46295-LO
The driver's side windshield wiper arm "slips" around the wiper shaft and
eventually gets jammed into the scuttle deck. Since the wiper arm is tight on
the rotating shaft, I believe that either the wiper cable is worn in the area
which passes through the wheel box or more likely, the wheel box wheel is worn,
causing this problem.
Now planning my off season TR work, I wonder if you have been through the wheel
box removal process and have some tips or can point me to a source of tips. I
searched on the team dot archive list and did not come up with much.
Just hoping that there is a process which avoids what looks to be the removal of
the cable, tach, speedo, de-mister ducts, etc. just to get to the rascal. Ah,
the joy of laying on one's back in the foot well of a TR3-A.
No hurry to respond, it will be a while till the cold weather hits. Thanks in
advance.
Ken Dahman
TS/46295-LO
St. Louis Triumph Owners Association
(driving with the aid of RainX)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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From: Bill Redinger [SMTP:aredinger@juno.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 30, 1999 10:56 PM
To: Dahman, Ken
Subject: Re: TR3-A Windshield Wiper Wheel box
Dear Ken
If the wipers are sporadic and the wiper arms are tight to the shaft and
will move when the wiper motor is off then you have the joy of replacing
the wheel box (s) and or the cross head rack / cable which could also be
damaged. If you are lucky the wheel box may just be lose and moving
around and thus not giving you full or contiguous wiper action.
Suggestion do some investigation as to what is moving and what is not
before you take it all apart the answer maybe simple as I have found
some
times!
As you noted removal of the cable and wheel box is a pain which is best
done as you said by removing the glove box and speedometer for hand
access. And yes with age and no lubrication the wheel boxes do go south
on occasions. That is why Rain X was invented. Don't leave home without
it on. Your mother should have told you that! or maybe she did in get
something more dependable?
Best of Luck
Bill Redinger
___________________________________________________________________
Bill,
I took your suggestion. Thanks to you, I think that I have achieved a
"temporary" fix to the TR3-A's windshield wiper problem and for now, avoided the
necessity of removing most of the dash instruments, defogger ducts, etc. in
order to replace the windshield wiper wheel box.
I'm so happy! 8^)
It is amazing to my wife how a successful TR fix up session can improve my
disposition.
With the rain on Sunday reducing my LBC drive time, I thought that I would use
the time to assess the need to order a replacement windshield wiper wheel box to
correct my malfunctioning driver's side wiper.
First off, I experimented with manually rotating the wiper shaft to see if it
would move with the wiper motor off. It did for a few degrees then hung up. I
though to myself, oh oh, I got a bad spot on the wheel box gear wheel. I'm gonna
have to replace the d@#m wheel box.
Just to begin to understand the nature of the installation, I began to work my
left hand up under the dash to the driver's side portion of the wiper cable tube
and wheel box. While feeling around, I noticed that the cable tube and wheel box
could easily be moved around, forward and backward.
As a test, I activated the wipers while holding the tube. As the wipers
operated, I felt that the tube and the wheel box were moving around a great
deal. There just seemed to be a lot of slop in the structure. As usual, the
driver wiper began wiping correctly and after 5 or 6 wipes, it slipped in the
wheel box and the wiper arm eventually rotated enough that it contacted the top
of the scuttle and got stuck. After several tests, I noticed that when I held
the tube firm enough so that it did not move around, the wipers seemed to work
properly.
OK, I then began to check for and tighten down lose components. The driver's
side wiper housing, which holds the wheel box tight up against the underside of
the scuttle, was a little loose, so I tighten it down and rechecked the
function. Darn, same results.
In the engine compartment, the attachment of the cable to the wiper motor seemed
loose so I tightened it up a bit and re-tested. Holding the tube in my hand
again, I could feel that the cable tube and wheel box movement had been stopped.
Also, the driver's side wiper worked as good as the passenger's side used to.
But now the passenger's side did not work right. Also, after turning off the
wiper switch, the wipers stopped immediately, without returning to their "home"
position.
When I loosened the wiper cable / motor attachment in the engine compartment and
re-tested, the tube movement returned and the driver's side wiper stopped
working correctly. But the system did shut down correctly and the passenger's
side worked again.
The situation seemed to be, if I tightened the motor / cable connection to get
the driver's side working, I would somehow need to adjust the internal stop
position switch and find a way to get the passenger side working too. So, I
dropped back and continued to experiment in the looser "good park" cable / motor
connection mode.
Several trials confirmed... when I stopped the cable tube movement by holding it
firmly in my hand, both wipers worked correctly and would even return to their
home position after being switched off. So, I could either learn how to drive in
the rain with my left hand up under the dash holding the wiper cable tube from
moving too much, or find a way to tighten up the wiper drive system without
negating the ability of the passenger side wiper to work and for the system to
return to the home position when switched off.
For safety reasons, I choose the latter.
To take the place of my hand and stop the excess movement, I wedged a shim
(block of wood) between the under side of the scuttle and the top of the cable
tube (up under the dash). I did a re-test.
Wow, this remedied the malfunctioning driver's side wiper, kept the passenger
side working correctly, and still retained the system's ability to return to
it's home position when turned off. AND I had the use of my hand back.
The wooden shim fixed the problem. Don't ask me why, I don't know.
Since it is working, I am going to leave it alone. My boss of long ago used to
say "The better can be the enemy of the good". In this case, I agree.
I did do some rigging to insure that the "shim" would stay in place till that
time when a more correct repair of the situation
(replace the wheel box? ) will be more easily accomplished.
Addendum: Flushed with success, I took on the windshield washers which had not
worked since buying the car in '94, After finding and re-attaching a loose
electrical connection on the washer switch, I could hear the operation of the
little motor and pump located in the passenger's side foot well. Since it still
did not squirt after cleaning out the washer spray nozzles and plastic fluid
delivery tubes, on a hunch, I reversed the intake and outgo tubes on the little
pump and guess what? Big smile now... IT WORKS!
Ken (still applied another coat of RainX though, just in case)
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