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Wipers not wiping


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Hi All,

 

I drove my TR4 out in the rain last night and was annoyed about the ineffectiveness of the wipers. They seem to wipe OK on the initial curve but skip and squeak on their return, leaving a smudge of water across both driver and passenger side. I know from 25 years use of the car that the wipers are not that great but this seems worse than usual.

 

I wonder if the wiper arms need to be 'bent' closer or farther away from the screen, or that will do nothing. Maybe I need new blades, although they are not that old?

 

There is some vertical movement on the spindles but I do not know how much is 'normal'

 

I have never had success with Rain-X or similar as the blades tended to smear even more unless there was a heavy downpour.

 

Grateful for your thoughts and fixes - as long as they are simple and do not require an engineering workshop.

 

Mark

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It could be the pressure springs on the arms are not holding the blade to the screen sufficiently. Otherwise you might find the blades need replacing or as Tom says, clean the windscreen AND the blade surfaces with soapy water as it could be residue on the glass.

 

Kevin

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Thanks all,

internet search for judder throws up all sorts of advice on different car forums and I guess I will work my way through them -

  • clean windscreen
  • clean blades
  • check blade alignment to screen at half wipe
  • change wiper arm angle to allow blade flipping over
  • rain-x or similar
  • change blades
  • change arms

Mark

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Hi Mark,

do all the above things to give them a fair chance.

 

Also, if they wipe OK one way but judder the other then I would suggest that the arms need a little twist.

The rubber should be dragged across the screen. Yours sounds as though they are dragged across but pushed back.

 

Give the flat part of the arm a slight twist.

 

The spindles that move in & out shouldn't really do that. It suggests that the wheel box(es) are either worn or not that good.

 

Roger

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Hi Mark,

do all the above things to give them a fair chance.

 

Also, if they wipe OK one way but judder the other then I would suggest that the arms need a little twist.

The rubber should be dragged across the screen. Yours sounds as though they are dragged across but pushed back.

 

Give the flat part of the arm a slight twist.

 

The spindles that move in & out shouldn't really do that. It suggests that the wheel box(es) are either worn or not that good.

 

Roger

Hi Roger,

 

I have started my way down the list of jobs with little improvement so far. I think that you are right with the drag/push scenario and it may be that some adjustment is needed. However, during my activity last night I noticed that the wiper blade fittings are not a tight fit to the arms and that is allowing some lateral movement on the bayonet. I think I need to sort this first?

 

No precision here but it looks like the blade connections (no brand) are 5.3 mm internal diameter and the arms (marked Tex 497366) are 5mm width. Something no right here!

 

The 'original arms' that I replaced a few years ago (but keep in case) were Trico and measure 4mm width but I do not know if these are still available or if they were correct

 

Mark

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