Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi all.

Finally got round to fitting the wipers to my car but noticed quite allot of play in the linkage some where along the line.

With the wipers parked i can move Wiper arm 4" up and down before the movement hits the motor (if that makes sense). I don't think it's the wheel boxes as minor movements are mirrored on the other wiper arm.

I was using the washers to keep it all moving but even well wet the wipers park quite high up the screen and i fear if i set them lower the vibration of the car moving would cause them to drop onto the painted scuttle. I did originally think it could just be the new Blade causing too much friction on the new screen but that wouldn't explain the free movement.

So this morning i pulled the motor off expecting to see lots of wear but apart from some dry grease doesn't look that bad? so i thought i'd ask if anyone else had come across this issue.

I`ve got three inches backlash at the tip of the blade before the other blade moves. Both ways.
Eric in Burnley

Eric, That sounds like wheel box wear, with mine i can only move the tip of one wiper 1/4" before the other moves but i have 4" of backlash between the motor and both wipers for some odd reason which means i'm not getting the full sweep of the wiper.

Not had chance to have a better look at it this afternoon but i've been told to check the motor end-float and the large nut that secures the wheelbox tube to the motor is tight/not cross threaded etc.

Chris, now look what you have done.
You have just shown me a problem which I did not know I had. I am not too bothered about it as the wipers seem to work well when wet, and I just thought they were crap.
As I never go out in the rain they don`t get much use, although I do sometimes come home in the rain.
Eric in Burnley
1967 S3SE DHC

Sorry

Don't think my wipers arc correctly, it feels like i have 4" missing off each end. Something a bit odd going on. i've also been told the grease in the wiper boxes / Tube might be dry acting like glue but i don't see why that would effect the backlash.

Sounds exactly like that, the spiral "rack" can get so seized that the motor drive, the casing, the connection to the rack tube all deflect before overcoming the stiffness and lazily moving the rack and movng the wipers, you can usually see the motor moving about on its mount as it struggles.

Mind you when you do free it all up then you will have free play on the wipers and they may even overshoot!

Once the motor is removed should the Rack/cable move freely through the wheel boxes? or does it take a bit of effort? I've not had chance to remove the Wheel boxes but the cable does require some effort to push (with the wiper arms removed)

Also is it defiantly a dash out job to remove the wiper box assembly? i know they went back in before the dash was fitted and i remember quite a bit of space round them but i keep reading it's a dash out job? (which would be a pain)

Well that was a day i don't wish to repeat any time soon......

Took out the Wiper motor and wheel boxes stripped them all, inspected for wear/damage, moved the wheel box gears round 180 degree's and reassembled..... Was only at that point the plastic motor end float adjuster plug fell in two half's so swapped that with a spare and then struggled for about two hours getting it all back

The play has dramatically reduced (now only have about 1" of movement) and the arc seems quite a bit better but not exactly to modern standards. But all in all i think it's good enough.

Bringing up an old thread but I have a similar problem. Grizzly, did the dash have to come out for what
you did?

I recall that it is only necessary to remove the dash to remove the guide tubing.
Disconnecting the wiper motor and removing the wiper blades should enable the rack cable to be removed. The crank gear and rack cable can then be removed from the gearbox and checked for wear. I think the rack cable can be rotated the through 180 deg to use an unworn part. Then apply liberal amounts of grease and reassemble. The wheelboxes may need turning to help get the rack back in.
If wear is still present then it may be the wheelboxes and then the dash may require removal.

I’ve recently replaced all my linkage but to be honest the only wear was on the plastic gears on the wiper blade spindles. If it was me I’d open up the wiper motor, disconnect the flexible rack cable and pull it out completely to check and lubricate it, it’s hardened steel and unlikely to be badly worn. Before removing anything, mark the wiper blade spindle positions so that you can refit the rack in such a way that the spindle is 180 degrees out from the original position, this will ensure you are now using the unused unworn section of the spindle gear. It might take a couple of tries to get the spindles in the right position but shouldn’t be too challenging.