Impressions after a week of ownership
Discussion
Well, my first week of ownership has passed, so I thought I'd put a few thoughts down.
Firstly, the smile on my face has been a permanent fixture!
It has been an odd week, weather-wise, though. I had to drive to Dover on Wednesday during the high winds and the car felt completely different at any speed above about 8.0 units. The lightness of the car made for a lot more concentration as the buffeting was quite intense at times. This was in complete contrast to the sure-footedness I was experiencing at units around 12.0 earlier in the week, where the car felt utterly planted the whole time.
It does show how light the car is though as sitting on the Seacat loading area the winds were rocking the car quite substantially!
Because of the wet weather, I have been taking things fairly easily, but when it has been dry, I have been utterly stunned by the car's performance. The pull in second and third is just phenomenal and take-up in fourth and fifth at motorway speeds is lovely.
I do have one question about the windscreen wiper though. It does seem that mine sits quite "high" on the windscreen. When activated, it goes down towards the passenger seat before performing its pass over the screen. This height does mean that I am getting "creep" at high speeds where the wiper blade ends up being pushed up the screen. I saw a post about a similar problem and it suggested that the solution is simply to unscrew the nut holding it on and adjusting the wiper. Is it this simple?
Anyway, roll on week two!
Firstly, the smile on my face has been a permanent fixture!
It has been an odd week, weather-wise, though. I had to drive to Dover on Wednesday during the high winds and the car felt completely different at any speed above about 8.0 units. The lightness of the car made for a lot more concentration as the buffeting was quite intense at times. This was in complete contrast to the sure-footedness I was experiencing at units around 12.0 earlier in the week, where the car felt utterly planted the whole time.
It does show how light the car is though as sitting on the Seacat loading area the winds were rocking the car quite substantially!
Because of the wet weather, I have been taking things fairly easily, but when it has been dry, I have been utterly stunned by the car's performance. The pull in second and third is just phenomenal and take-up in fourth and fifth at motorway speeds is lovely.
I do have one question about the windscreen wiper though. It does seem that mine sits quite "high" on the windscreen. When activated, it goes down towards the passenger seat before performing its pass over the screen. This height does mean that I am getting "creep" at high speeds where the wiper blade ends up being pushed up the screen. I saw a post about a similar problem and it suggested that the solution is simply to unscrew the nut holding it on and adjusting the wiper. Is it this simple?
Anyway, roll on week two!
Hi Charles, glad you are enjoying it. Great cars Esprits.
What I would say is take it nice and easy in the wet or even the cold (the tyres need warming before they are sticky) and wait for the dry sun warmed tarmac that the tyres will bite into like you wouldn't believe. Cornering forces will surprise you.
what is a unit, by the way?
Regards
Dom
What I would say is take it nice and easy in the wet or even the cold (the tyres need warming before they are sticky) and wait for the dry sun warmed tarmac that the tyres will bite into like you wouldn't believe. Cornering forces will surprise you.
what is a unit, by the way?
Regards
Dom
benfell100 said:
Hi Charles, glad you are enjoying it. Great cars Esprits.
What I would say is take it nice and easy in the wet or even the cold (the tyres need warming before they are sticky) and wait for the dry sun warmed tarmac that the tyres will bite into like you wouldn't believe. Cornering forces will surprise you.
what is a unit, by the way?
Regards
Dom
Yes, I have been taking it pretty easily. I'm well aware that the car will bite me if I get over-exuberant or complacent. I have had just the one twitchy moment in the wet, fortunately just in first pulling away from some lights, so it was easy to rein her back in.
I am definitely looking forward to some better weather, but I must apologise for the current situation, as it must be all my fault, having just bought a fun new car...
The unit I was using just needs to be multiplied by a nice round number...
wedg1e said:
Sounds like the wiper park switch maybe faulty. If the wiper DESCENDS before it rises, it can't be fitted to the spindle wrongly... since if it was already DOWN, how could it go any further down?
Yeah, that's what was bugging me... Not having a service manual as yet, I'm rather in the dark from here... Any hints as to where this switch is and what can be done to fix it? I suppose a replacement is the obvious answer...
wedg1e said:
Sounds like the wiper park switch maybe faulty. If the wiper DESCENDS before it rises, it can't be fitted to the spindle wrongly... since if it was already DOWN, how could it go any further down?
Hi,
I'm not sure I totally go with your diagnosis. The 'park' switch operates via a relay which is triggered when the unit is switched off. As such, it wouldn't be a factor on startup of the wiper.
I think a more likely possibility is that the drive gear(s) within the wiper's transmission either lost a tooth or skipped one. This could be caused by resistance being put on the wiper arm and then the switch accidentally triggered (tremendous torque considering that it's working Nylon gears), or the wiper getting stuck, by ice, or a twig or even something obstructing it's downward travel, such as debris of some sort in the wiper well.
It travels downward a bit once engaged because the drive gear and the adjacent gear rotate in opposite directions and for the section they are not engaged by teeth, the wiper travels in the opposite direction until the teeth do engage.
Unfortunately, this pretty much means rebuilding or replacing the wiper motor unit. This is a pretty ugly proposition given the difficulty in removing and replacing it.
If it were me, I'd try to reposition the wiper arm on it's spindle splines to minimize the effect and get the blade as low to the wind as possible and live with it. Considering the $$, less than favorable job of removal/replacement and the fact that it is supposedly used so little of the time, it may be the most expedient thing to do. 'Course, if it bugs you that much, or you have money to burn, or are a true masochist at heart, have at it.
Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TEHi Charles,
Glad you're enjoying the car, I'm certainly missing her
I know what you mean about the wiper parking, it does occasionally park correctly so I think the problem is with the park switch.
I wouldn't reposition the wiper on the spindle as that will force the gears when it tries to go even further down but can't.
Good luck & enjoy.
Cheers,
John W
Ex '95 S4s
Glad you're enjoying the car, I'm certainly missing her
I know what you mean about the wiper parking, it does occasionally park correctly so I think the problem is with the park switch.
I wouldn't reposition the wiper on the spindle as that will force the gears when it tries to go even further down but can't.
Good luck & enjoy.
Cheers,
John W
Ex '95 S4s
johnwatkins said:
Hi Charles,
Glad you're enjoying the car, I'm certainly missing her
I know what you mean about the wiper parking, it does occasionally park correctly so I think the problem is with the park switch.
I wouldn't reposition the wiper on the spindle as that will force the gears when it tries to go even further down but can't.
Good luck & enjoy.
Cheers,
John W
Ex '95 S4s
Hi John,
I am very much, thanks... It's just a shame that for me to do so, you've had to give her up.
She really is the most fantastic car I've ever driven and you'll be pleased to know that after my embarrassing stall trying to drive away when I picked her up, I've now completely "got the feel of her"! (Sounds a bit rude that...)
I was going to give you a buzz to ask what oils you have been using, so I can go and stock up, but if you see this and reply I won't have to bother you.
Cheers,
Charles
95 S4s
PS: Thanks for all the replies. Hopefully I won't have to use the wipers much from now on and until I get a service manual, I'll live with it and then try to diagnose the problem. Thanks for all the food for thought!
Charles: Having replaced my wiper motor a few months ago, I experienced the same problem. With the help of Gareth Spencer, lots of beer, and screaming fits of rage, it operates correctly. If the wiper arm only drops a small amount, move the arm. Have someone hold the rod running under the dash and move the arm up one tooth. Do this only after you have run the motor on top speed, not intermitent, then shut off. The motor and linkage is very position sensitive. Only move the arm a tooth a time. Holding the linkage ensures the motor doesn't move while positioning the arm . Try this before replacing the motor. It is a NIGHTMARE and the manual is very little help. Good luck
Dave
90SE
Dave
90SE
Cheers for the mention Dave, glad yours is still working fine!
This topic brings back lots of memories – non of them good ones . I’ll have to set mine up again when I get the car back from painting as the motor is now loose inside the bulk head and I've the arm here some place! This time I’ll try the beer approach!
As Dave said, the manual is just about of NO USE AT ALL for this one, I found the solution by trial and error.
In simple terms all that happiness is that the pinion on the end of the gear-box just slips a bit under some circumstances and then needs re-setting (there is just a nut on the end, and if its not tight then it might slip). Getting it tight with the arm and the motor pinion in the correct place is the problem, you CAN'T do it on your own.
Gareth
This topic brings back lots of memories – non of them good ones . I’ll have to set mine up again when I get the car back from painting as the motor is now loose inside the bulk head and I've the arm here some place! This time I’ll try the beer approach!
As Dave said, the manual is just about of NO USE AT ALL for this one, I found the solution by trial and error.
In simple terms all that happiness is that the pinion on the end of the gear-box just slips a bit under some circumstances and then needs re-setting (there is just a nut on the end, and if its not tight then it might slip). Getting it tight with the arm and the motor pinion in the correct place is the problem, you CAN'T do it on your own.
Gareth
igreenrover said:
Cheers for the mention Dave, glad yours is still working fine!
This topic brings back lots of memories – non of them good ones . I’ll have to set mine up again when I get the car back from painting as the motor is now loose inside the bulk head and I've the arm here some place! This time I’ll try the beer approach!
As Dave said, the manual is just about of NO USE AT ALL for this one, I found the solution by trial and error.
In simple terms all that happiness is that the pinion on the end of the gear-box just slips a bit under some circumstances and then needs re-setting (there is just a nut on the end, and if its not tight then it might slip). Getting it tight with the arm and the motor pinion in the correct place is the problem, you CAN'T do it on your own.
Gareth
I was just about to say "just like sex" and then I remembered all those Nova drivers.
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