Leak at bottom of windscreen found!
Discussion
I've been chasing a leak round the bottom of the screen for a while, and I think I've finally found it!
All it took was having the screen removed after an intersection with a rock (too big to be a mere stone) BTW driving a Griff with no screen at all is an experience - breathing is optional above 40 mph.
It seems that the wipers mount into a thin bit of fibreglass that is rivited to the fibreglass the screen bonds to. Both bits tend to flex independantly and this allows water to get between the 2 of them. Unfortunately, below this seam is the ducting for the screen blower - so this fills with water, which in turn fills the heater box with water, shortly followed by the car decanting water all over the passenger's legs on right hand bends.
The fibreglass is not quite strong enough to hold the wiper spindles properly either, so over time cracks appear, allowing raging torrents of water into the heater box... No wonder the demister never worked well!
Oh well, time to remove it to fabricate something more structurally sound.
Next on my list of gripes is the nasty bits of galvanised tin rivited to the A pillars. These have rusted through, and I'm sure are responsible for causing the screen to delaminate. They will be replaced with stainless steel before the new screen is fitted. I suggest anyone else does likewise if there's even a hint of rust.
So, how does one go about removing the fibreglass panel around the wipers? I've drilled out all the rivits and removed all the sikaflex I can see, but the panel is stubbornly refusing to part company with the car. Any ideas?
All it took was having the screen removed after an intersection with a rock (too big to be a mere stone) BTW driving a Griff with no screen at all is an experience - breathing is optional above 40 mph.
It seems that the wipers mount into a thin bit of fibreglass that is rivited to the fibreglass the screen bonds to. Both bits tend to flex independantly and this allows water to get between the 2 of them. Unfortunately, below this seam is the ducting for the screen blower - so this fills with water, which in turn fills the heater box with water, shortly followed by the car decanting water all over the passenger's legs on right hand bends.
The fibreglass is not quite strong enough to hold the wiper spindles properly either, so over time cracks appear, allowing raging torrents of water into the heater box... No wonder the demister never worked well!
Oh well, time to remove it to fabricate something more structurally sound.
Next on my list of gripes is the nasty bits of galvanised tin rivited to the A pillars. These have rusted through, and I'm sure are responsible for causing the screen to delaminate. They will be replaced with stainless steel before the new screen is fitted. I suggest anyone else does likewise if there's even a hint of rust.
So, how does one go about removing the fibreglass panel around the wipers? I've drilled out all the rivits and removed all the sikaflex I can see, but the panel is stubbornly refusing to part company with the car. Any ideas?
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