New Leven wiper blades spring too strong

[ESDavey]

I thought this would be an easy job but no, this is a TVR !

Fitted some new Leven wiper blades & arms and wiper motor could get them back to park. Took the whole assembly apart & all looks free. Screen wet but I think the springs are just too strong. I will try to swap the springs from the old arms. Anyone else had this problem ? #### updated ! ####

Edited by ESDavey on Sunday 9th March 00:25

[QBee]

I fitted Leven blades, with the neat Leven washer system, and they were perfect.

[A900ss]

Just listening to this one as I have some Leven arms on back order.

Should be in this coming week.

[QBee]

You Say blades, but it reads like you mean arms. Please clarify. Blades only about £22.....

[5.0ltr]

When my wipers failed to park it was just a loose relay.

[ESDavey]

"If it ain't broke ...." Swapped wiper arm springs which has made it better BUT in the process of trying the original Leven arms which were too strong, the NS spindle has rounded the teeth which mess into the spiral wire.

Result being that when the NS wiper is under load (ie final sweep & dry screen) it skips on the drive thread.

So now I have to remove & replace the whole wiper drive assembly which is dash out or cut access in the bulkhead !

....... and the originals worked fine, I just thought ...... Ar@&!?se

[ESDavey]

Hold on ... Look what I found from BliarOut in 2012 :
"Have you turned them through 180 degrees?
Assuming you've not actually lost any teeth on the pinions this should give you completely new wear surfaces.

Remove wiper arms

Withdraw the wiper motor and rack and turn both spindles through 180 degrees.

Pop the top off the motor and turn the rack drive over so you present the other unworn face" ... back to the garage !

[QBee]

Bon chance, mon ami.
Just trapped my finger ends in the jack Why don't I leave it to the experts? I was only bolting my seat back in.....

If you haven't has them before, the washer jet design on the Leven blades is so much neater, IMHO

[WinstonWolf]

ESDavey said:

Hold on ... Look what I found from BliarOut in 2012 :
"Have you turned them through 180 degrees?
Assuming you've not actually lost any teeth on the pinions this should give you completely new wear surfaces.

Remove wiper arms

Withdraw the wiper motor and rack and turn both spindles through 180 degrees.

Pop the top off the motor and turn the rack drive over so you present the other unworn face" ... back to the garage !

That's me with a name change

From Adrian Venn, never operate the wipers on battery alone, the motor needs more power so always always operate them with the motor running and a wet screen.

The spindle trick might just save your bacon...

[ESDavey]

Decided to have another look at the wipers, engine running and wet screen. The N/S wiper soon "skipped" so I took the mechanism apart again & found a knackered wiper drive cable :


So new cable ordered from Racing Green & hope its not rounded the gear wheel on the wiper spindle.
Keep 'em crossed !!

[ChimpOnGas]

ESDavey said:

Decided to have another look at the wipers, engine running and wet screen. The N/S wiper soon "skipped" so I took the mechanism apart again & found a knackered wiper drive cable :


So new cable ordered from Racing Green & hope its not rounded the gear wheel on the wiper spindle.
Keep 'em crossed !!

To be honest it's far more common for the wheelboxes to wear than the cable (spiral rack).

If the wheelboxes are worn (which they probably be) don't despair, just turn the spindle 180 degrees to get the unworn teeth working on your new cable.

To do this you'll need to pull the cable (spiral rack) out, but as you're fitting a new cable you'll be doing this anyway.

Before you remove the old cable use a centre punch to mark your current vertical point on each splined spindle so you can find the hidden (180 degree rotated) unworn area on the gear wheel easily when installing the new cable.

The gear wheel in the wheelbox only operates on the spiral rack across roughly 120 degrees of its radius, so that's the only area where the teeth wear out, the opposite side will be like new.

Rotating the spindle is 100% free and you'll immediately have another 15 years out of your wheelboxes

[bomb]

I have a spare set you can have.......

[ESDavey]

Good News : New wiper drive cable arrived from Racing Green 24hrs after ordering

Bad News : the cable does not run smoothly through the drivers side wiper spindle. I have tried applying force to the spindle in all directions (left to right, back to front & rotational) but only improved slightly.

I think somehow the outer sheath has been bent which is now impossible to bend back into shape. No idea how, did I over tighten the locking nut ?? enough to bend the wiper drive outer sheath ??

• *ANY*** ideas ? I've decided to leave it for the night, crack a beer & watch football !!!

[WinstonWolf]

Pull back the seal and run some oil into the shaft of the spindle. You could try identifying the new portion of the pinion with a dot mark on the shaft then slowly work it with a drill gently clamped onto the spline. One of mine was tight and this helped.

Always keep the screen wet with the blades in situ and never use them with the engine off...

[carsy]

Is the spindle nice and free without the worm drive fitted. It should be. If not and its stiff, you need to free it before it takes the motor. To try and free it all you can do is put a drill on it as has been mentioned and hope it eventually frees off. You will not be able to get oil into the spindle box itself tho without taking it out.

Cant see how the outer sheath has become damaged. Lets hope its just the spindle that needs freeing and will do so with the drill.

[WinstonWolf]

I found you can roll the outer seal back and let oil find it's own way in overnight.

Another thought has just come to mind if the spindle is already loose, loosen the locknut a fraction, the drivers spindle might need its position adjusting relative to the passenger one.

Don't remove it!

[ESDavey]

The wiper spindle turns freely with little play so its good. I have loosened both spindle locking nuts but this didnt effect the problem

The issue is the drive cable is rubbing something just before it engages with the wiper spindle gear wheel. I can feel the spiral thread knock-knock-knock as I pull backwards & forwards. I cant think whats its catching on & cant think what to try next !

[ESDavey]

I found this picture & added arrows to where I think I have an issue. Question is can I use brute force to bend back into shape with the spindles in place or get access (from panel off or dash out) and do a proper job ?

• * 4pm DEFEATED !! ***

I decided to put everything back together & see if the motor was strong enough to cope with the extra resistance. It just about was but the N/S wiper again skipped on the new drive cable so thats me finished. Its a dash out or front panel off (with engine out) to replace the spindles. I will live for the next few months with drivers wiper only and windscreen GP stuff (like rainX).

I'm back in the UK in the summer so need to think then the best course to replace the whole lot. Damn !

Edited by ESDavey on Wednesday 2nd April 15:21