18 replies to this topic

[finch661]

my wipers have always had some issues to them. i have the minispares 11" heavy duty ss wipers at the moment. usually the wipers start then struggle half way up the screen then continue normally. usually the struggle means i cant use the second speed function. this morning it has been raining and i flicked on my wipers, to find that they move up the screen a little bit, then struggle, then stop! i had to manually move them to get them back down.

this is strange, because yesterday (during the snow), the wipers worked really well once the engine warmed up. i had both speeds and the wipers didnt struggle?

what is going on?

thanks!

[Dan]

Pull the wiper rack out, clean it and re-grease it, then take the wheel boxes apart and do the same. Although it sounds a little like it's been left just too long and the motor has suffered. Hopefully grease will work.

[finch661]

i have been reading about replacing the wiper loom aswell, should i do that while im regreasing the wiper rack/boxes

[Dan]

Can't hurt to try it, it could be electrical. If you want to find out whether it is mechanical or not you will need a spring balance or fishing scale. Once the wiper arms are off and the end of the rack is released from the motor, before stripping any further see how much force it takes to pull the rack out of the tube as the motor would do. It needs to be under 7 lbs. Don't pull it all out if you don't need to but I suspect you will find it's gunged up.

[finch661]

what i did notice though is that when i was wahing my car, i put the wipers up, and i hit the wip stalk and they seemed to move ok! would the grease in the rack heat up and become more "slippy" as the engine became warmer?

[marvin151173]

Hey,

Mine wouldnt return when i stopped them so i stripped the wiper rack and the wiper boxes and re-greased the lot. i had to replace one box as i just couldnt get it running freely (about £14 off fleabay) it was all working fine after that. Well worth giving it a go before replacing the wiper motor and that bit of the wiper loom etc.

iI the re-grease doesnt you can get a recondintioned wiper motor from somerford minis for about half the price of a new one.


Good luck

Marv

[finch661]

i'll have a wee looky at the weekend and see if i can get them to work. is it a long job?

[Ethel]

i'll have a wee looky at the weekend and see if i can get them to work. is it a long job?

Not on a Mini

Just be careful with the octagonal nut that holds the wheel box on, under where the wiper arm attaches. The threads get pretty delicate over time.

[finch661]

thanks for all your help, i will have a look.
it would be nice to have wipers that were working, especially in scotland!

any advice on the grease to use? the only stuff i have on hand is castrol grease (stuff i use on the ball joints)

[Ethel]

that'll be fine.

[finch661]

perfect, thanks

[finch661]

right i have removed, cleaned and regreased the whole wiper system. when i try it, there is not much change! the wipers work very well when only one is connected, but as soon as both are connected, the wipers get stuck! new motor then?

[daemonchild]

right i have removed, cleaned and regreased the whole wiper system. when i try it, there is not much change! the wipers work very well when only one is connected, but as soon as both are connected, the wipers get stuck! new motor then?

I'd have said so...?

[finch661]

sigh more money to find then, thanks

[daemonchild]

sigh more money to find then, thanks

Get a reconditioned one though!