Windscreen wiper reversing the direction

[timbo]

Hi, not sure if anyone else has tried this, but I'm looking at swapping the wiper mechanism so that it starts and finishes on the drivers side rather than the passenger side. Got to the point where I'm sick of wiping only for the water to then start rolling up the screen.

Has anyone else tried this and if so what motor/make did you replace it with, or am I going to be the guinea pig on this.

All the best

Tim

[AndyC]

It's probably possible to get a different wheel box/ gear box to achieve that, if you were to reverse the direction of spin on a normal one you'd end up with difficultly sorting the auto-park, so a Lucas motor designed to run in reverse could be an option but I don't know if they did such a thing.

MattDebbage.. your info on all things Lucas is desperately required.

[hodders]

You can do this with the standard setup - don't ask me how I know - and I have some photos to prove it.
I assume it was because I replaced the plastic (?) cam in the wheelbox 180 degrees out, so the auto-park still worked, but the sweep was from driver's side to near-side.
I'm surprised this hasn't happened to others.
By the way, lifting the wiper arm from the spindle and adjusting its position wasn't an option - the sweep action then went out over the bonnet. I gave up trying to work out the spatial geometry and quickly got used to the wiper parking on the driver's side.

[excel tel]

could you compare the wiper parts against the left hand drive versions in parts manual as i guess LHD cars wiper park on other side to RHD.

[BillB]

IIRC you can detach the wheel box from the rack by undoing the clamping screws.

Turning it over so the spindle is above the rack instead of below it (or vice versa) would reverse the movement of the arm and retain the same arc of movement without the need to change parts.

Whether you can get it back into the car the "wrong way round" is a different matter though - there may not be enough clearance somewhere but judging by Hodders comments you probably can.

Regards
Bill

[MattDebbage]

MattDebbage.. your info on all things Lucas is desperately required.

Im not needed - someone else has already provided all the info you need. Just swop the wheelbox position from above the cable to below, and it will sweep the other way.
Nearly all Lucas cable operated wiper motors are the same - its only the angle they work through thats different and thats controlled by the nylon cog inside the motor.
"Back in the day" when you could actually get Lucas exchange wiper motors we used to keep 5 different motors, and a huge box full of cogs. Very rarely did we not have the right combination we needed...

Matt.

[excel tel]

I've just found that my wiper is not great(one of the last jobs to do to complete my full restoration) wiper dont seem to do a full sweep both ways,seems to be a fair amount of slack in take up of cable to cog in wheel box.guess this is wear in teeth on cog in wheel box(memories of working on old minis coming back here) now are you chaps going to say they are all a bit like that(thats what i'm thinking) or do you think that about 4 inches of movement of wiper arm might be a bit excessive.
Matt do you think wheel boxes might be available in Norwich if i need one quick as i was hoping to get an mot very soon and would be gutted if they fail it on that(might try saying its Lotus/Lucas thats how they are
Your thoughts very much appreciated.
Cheers Terry.

[MattDebbage]

Hi Terry
Nothing "old Lucas" is easy to get anymore im afraid. Lucas themselves no longer exist as they did, Lucas is just a trademark licensed out to various third parties, and one of the first things that went was all the older stock....
Most of it is available online, from various specialists as reproductions if you hunt around.
I know my wiper assy was rebuilt by the last owner, even so it has some play it so this is "normal" to some extent. 4 inches sounds a little excessive though - i would be checking all the mountings and cable nuts for tightness first.
Failing that a nice, low mileage unit from Lotus Bits is probably your best option.
I think for an MOT, as long as the wiper works reliably and is not in danger of falling apart it will be ok. Certainly, my mates Morris Minor, which has a wiper linkage so slack the wipers bounce off the screen rubber, passes its MOT every year without comment.
Good luck - and would love to see the car when its on the road.
Matt.

[excel tel]

Thanks Matt.
Thought that was the score with old lucas bits.
Think i will check the bits like you say and put it in and see what they say(i will tell them i wont use it in the rain)
should be out and about soon i hope so will be good to meet up.

Cheers Terry

[rbgosling]

My wiper motor was becoming increasingly useless with more and more slack, until it barely moved at all. On investigation I found the wiper box had become unscrewed from the motor; I suspect the poor behaviour before had been while the screw was gradually coming undone and getting looser and looser.

For the effort it takes to get the bloody thing out, you might as well open it up, clean and re-grease, but you might find you don't actually need any new parts.

[excel tel]

Rained first day out,wipers fine at first then slow to move blew fuse,drove home with no wiper.
On removal of wiper motor found mine too had seperated at tube nut connection,all striped, greased and refitted feels like brand new.
Cheers, Terry