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MG MGA - Windsreen wiperstill sticking

Hi All, again.
I recently posted a problem with might wipers being reluctant to pass though their entire sweep. Suggestions were made that the motor may be on its way out. As I had in stock an MGB 2 speed I fitted that and greased the cable as well. The wipers still don't want to sweep the screen properly. Everything is fine if the blades are held of the glass but even on a soaking wet screen the wipers give up. Can it be to much tension on the glass? The drive cable looked fine and not worn and is now greased. This leaves me to believe the wheelboxs which spin freely with no cable, them selves are at fault. I understand the MGB ones I have wont fit, and would alter the sweep as I changed the gear wheel(Thanks Colyn). I may have some sprite ones kicking around, as I loathe to buy new repro MGA wheel boxes as I understand the quality isn't there.
Any thoughts on my problem.
Thanks
s page

Simon,
AFAIK, it can only be either the wheelbox gears slipping on the cable or the arms slipping on the spindles.

my experience with the repro MGA wheelboxes is that they work fine, I have had them on my car since I got it 12 years ago.
The problem with them is that the splines on the spindles are not hardened as well as those on the original ones.

When I fitted my 2-speed wiper motor I had to remove and re-fit the wiper arms quite a few times in the process. This has caused significant wear on the soft splines on my repro wheelboxes, particularly the passenger side for some reason and the wiper arm was beginning to slip on the spindle.

My wiper arms are the MG midget design which have a screw clamp built into them and this has helped to compensate for the wear. However, the problem has worsened and the splines have almost disappeared and on our Austria/Italy trip last summer the passenger wiper arm began to slip again.
As a temporary measure, I took some strands of thin copper wire (from some spare lighting cable) and draped them over the spindle before I pushed the wiper arm back on and tightened the clamp. This did the trick and it has worked fine since then.

I have though managed to obtain some original wheelboxes in reasonable condition and I should be fitting these in the near future.

Cheers
Colyn


Colyn Firth

Hi Colyn,
Here is a perfect exmple of checking the basics first. Instead of getting side track into 2 speed wipers, I should have check that the outer rack tube was firmly attached to the wheel box. 3 minutes with my head under the dash would have sorted the problem for free. However, I did always plan to fit the 2 speed wiper motor I had instock, and probably would never have got around to it. Ready for the English summer.
Thanks to all.
s page

If anyone is looking for a set of MGA wiper boxes and tubes I have a set available

Dominic Clancy

This thread was discussed between 24/03/2018 and 25/03/2018

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