Wiper Rack. Fitting guide

[288gto]

I'm trying to put the wiper rack back in and after 3 hours, am no nearer. I took it out 7 years ago as a complete assembly and was sure it came out through the middle hole in the bulkhead after sending it right across into the A post. Why won't it go back in??

I've searched on here but not found anything. Am I doing something really stupid? PS, yes I know the shafts the wipers fit onto face away from the screen.

Any advice at this hour from someone who has actually done this, much appreciated.

Simon

[abowie]

It's a lot easier if you take the ends off first.

[288gto]

Cheers Andrew,

Still fighting with it Will now remove the ends. Come to think about it, I vaguely remember taking one end off and re assembling it before photographing it.
This is what happens when you take 7 years just to get it to a painted shell!

Thanks again,

Simon

[abowie]

I'll be pleased to be corrected but I don't think removal or reinsertion is possible with the rack complete.

[288gto]

At 2 in the morning I finally gave up. I managed to get it in ok with the ends remove but the inner bezels kept coming off the splines as I tried to get the spindles through the holes in the bulkhead. It was then impossible to slide them back down the shafts. For fear of damaging the paint round the bezel holes I decided to stop. I'm now going back in the garage to take it all out and start again.
With the rack out, the inner bezels slide on their splines perfectly. The whole rack has been refurbished and can be built up on the bench with ease, very frustrating!

Thanks again Andrew.

[JagWaugh]

Yes, it is a bit frustrating. If you use a bit of bluetac or body sealer to hold the bezel to the plate that it rests on then the job gets a bit easier.

[288gto]

After taking it out and refitting several times, it is now in properly.
The following photos may help others fitting theirs but in no way constitute a definitive guide. It is just what worked for me, and in the end relatively easily.

1. Remove left hand spindle and plate completely and tape rod to main rack brace.



Slide the rack in through the middle hole towards the L/H A post as per the photos. Make sure the left hand rack end and rod are kept to the top of the bulkhead and go OVER the inner bulkhead stiffener. See pic of inside the bulkhead. It will be necessary to rotate the rack as you do this through 180 degrees so that the R/H spindle fits through the middle hole.







Once the rack is inside the bulkhead slide it across to the right and pull the end of the loose rod end through the L/H hole. Tie it in place with a bit of wire to stop it falling back into the bulkhead. You can now clip the L/H spindle and plate onto the rod socket. This reduces the risk of the clip ending up lost in the bottom of the bulkhead.
Push it all back into the bulkhead and loosely fit the L/H spindle to the rack.
You need to have the spindles in a vertical position to ease them through the holes in the scuttle. I found being on my own, a cable tie round them stopped the spindle falling back into the bulkhead but still allowed enough movement to get the other spindles through.







Once everything is lined up you can tighten the two spindle plate nuts. I used stainless nylocs on both sides only because it was easier and one less thing to drop.



I hope this all makes sense and helps. Feel free to add more advice and info.

[288gto]

One other thing to mention is that the two end spindles have different "lengths" in that the ball joint is in a different position. This is seen in the picture below courtesy of JulianP.

The "LONG" arm must go on the DRIVER'S side.

Something to bear in mind if you have had it all in bits or are converting LHD to RHD.
Presumably because the passenger wiper must cover a larger swept area.



Simon

[rfs1957]

I was making notes yesterday regarding in what order I assembled stuff (complete shell re-assembly) as I saw that someone had started a thread which outlined the general pitfalls - like putting the prop-shaft into the shell before putting the engine-gearbox in etc - and thought I might contribute.

A couple of observations on this string might help someone, as I didn't fight as much as I expected doing it this way.

These are 3-wiper Series 1 comments, so may need interpreting for other models.

Obviously, "as any fule kno", the water-pipes are the first thing to fit within this scuttle space.

Next, fit the piping, 2-1 junction piece, and the windscreen wiper water-jets, before you do anything regarding the wiper mechanism ; run tubes behind the heater pipes where practical to make sure no excess tube can never collide with the wiper mechanism.

Make sure you can blow through the pipework, and that the nuts under the scuttle aren't so tight that you can't adjust the position of the nozzles - I used 5/16" fibre washers between the nozzles and the paintwork to leave a little more "give" in the assembly.

If appropriate, check the lock-nut on the wiper-adjustment knob is an easy run on the threads.

Offer the centre wiper spindle, complete with its adjustable stop-mechanism (where appropriate) and its two operating rods Left and Right, into the scuttle - I did this from the left but think probably possible left, right, and centre.

Push the adjustment knob through the firewall and secure it with its nut - it's a bitch to get any kind of grip on the inner knut when tightening from the outside side, and you need all the room you can get.

Next slide in the main stiffening spar.

Maneuver the centre wiper spindle through the spar, slide the inner bevel over the spindle, and push the spindle through the scuttle panel out into the fresh air - then fit the outer bezel and securing nut, loosely.

Next fit the outer spindles through their Right and Left plates, followed by their inner bezels, and poke them through the scuttle, securing them loosely with the outer bezels and nuts ; this part I found surprisingly tricky, and the access apertures a bit tight, but it worked.

IMPORTANT : it is indeed the SHORTEST operating arm, of the two outer wiper spindles, goes on the passenger side, so as to pull that wiper down a little further during operation.

Then you have the 2 nuts/washers on each side to secure the plates to the spar.

I found this way made the whole assembly process relatively painless.

[Paul bow]

I did this job a few months ago.. I took the whole unit out complete, it came out through the RH side hole in the bulkhead.. it went back in complete exactly the same, dont get me wrong it doesn’t just slide in and is a bit of a battle however I removed nothing… I found the hardest part was connecting that funny clip on that secures the wiper motor rod to the assembly now in the bulkhead, I bought 2 of them and I needed 2 after losing one in there !

[rfs1957]

I did wonder ……….. as it seemed to make no sense from a production point of view.

Thanks for confirming it IS possible.

I hope I’m not the only one feeling stupid.