Date: Sun, 3 Jan 2016 06:58:01 -0800
Reply-To: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Small windscreen wiper repair
In-Reply-To: <0465EEDC-DEC3-487F-A299-98845C4CEC73@q.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
On a related subject: Seeing where you're going....
My other vehicle, a Safari AWD (cause I can't afford a Syncro) has those
rain and wind 'shades' that you add to the doors to keep rain out when you
have your windows cracked slightly.... I've never had these on a vehicle
before and they are an excellent accessory. Recently I've been driving
the Safari AWD all over because of winter weather and very slick roads, and
I noticed I was not driving that van very well, at all....cornering to the
left, it just felt ....awkward? Late?..something anyhow. Driving is one of
my passions, so it bugged me, and eventually I figured it our...
After a bunch of suspension work, I finally deduced that my
'uncomfortable cornering to the left was a result of those wind and rain
shades....I noticed that when cornering to the left, the front 'leg' of
that tinted plastic wind and rain deflector partially blocked,
interrupted..my mid-corner view of where the road is going....the A-pillar
blocks the view when the front leg of that window baffel is left in place.
So going round a left hand corner or bend, my sight line was being forced
into the area just ahead of the van, I was not able to look "through the
corner" because that tinted plastic wind and rain foil makes the A-pillar
about twice as wide, and semi opaque... So I cut off the down-portion of
driver's side rain shield, right at the top corner, above my normal sight
level...., Now I can again properly see through a corner to the left and
my driving is smooth again.....
On Sun, Jan 3, 2016 at 12:49 AM, Karl Wolz <wolzphoto@q.com> wrote:
> I've used these with similar results. I found the wiper to be a
> distraction due to its width.
>
> Karl Wolz
> Sent from my electronic umbilicus
>
> > On Jan 2, 2016, at 8:54 PM, Alistair Bel <albell@SHAW.CA> wrote:
> >
> > A few years ago I switched to those unitstrut type wipers. You know the
> ones without any support struts, just a plastic arm holding the squeegee.
> First one I got were Michelin branded and you know they didn't work very
> well for me. Didn't wipe as well as I thought they would. My friend had
> Bosch branded ones that work very well so I tried that brand. There are a
> few different versions and I don't think I got what he has. Anyway, these
> were no better. The passenger side especially, there would be a patch of
> the glass that wouldn't get wiped. This patch was under the path of the
> wiper directly beneath where the wiper attaches to the arm.
> >
> > Oh I tried all the tweaks. And all the glass cleaning methods. Still no
> joy.
> >
> > But the other day I decided to take more drastic action and tweak the
> amount of downforce the arm has on the glass. I took the spring out of the
> arm and the C shaped bit of wire that connects the spring to the part of
> the arm that attaches to the splined shaft.
> >
> > I shortened the effective length of the C shaped bit of wire from 36mm
> to 33mm by squeezing it in the vise.
> >
> > When all back together the arm had more downforce on the glass and the
> squeegee of the wiper made full contact on the glass and the wipers worked
> perfectly .
> >
> > I think you could over do this and have too much force, and this make
> the wiper motor and linkage work too hard. Just a little shortening of the
> C shaped wire was enough.
> >
> > I have to ink other people have discovered this. And I have to think
> that over time the C shaped bit of wire is stretched and also that the
> wiper spring loses some of its oomph.
> >
> > Alistair
>
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