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MG MGA - rainex works!

We have just returned from the really excellent Prince Bishops run from York to Durham which was superbly organised by the MGCC NE group headed by Barrie Hope. Some wonderful scenery and the weather to start with was ok, roads a bit wet in places, we had the top down all the way to Richmond but it started to rain heavily a couples of miles before we arrived.
I switched the wipers on and they worked fine for about 100 yards or so and then the wiper arms fell off onto the road.
I stopped the car and ran back for them but they both felt quite loose on the splines when I refitted them.

We then had to put the soft top up to prevent the car from filling up with water and with the rain now becoming really heavy we headed to Durham wondering if we would be able to see anything.
To my absolute suprise, I found that so long as I was driving over 40mph, the rain just ran up and off the screen and the visibility was fine.

The rainex that I had decided to apply to the screen the day before worked brilliantly, I just had to switch on the wipers for the occasional one wipe only when we came to a halt.
On the absolutely waterlogged 100 mile journey home to Doncaster on the A1, the Rainex worked really well. I didnt use the wipers once even though it was some of the heaviest rain and spray I have ever driven through.

So, to whoever once recommended Rainex on this forum, I say thank you, You really got me out of a bad situation.

Just now need to find some wiper arms that are a tighter fit on the splines, anyone have any suggestions.

Colyn
Colyn Firth


I can tell you what NOT to get. VB and/or Moss at one time sold wiper blades that had the brand or manufacturer's name "Tex" on them. They will NOT stay on the arms. The connection joint was an incorrect design.

Ditto--Rainex is good stuff!
JM Morris

I got mine from Scarborough Faire and they were a proper fit. Almost scary in that once you put them on they aren't coming off. Better get the spot on the first time. Good Luck.
Lmazoway

I have found the same benefit just by switching to a "premium" windshield washer fluid, such as the one sold by Rain-X. I also tried another brand, don't remember which, that had similar claims on the label and it worked just as well. Of course, this means you have to have functional window washers and you have to use them, which isn't all that great of an idea with the top down, so perhaps this advice isn't all that applicable to most MGAs.

-Steve
Steve Trovato

Colyn,

there are two spline sizes (15.66mm and 14.8mm) and the MGA is the smaller size (mine actually measures about 14mm)

http://www.vintagecarparts.co.uk/en/list+windscreen+and+wipers~wiper+arm/

I believe the 830 (stainless steel)on this page are correct for our (RHD) cars or if you want to pay a bit more for chrome and crank the arm yourself 585S (S for spline fitting) should also be correct. The length (of my wiper arms at least) is about 225mm and I believe the standard blades are wrist fitting.

Neil
Neil McGurk

RainX is a great product, if you ever find yourself in a situation like this one and don't have any just try wiping the glass with some isopropyl alcohol, that's the main ingredient in Rain X and it works pretty well.
Bill Young

To be honest I have not been that impressed with Rainx. The version I have is labelled rainx weatherbeater. It says it's a new 2-in-1 glass cleaner + rain repellent. I have found its durability extremely poor. It makes no mention of isopropyl on the label, although it does say it is toxic. I have changed to another product 'Abro anti-rain formula' that is labelled as containing isopropanol and have found it far superior.

Sorry to be controversial, but I guess that is what this forum is all about.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Isopropyl alcohol is the carrier for the hydrophobic ingredient. It will evaporate to leave the active ingredient deposited on the screen. Isopropyl alcohol mixes with water ... it doesn't repel it.
Geoff Everitt

Colyn,
A trick we used to get my friend's wipers to stay on was to wrap the spline with some plastic electrical tape. It worked fine. His arms were new (recent restoration) but NFG. Don't know where they came from. When we got to the show we had him buy some new arms from SF and they fit great.
Have to say that I too am not a fan of Rainex. Seemed to cause streaking or smearing when wipers were used and really didn't keep the rain off.
Cheers,
GTF
G T Foster

I had the same issue with wiper arms constantly falling off, and the wheelbox gear constantly slipping on the rack. The problem wasn't the arms, or he rack, but the totally rubbish repro wheelboxes.

When I found a set of original wheelboxes, I was just able to swith them with the rubbish repro, and from that moment everything was just fine.

To improve the "wipe" I fitted a two-speed MGB wiper motr and switch, which was put to great use yesterday coming back from Strasbourg in the pouring rain (the guys 20 minutes behind me apparently had a top-down journey all the way!)
dominic clancy

I was in the middle of a 24 hour rally in April, during which it rained for 18 of the 24 hours. My wiper motor quit at 1am. It continued to rain for the next 7 hours, so we applied Rain-X hourly and toughed it out. After the rally we still had to drive home, and of course it wouldn't stop raining. In all, we did 400 miles of driving with only Rain-X to clear the windshield.
Mark J Michalak

You guys who dont like Rainex must have experienced much wetter water than I did!

I noticed a slight "oil on water" rainbow effect on the screen when I applied it but it wasnt noticeable from inside the car.
The Rainex seems to last at least a few days and I just re apply it when I clean the screen.
May give Steves "Abro" product a try next though when the Rainex has all gone.

Thanks all for the info on wiper arms, I do have some 30 year ones in my garage somewhere which may fit better but probably need re chroming. and/or new springs.
Thanks
Colyn
Colyn Firth

I've been using Rain-X since we put the car back on the road in 2005. The wipers work only well enough to pass inspection. As long as you are moving, it works great. Coming home from the All MG GT in Gatlinburg in 2006 did a bit under 800 miles straight (16 hrs door to door) through in heavy rain most of the way, redoing the Rain-X at each gas stop and it was as good or better than wipers on my modern cars.
- Ken
Ken Doris

I presume I am right in saying that RainX is the company name and that they make numerous products. The product I mentioned above as not being that great is, I suspect, a compromise of cleaner and repellant. As such, its repellant properties have probably been diluted. It is in a 500ml spray bottle, whereas, for the same price, I only got 103ml of the Abro pure repellant agent.

Steve
Steve Gyles

I presume I am right in saying that RainX is the company name and that they make numerous products. The product I mentioned above as not being that great is, I suspect, a compromise of cleaner and repellant. As such, its repellant properties have probably been diluted. It is in a 500ml spray bottle, whereas, for the same price, I only got 103ml of the Abru pure repellant agent.

Steve
Steve Gyles

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/203940/rain_repellents.html
Geoff Everitt

Steve,
The one I use advises you to thoroughly clean the windshield before using it, so I expect it is different than the one you mention that claims both properties.
- Ken
Ken Doris

This thread was discussed between 13/06/2010 and 15/06/2010

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