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MG TD TF 1500 - TD Wiper connecting arm problem

I've bought a reproduction wiper connecting rod for my late TD from a well known supplier and as the blades in turn become parallel to the top of the screen the blades lift off slightly.
When I compare the rod with an original the centre connecting arm is a much loser fit allowing movement.
The reproduction is a very tight fit on the pivot and doesn't allow for movement in two planes.
It's a bit difficult to explain but if anyone has had this problem they'll know what I'm talking about ... is there a cure or is it a case of 'reproduction rubbish' again?
If anyone in England has an original going spare I would be interested in buying it.

CJ Harvey

CJ, I have a similar problem with my 53TD. The new connecting arm is so tight that it slips where the connection point attaches to the motor shaft. I've tried tightening the nut at the motor shaft point as tight as I can but it still slips. Currently the wipers are just parked for show as they do not work properly.

Bill
TD24570
Bill Brown

I restored my TD about 8years ago and the wipers have never worked, I just use Rainex. works great, those wipers are from what I have seen on other cars worthless in any event..
Tom Maine

I had the same problem I think. The wipers were loose and flopped down a few inches when driving. Very annoying. One day I decided to just turn the wipers to point to the other side of the car when not in use (which is 100% of the time). Problem solved. Not sure if this is what you mean or not though.
Ed
efh Haskell

Hello C.J. I have a number of different wiper arms for T.D's . Could you e-mail me a photo of the type you are looking for and I will see if I can match it up. John
J .R.C Cavey

The connection rod on my '53 TD (no idea if it's the original or a replacement) is for a center mounted motor and it has the two bends but the wipers are still loose and floppy and virtually useless. I haven't found a solution and decided that the wipers and the motor sticking up there were a detriment to the streamlined airflow (:-)) and less than lovely so I took them off, hung them on the garage wall, and put nice chrome-headed screws in the holes. I'll stick the motor and blades back on for shows and exhibits for authenticity. Mine is probably a true 10 (not a typo, 10) point show car.

Jud
J K Chapin

I said it was difficult to explain.

My problem isn't with the wipers (thanks for the offer JRC), it's with the connecting rod, see the little image attached on my first posting.

The rivetted pivot is so tight it doesn't allow for any movement in two axis, this is needed because as the wiper arm reaches the top of the screen it moves backward slightly.

The original one I looked as was quite 'loose' on the pivot and allowed for this extra movement.

The reproduction arm is useless, although of course it looks very nice!

Not getting the wipers to work properly isn't an option in England.

I'm thinking the only option is going to be to drill the pivot out and replace it with either a nut and bolt loosely done up or perhaps a ball joint of some description.
CJ Harvey

Oops! I did miss the point. I think (I'll look this evening and confirm) that the connections on my wipers that you are talking about are tiny screws and nuts. They are all quite, maybe too, floppy.

Jud
J K Chapin

I am not sure of the exact provenance of mine (late TDII), but they were repaired around 1980. The connecting rod is in two pieces (with flattened ends) from the centre pivot on the motor to the two wiper arms, and it is moderately floppy. However the current Moss catalogue shows a single rod for the late TD's as in your drawing. There is reasonable pressure from my set-up to the wiper arms to maintain effective contact with the screen throughout the arc. This would suggest to me that either you may need to bend the rod to get over the issue, or that the modern fitting is not an accurate replacement; your call!

However I do remember having to slightly shorten the drive shaft from the motor to allow the central arm attachment to move nearer the windscreen frame.
Ian Bowers

Hi Jud, my wipers are connected with split pins to the connecting arm, these are floppy in operation which is good.
The pivot which is only loose in the rotation is the one red arrowed and the one which has the problem.
Hi Ian, your rod sounds intriging, and may be the way for me to go, mine needs to be floppy at the red arrow pivot.
Because the pivot isn't floppy my wipers don't maintain pressure throughout the arc and the wipers lift off before they reach the top of the screen.
I'm going over to work some more on my car Thursday morning so I'll think about your rod bending idea and check to see if I can remove some metal from the drive shaft.
The '53TD I examined has the same connecting rod as mine but the centre pivot is nice is floppy, perhaps a feature that someone making a copy in China thought they would 'fix'.

Cliff.

CJ Harvey

Cliff, mine does have a tiny nut and screw there which permit some flopping to allow the blades to stay in contact with the class. I'll see if I can snal a picture over the holiday and post it. My problem is where the blades attached to the arms is so floppy that the blades just flop over on their sides and the rubber is no longer against the glass.

Jud
J K Chapin

This thread was discussed between 30/12/2013 and 31/12/2013

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