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MG TD TF 1500 - Wrestline the Lucas wiper motor

Dear fellow enthusiasts:

Amazingly enough, I was able toremove, clean up the motor and restore to functionality the wiper motor from my '53 TD. . . at least when wired to a battery so I expected that it would work when I rewired it to the 12v lead in the car itself. What was easy in my removal of the motor has proved more challenging in its return to the windshield frame. The current “issue” seems to be what degree of tightness is needed in fastening all screws back to their place? I do not recall having to dig out with a small screw driver, the slotted, cylindrical nuts that tighten the rubber bumper to the motor itself on the inside of the windshield frame. The motor’s drive shaft is spring loaded, about 3/16” of play to allow operator to pull lock handle out, thereby allowing on/off switch to operate. I assume that slack needs to remain in the drive shaft when tightening the slotted screws flush into the rubber bumper. I assume the slots or necessary to tighten the screws down so they are flush with the leading edge of the rubber bumper. Then cork gasket against frame, then cork beneath mounting plate on exterior of frame with screws on mounting posts to secure entire unit. Again, if those two screws are tightened too much then it takes the slack out of the drive shaft frustrating the free movement of the inside of the drive shaft, I can feel the gears inside gnash which I assume means it’s too tight. Is this all just a fine balancing act? It seems I’m putting it all together correctly but simply need to “feel” my way into where everything should fit based upon the smooth operation of the drive shaft and locking arm that holds the on/off switch in the cockpit.

1. Pull the drive shaft arm inward to disengage gears and free up the on/off switch. Should I feel the drive shaft engage the gears when I pull it in and twist it downward? If so, then I need to loosen up some nuts so this operation is free and easy.
2. Is it then normal for the wiper motor to fit snugly but not so (seemingly) securely to the windshield frame? Again, this is a balancing act- measure of degree of tightness?

I hope I am articulating clearly enough to provide you with ability enough to opine.


Thanking you all in advance for your wisdom and input.

Sincerely,

Bill
WRP Phipps

Funny I have the same questions as I just finished cleaning and rebuilding mine and was wondering about installation. Look forward to the answers
W. A. Chasser Jr

Bill,

It's a bit difficult to determine your exact problem without seeing the motor and to discern your description. However,
1) Tightening the mounting nuts and studs should have no effect on the free play in the spring loaded main shaft. If it does, you probably do not have enough clearance of the shaft within the mounting block. There should be a recess in that block which clears the spring, retaining washer, and cotter pin. The head of the cotter pin often need to be crushed down to clear that recess.

2) The main shaft should have two cross pins in it. The inner one engages in the drive gear and is the driving force on the main shaft. The second (rearmost) pin engages with the chrome locking handle. The nut for that handle should be able to be completely tightened without causing any binding.

Another common reassembly error is the position of the tubular gear. There should be a small mark between two of the teeth which needs to be aligned in the center of the "toothbrush" gear. If that is not so aligned, you will find that the wiper arm, at rest, will be above the top of the windscreen frame or not wiping the correct area of the windscreen glass.
Lew Palmer

"The head of the cotter pin often need to be crushed down to clear that recess" was the key. When I removed the wiper motor in the first instance, the cotter pin had been inserted but the ends weren't split/bent over. Yet it still fit somehow into the rubber bumper. This was not the case when reassembling the unit. After a bit of headscratching, finally addressing the cotter pin issue, the entire unit went back together like clockwork. While the new wiring (throgh the window frame) is another story, I can happily report that I know have a fully functioning set windshield wipers. I will try to avoid rainy days and ensure a liberal amount of Rain-X, but it is pretty cool to see this piece of the car working again. Thank you all :)
WRP Phipps

Did you feed new wire through the windscreen frame? If so, how did you do it. I disparately need to run new wire but I'm terrified at the thought of disassembling the windscreen frame.

Thanks.

Jud aka TD Chicken
J K Chapin

Hello JK. Solder the new wire yo yhe old one, and pull it trough. IT can be done,if
you are lucky.
Thoralf. Norway. TD 4490
Thoralf Sorensen (TD4490)

Stupid me cut it at both ends too short to connect to. Duh!!

Jud
J K Chapin

As it turned out, feeding the new wire through the windscreen frame turned out to be the trickiest procedure related to the wiper motor. It was difficult to feed the wire through the vertical portio of the frame but I was able to do this by loosening, not quite removing the vertical frame from passenger side and removing the top of the windscreen frame. These were very easy to put back together. At this point, I was unable to "fish" the wire without incident. Either the wire had become too comfortable over time that it didn't want to move or there was insufficient clearances in the frame to be able to pull new wire through with the old wire. The old wire had become somewhat brittle and well seated in place. It was easier to just run new wire from ignition to wiper motor. I am by no means a master mechanic but not without any skills (mostly carpentry). Patience and common sense are all that's needed for this project. Good luck.
WRP Phipps

This thread was discussed between 24/07/2014 and 31/07/2014

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