TR6 TR6 windscreen wipers

[AltaKnight]

Both my wipers flop around like stranded fish, so I took the wiper arms off to have a look.
Where the spindles come through there's a black plastic shaped piece and there is a thin large'ish diameter nut on the spindles holds it all together, the spindles are loose and I can't tighten or loosen the nuts. I'm not keen on pulling harder on the wrench as it feels like it will snap the drive inside if I do./ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nonono.gif
Am I missing something here, I'm assuming the nuts are cross threaded and jammed on.
Any thoughts or experience out there.
If it wasn't for having to get a government inspection I'd throw the wipers away.

 

[Geo Hahn]

Looking at mine (on a '4) I can see this could get ugly if that nut is crossthreaded. Yes, the spindles are basically loose until that nut is tightened down but it requires little more than snugging to hold it all together.

One alternative to undo force might be to cut that nut then hopefully clean up the threads on the spindle.

'Don't Panic!' but do know where your towel is.

 

[piman]

Hello Graham,
the nut you refer to has nothing to do with the slop in the wipers. All that does is hold the wheelbox to the scuttle.
What you can try is to remove the wiper arms, remove the cover on the wiper motor assembly and the unclip the rack wire from the motor. Disconnect the tube from the motor assembly and then pull the rack back until the wheel box spindles are free (you will see the spindles turn as the rack is pulled back, when the one nearest the motor stop turning stop pulling the rack) and then turn both spindles by 180 degrees. Push the rack back and reconnect every thing. What this does is to put a new part of the wheelbox gear onto the rack. If this has not been done before there should be a marked improvement in the wipers.

Alec

 

[Banjo]

I've delt with those stupid nuts more than once. I like to take them off to do a paint job. The problem lies in that the nuts are steel and the wiper pivots are aluminium. They probably are not cross threaded, but corroded togeather. I have resorted to cutting them off with a dremel tool before. Some times that's the only way. Tape off the plastic base and carefully cut through the nut diagonally( so that you're not cutting a groove into the plastic base). Then place a screwdriver in the slit, pry it open a little, and tap the nut around. This will spring the nut open and it will turn off. Be sure to have the new nuts on hand before you try this. They are available from Moss or VB.
Between getting the pivots tight to the scuttle and trying the other trick with the internal gears they should work like new. Good luck Guv'na

 

[Stinky]

Check those black plastic spacers that are on the spindles under the scuttle. They act as a spacer between the scuttle, and the wheelbox. The bezels on the topside are easily replaced, but the spacer under the scuttle is out of sight, and often neglected. If those spacers deteriorate the wheelbox's, spindles, and wipers will flop all over the place,...no matter how much you tighten that steel nut on top the whole dang thing will flop/float around.

 

[AltaKnight]

Thanks guys, some good ideas here.
The overall looseness of the spindles in the scuttle is going to mean cutting those nuts off with the dremel per Banjos suggestion.
I think I may have to pack the new nuts out with some washers to make it all tight again.
I might try that trick of Piman's too.