Quote:
Originally Posted by RobDorey
I've heard that Lucas wiper motors are a little under powered (there was a more powerful motor fitted to, I think Triumph Stags, Jags, etc) so I am toying with the idea of using the E36 donor wiper motor and 3 modified Lucas wheelboxes.
If an arm was welded to the gear in the wheelbox, then a rod end could be fitted to drive the wiper via a push rod.
I wired up the BMW wiper control box in the build so the steering column stalks can be used which means I'd have intermittent wipe.
There's a lot of room under the scuttle for push rods and I think that this may be better than the Lucas set up.
The jury is still out.
If I remember correctly, Lucas wipers can wear quickly if not greased and can give you juddery, noisy wipers and wiper parking problems. Especially if the drive tubes have sharp bents in them.
I used to have a old Jag which used a Lucas motor and had a lot of slack in the wheelboxes and drive spring.
This meant that if the screen was a bit dry the wipers would park half way up the screen and if wet, they would slap the windscreen rubber.
If anybody has a alternative to the Lucas system, I'm listening.
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Hi Rob,
thanks for the interesting feedback. The common Lucas motor is 14 Watt and they did do a 16W one but apparantly they are no longer available new.
I've already bought the Lucas wiper motor (14w) and wheel boxes so i'll be going with that option but i'll make sure the drive shafts are as straight as possible and well greased up. I'm using all new parts so hopefully won't have too many problems. The Marlin has very short wiper blades so the amount of friction and weight should be a lot less than Jag wiper blades which I imagine are quite large?
As Robin says, kit car wipers will only be used occasionally compared to a regular daily drive so wear should be minimal for many years.
I'll let you know how it goes,
Peter