Triumph Repair: Windshield Wipers, windshield wipers, wheel boxes

Question
What would be causing my wipers to move too far on the windshield of my 77 Spitfire?  The driver's side wiper arm passes the edge of the widshield by a few inches.  When parked, the wiper is only about a 1/4 inch from the bottom edge of the glass. I recently replaced the wiper actuators since the threads were stripped and would not allow a tight seal to the body.  I believe the actuators were longer than the old ones and used a second rubber spacer under the dash.  In addition to the length, could they also have a different gear ratio?  Perhaps I need a different motor?  If so, which years are different?  Thanks, Warren

Answer
Warren,

Did the wipers work "correctly" before you tinkered with them?

I guess a good starting point would be where you sourced the replacement wiper actuators.  What were they "designed" for?  It's possible that you wound up with the wrong wheel boxes (actuator).

The wiper works by having the wiper motor alternatively pull then push the inner cable inside the outer housing.  The inner cable meshes with the wheelbox the same way a rack and pinion setup operates.  

There is enough free play in the setup that it's conceivably possible to have the wheelboxes and the inner cable with different "threads" still meshing enough to move the wiper arms.

It's also possible the the wiper parking switch is not functioning properly.

All of the 1500s are listed as having the same components.  So any 1500 parts donor should be able to help you out.  Have you checked the ads on the VTR website?  (www.vtr.org)


Cheers,

Jim