PREPARING FOR RAIN

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18542, 12 April 1930, Page 11 (Supplement)

PREPARING FOR RAIN

WINDSCREEN WIPERS Although the rainy season is not yet with us, one can always think about doing things which have hitherto been left undone, and maintaining a windscreen wiper is one piece of work which is always well directed. The average owner is content if the wiper does its work fairly well, but he seems quite oblivious of the fact that lubrication is necessary sometimes; in fact, it is quite often recommended that this should be done about every three months. The Folberth type can be lubricated through a small hole, normally sealed with a screw, in the top of the cylindrical body; on a touring car access is quite easily obtained to this point, so that a few drops of j lubricant can be injected, but in a saloon car, where the wiper body fits very close to the roof it is not only impossible to get at the screw but it is equally difficult to inject oil. Therefore the following method, which can be used for practically any standard windscreen wiper, should be used. Remove the air line from the wiper and fit in its place a short length of rubber hose (about 6in.) Place in a small receptacle, such as a saucer or tin lid, one or two teaspoonfuls of any light oil. Next open the valve and then swing the wiper arm to the extreme right position. Turn the arm back through about three-quarters of its normal travel to the left, being careful not to move it all the way. If the three-quarters position be overstepped start all over again. Submerge the end of the hose in the oil and make a quick movement half-way back to the right, coming to the central position, and withdraw the hose from the oil. Complete the travel to the right. Then repeat the operation, starting from the left. If the wiper appears to have no power, or operates slowly, it is not necessarily the fitment itself which is wrong. Examine the fitting to make sure that the shaft is not binding in the hole drifted in the windscreen frame. Also check the hose making the connection to the induction pipe, and if this be old renew it. using a copper pipe.which does not perish.

One should never endeavour to force the wiper against its natural direction of traveL There is another point which is worth remembering: if the wiper has not been used for some weeks, as, for instance, in the summer, it is advisable just to allow it to operate for one or two sweeps, or move it by hand when the valve is open, in order to ensure that the leather faces are oiled.