Today I took out the wiper linkage.
When I got the car the drivers side wiper would clear most of the drivers side of the windscreen, but after taking the wiper arms off a few months ago the drivers side wiper did not seem to get as far across on the drivers side anymore. The wipers started in this position this morning.
After taking out the scuttle panel I found lots of dirt.
The wiper linkage came out without a problem.
When I moved the linkage manually it felt stiff but there were no points when it would refuse to move. The drivers side of the linkage looked a little bit rusty and corroded.
I gave the wiper linkage a clean with a metal wire brush to get off the worst of the rust and then gave the mechanism a good spray with some GT85 lubricant to see if it could dislodge any moisture and possibly add some lubricant if the bushes were not properly sealed. I did not not bother to remove and regrets the bushes. I gave it a liberal spray of ACF50 to see if that would help stop any further rust.
I gave the area under the scuttle panel a clean with a bucket of warm water, a sponge and a few cheap nylon brushes.
I thought about getting the pressure washer out to give it a really good clean but the wiper motor is not protected from water and the heater matrix inlet was likely to just drink up any excess water. Although I did not get rid of all of the dirt it looked far better than how I found it. I poked my fingers around the scuttle drains and removed any large bits of dirt to make sure that they were free of debris and able to drain away any water.
After putting the wiper arms on I had a few attempts at positioning them. Eventually I got them in to what I thought was the best position.
The wiper arms are now sitting higher than they were at the start of the day. But they now reach to where I want them to on the drivers side. You can just make out from water mark in the photo below that they now reach pretty much across the drivers side of the windscreen.
I have ordered a new thermostat from
Renault Parts Direct as I am convinced that my thermostat is not working properly so my car is not getting up to the right working temperature. The thermostat is not really a problem as the car is not going to overheat, but it is just a minor niggle that I would like to resolve.
I am also going to have a good look at the underside of my car next week. I have hired a garage with a car lift for the day. It is £120 and about 45 minutes drive from my home.
@EthanMenace is bringing his Trophy along to fix how his exhaust hangs. I don't think that the Clio has got any real problems that need to be sorted out underneath the car but I would like to check if there is any corrosion going on that I cannot see.
I did have a novice track day booked this weekend at Lydden Hill but due to COVID that has been shifted to Sunday 12th December 2020.
The Clio is running well now. It feels good. The K-Tec induction kit and Akrapovic exhaust make it sound good. Hopefully it will perform well on the track without falling apart or suffering some kind of mechanical issue.
