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Old Feb 8, 2010 | 05:15 PM
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Default Wiper door adjustment

Just replaced wiper actuator. Marked rod so the new one is in the same position as old one. On pass side where actuating rod is, wiper door needs to go towards glass about 1/8" more. Is there an adjustment on actuator rod to do this? Or is the adjustment on door hardware?
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Old Feb 8, 2010 | 06:02 PM
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Dave, the adjustment is in the threaded rod connector. To make the rod extend further, screw the nut out 1/8" toward the front of the car before connecting it to the wiper actuator rod.

cc

Can you describe what the wiper door is doing? There may be other solutions depending on what is happening.
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Old Feb 8, 2010 | 09:40 PM
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Originally Posted by CCrane72
Dave, the adjustment is in the threaded rod connector. To make the rod extend further, screw the nut out 1/8" toward the front of the car before connecting it to the wiper actuator rod.

cc

Can you describe what the wiper door is doing? There may be other solutions depending on what is happening.
Hi again CC! Wiper door is now operating fine, but doesn't have the same margin on driver's and pass sides when I put wiper grille back on. I need the wiper door to go a little towards windshield when closed to give me a little more room on pass side. Margin was fine before. Driver's side is ok. I know wiper grille has slotted holes but I need a little more space to get the gaps right between hood, wiper grille and wiper door.
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Old Feb 8, 2010 | 10:33 PM
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Dave, I'm not aware of any adjustment on the door for fore and aft movement of the left or right sides.

The wiper door is mounted to the transmission arm mounting brackets via hinges.

The grille mounts to the same brackets. AFAIK, nothing you did should have changed the alignment of the door or the grille.

Maybe time to check what the AIM says about wiper door alignment.

cc
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Old Feb 9, 2010 | 08:05 AM
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Originally Posted by CCrane72
Dave, I'm not aware of any adjustment on the door for fore and aft movement of the left or right sides.

The wiper door is mounted to the transmission arm mounting brackets via hinges.

The grille mounts to the same brackets. AFAIK, nothing you did should have changed the alignment of the door or the grille.

Maybe time to check what the AIM says about wiper door alignment.

cc
I'll do that. Gotta be a little room for adjustment somewhere. Thanks again CC.
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Old Feb 9, 2010 | 04:21 PM
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Hi SS & cc,
I found that I could get a little front to back movement when the door was ALMOST completely down by adjusting the threaded stop on each side.
It seems once that threaded stop hits the little nylon pad ,the door moves backward, (I guess there's a bit of play in the linkage), IF, the actuator rod CONTINUES to push a little further.
Worth a look?
Regards,
Alan
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Old Feb 9, 2010 | 04:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Alan 71
Hi SS & cc,
I found that I could get a little front to back movement when the door was ALMOST completely down by adjusting the threaded stop on each side.
It seems once that threaded stop hits the little nylon pad ,the door moves backward, (I guess there's a bit of play in the linkage), IF, the actuator rod CONTINUES to push a little further.
Worth a look?
Regards,
Alan
Certainly worth a look. Thanks, Alan. I think the first thing I tried was to screw that stop all the way in, but maybe there's a little more somewhere. I don't need alot.
There's a picture in the AIM that shows a place to shim also. Gonna give that a look too. Wait a minute, maybe I'm looking at this backwards. If I adjust the stop OUT instead of in, maybe it'll go back a fuzz. I'll report back when I find something.
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Old Feb 9, 2010 | 08:26 PM
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I had to completely remove the entire wiper door mechanism. The passengers side mechanism had a cracked bracket due to a front end collosion that occurred before I bought the car. Thanks to a schlock repair job, I didn't notice this when I bought the car (1970 Coupe). I have to reinstall the entire works. I understand I'm in a lot of fun, apparently it's difficult to replace the entire mechanism and get everything to line up.

....And of course when I tried to unbolt the wiper door, the little bolts sheared their shafts. The door is something like pot metal, although it has a lot of aluminum in it. After years the attach bolts corrosion weld and due to their small, shaft, they shear off while unbolting. I bought a good replacement from J and D Corvettes. They've got about 50 or 60 doors, I had to look through almost all of them to find a good one.
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Old Feb 10, 2010 | 10:50 AM
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Hi 68/70,
The wiper doors have become valuable enough that even doors that have been repaired with inserts, after the bolts were twisted off, can be sold for $$ .
Perhaps you should think about repairing yours and getting some $$ for it.
The wiper door mechanism is a barrel of laughs!!!
Regards,
Alan
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Old Feb 10, 2010 | 01:12 PM
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Originally Posted by ssdave
Certainly worth a look. Thanks, Alan. I think the first thing I tried was to screw that stop all the way in, but maybe there's a little more somewhere. I don't need alot.
There's a picture in the AIM that shows a place to shim also. Gonna give that a look too. Wait a minute, maybe I'm looking at this backwards. If I adjust the stop OUT instead of in, maybe it'll go back a fuzz. I'll report back when I find something.
Not real sure what it is you want to do here. If the door while closed is not right to the windshield you would shim the door at the firewall. You can shim only one side if needed. If you are only saying that the door is wrong when open but right when closed then the adjustment on the rod is what you need to work with.
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Old Feb 10, 2010 | 05:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Manuel Azevedo
Not real sure what it is you want to do here. If the door while closed is not right to the windshield you would shim the door at the firewall. You can shim only one side if needed. If you are only saying that the door is wrong when open but right when closed then the adjustment on the rod is what you need to work with.
Wiper door needs to go another 1/8" towards windshield on pass side only when closed. This is to get gaps right between door, grille and hood.
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Old Feb 10, 2010 | 06:56 PM
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Originally Posted by ssdave
Wiper door needs to go another 1/8" towards windshield on pass side only when closed. This is to get gaps right between door, grille and hood.

In that case you can shim that door back just on the one side. You can get the correct shims from just about any of the vendors that support this site.
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Old Feb 10, 2010 | 09:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Manuel Azevedo
In that case you can shim that door back just on the one side. You can get the correct shims from just about any of the vendors that support this site.
The only place I see to shim is pictured in AIM, but I can't see how anyone but maybe a grasshopper could get in there.
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Old Feb 11, 2010 | 12:23 AM
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Originally Posted by ssdave
The only place I see to shim is pictured in AIM, but I can't see how anyone but maybe a grasshopper could get in there.
Yea it can be a bit tight in there. But if yours is set up as stock your door hinges will have studs in them and you can just put the shims on the stud with a touch of grease and they will stay just fine. You will probaly need to pull the whole unit back to do this though. Measure the thinkness of your shim to be sure it is just the amount you need to move your door back to the glass, you will also need to move your door up and down so as the door grlll is level with the fenders before you tighen down the nuts on the fire wall, When you order the shims for this you will need shims for the vacumm can as well as the door brakits, youe AIM will show you both you will need for the right side.
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Old Feb 11, 2010 | 10:18 AM
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Hi,
I found that using the shims that MA mentions can create another problem... they move the door AND grill. I got to a point that I had the rear of the hood and the wiper grill gap where I wanted it to be so had to move just the door. That's why I suggested using the stops to get the last 1/16" adjustment on the door gaps.
I even struggled getting the SIDE gap of the hood, grill and door lined up and even on both sides.
BIG FUN!!!
Regards,
Alan

I forgot to mention that I also elongated the holes for the screws in the wiper grill to get more adjustment for the hood/grill/door gaps.

Last edited by Alan 71; Feb 11, 2010 at 10:26 AM.
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Old Feb 11, 2010 | 02:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Alan 71
Hi,
I found that using the shims that MA mentions can create another problem... they move the door AND grill. I got to a point that I had the rear of the hood and the wiper grill gap where I wanted it to be so had to move just the door. That's why I suggested using the stops to get the last 1/16" adjustment on the door gaps.
I even struggled getting the SIDE gap of the hood, grill and door lined up and even on both sides.
BIG FUN!!!
Regards,
Alan

I forgot to mention that I also elongated the holes for the screws in the wiper grill to get more adjustment for the hood/grill/door gaps.
Good info, Thanks!
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Old Feb 11, 2010 | 02:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Alan 71
Hi,
I found that using the shims that MA mentions can create another problem... they move the door AND grill. I got to a point that I had the rear of the hood and the wiper grill gap where I wanted it to be so had to move just the door. That's why I suggested using the stops to get the last 1/16" adjustment on the door gaps.
I even struggled getting the SIDE gap of the hood, grill and door lined up and even on both sides.
BIG FUN!!!
Regards,
Alan

I forgot to mention that I also elongated the holes for the screws in the wiper grill to get more adjustment for the hood/grill/door gaps.

This is such fun getting these all just right All you have said is very true and he could maybe try moving the chrome trim some small amount also. Seems that on my 68 it is just on with spring clips and a screw at the ends. One could also move the hood back a bit if needed after getting all else set and there is too big a gap at the hood to the grill. A real can of worms getting these doors just right!
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Old Feb 11, 2010 | 03:38 PM
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Hi MA,
You're right!
I never considered that the way the trim is installed on the door could have an effect on the gaps.
One more thing to remember.
Regards,
Alan
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Old Aug 26, 2014 | 12:23 PM
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Originally Posted by 68/70Vette
I had to completely remove the entire wiper door mechanism. The passengers side mechanism had a cracked bracket due to a front end collosion that occurred before I bought the car. Thanks to a schlock repair job, I didn't notice this when I bought the car (1970 Coupe). I have to reinstall the entire works. I understand I'm in a lot of fun, apparently it's difficult to replace the entire mechanism and get everything to line up.

....And of course when I tried to unbolt the wiper door, the little bolts sheared their shafts. The door is something like pot metal, although it has a lot of aluminum in it. After years the attach bolts corrosion weld and due to their small, shaft, they shear off while unbolting. I bought a good replacement from J and D Corvettes. They've got about 50 or 60 doors, I had to look through almost all of them to find a good one.
This an old post, but, I just experienced the same problem.
I believe Corvette Central repairs the twisted off bolts.
I had mine repaired by a local machine/fabricator.
Alan is wright about the value and repair
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Old May 14, 2019 | 09:28 PM
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What is AIM?
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