Bundy tube, how tight/loose?

[madjohnny]

Just been putting my wiper motor/tube etc in and the bundy tube seems overly tight on the spring. I've straightened the tube out so you could play snooker with it but it's still tight!

My only concern is that it will stress the motor leading to premature failure.

Got the kit from Europa and all seems fine apart from the tube.

Is the tube supposed to slide very easily over the spring or is it designed to be a near friction fit?

The tube supplied is 7.94mm x 0.91mm (which I think is the diameter and the wall thickness).

[TINKA]

If the tube is straight and there are no kinks in it , it should slide very freely but not slop about in it. other wise like you say it is always going to load the motor and struggle.

[Purple AK]

John.

Did the inner slide into the tube fairly easiely when you assembled it? And more inportantly did you grease it? Mine was a tad tight for the first couple of sweeps, especially with a dry screen, but it soon freed up

[madjohnny]

No, mines tight even when assembled off the car! There are no kinks in the tube after me painstakingly straightening it as it was coiled up into a 6" circle for postage.

I've got a horrible feeling the tube is the wrong size. I don't suppose anyone can confirm that the size is correct printed on the tube, 7.94mm x 0.91mm?

Failing this I'll have to go and get some more tube and try that as I'm not happy assembling it on the car as it is.

[Miket]

Originally Posted by madjohnny

No, mines tight even when assembled off the car! There are no kinks in the tube after me painstakingly straightening it as it was coiled up into a 6" circle for postage.

I've got a horrible feeling the tube is the wrong size. I don't suppose anyone can confirm that the size is correct printed on the tube, 7.94mm x 0.91mm?

Failing this I'll have to go and get some more tube and try that as I'm not happy assembling it on the car as it is.

I just found a small piece of tube, it is 6mm ID (Inside Diameter) and 8mm OD (Outside Diameter)

[neil still building it]

hi john
'you sure there's not a hint of angle at the begining where it leaves the motor .....this would be the most difficult for the motor to overcome,try loosely tightening it all (if you can, don't add the motor,only the flange /olive bit -this should remove from the motor if you take off the cover ...and remove the 'link')this way you can feel whats going on
hope this helps
NEIL

[madjohnny]

Neil, I've deburred all the ends thoroughly and tried fitting it without the motor but you have pull/push on the spring through the bundy tube with a fair bit of effort to get the wipers to move at all, certainly a lot more than I would have imagined you would need.

It's not just the initial piece coming out of the motor that's tight, they are all the same!

If I have been supplied with the correct tube the only thing I can think of is the way it was so tightly rolled up when I got it, and the fact that it maybe impossible to straighten it out sufficiently to allow the spring to travel smoothly and unhindered down the tube.

Think I'll take the spring down to B&Q and try it in a piece of their 8mm microbore tubing and see what that's like.

[neil still building it]

hi john
if its that tight i'd remove (or add) one item at a time till something changes it's gotta be 'one' thing surely ...iknow its all geared down so there's more torque than you might think ,but why load up a motor-it'll only wear out quicker eh??
keep trying
neil

[Purple AK]

John.

I C*cked up on the length of a couple of bits of tube 8mm plumbers copper pipe worked for me

[madjohnny]

Cheers Neil, I know where you're coming from and yes some of the three pieces of tube offer more resistance than the others but I think that's just a length thing (oh er miss's).