Thread: Wiper plenum...😱

So after much 'ordealing', I finally got a plenum off Aliexpress.

I think I must have ordered from 10 different sellers, on AliEx and on Ebay(they were being sold to the US only).

All orders got cancelled by seller due to non shipment to Aus.

A month of so ago, my nephew sent me a link to a D2 group on FB(which I hardly use), and some bloke got one he reckons from AliEx.

So I then took my change again too, expecting for the order to be cancelled a day or two later, anyhow it all went through, took a fair while to get delivered, but it finally came yesterday.

No time to try to fit, and I don't have the rubber end pieces, but the D2 won't be used for a few days anyhow and I'll start to pull it apart to get it done in a few days.

I'll post photos when I get a chance, but have to comment that quality is very good, possibly better than original(but all originals are 20+ years old now), but theses are (or feel) a lot more sturdy anyhow.
To me they look to be 3D printed or something similar. Doesnt' matter in any way, but finish is really nice. On the underside(raw plastic) can be seen to have a lateral pattern, super dupe fine and totally different to the colour of an original.
Front side is painted semi sheen type, not quite matt finish. Looks good. Rubber strip is glued in. Unlike the glass unit that one guy has made up, they have the under screen hooks, and vents with the foam and retainers already fitted.

All you need to fit it to your D2 are the blank plugs(none fitted or supplied), your retainer pins and your rubber ends.

They went a wee bit crazy with gluing the rubber strip and there are small dags of glue under the painted surface. I'm not that pedantic and don't care for stupid details ... I don't need a concourse finish.

I ordered 2(D2a kind'a sort'a needs one ... maybe). No discount with multiple orders, I asked! Came in their own boxes. Not particularly well packaged considering the size and flimsiness of the item. A totally idiotic hamfisted transport or freight worker could very easily damage the item in the package it came in. Mine are fine. So keep this in mind.

Mine came in at about $260 each delivered.

Got a link please, Arthur?

Yeah, it was the original store I tried on Ali, store name AHBoom(or something). Thread became arduous, but I wrote that I discovered that this AHBoom store owner(s) have a few stores of different names on Ali, but they're the same thing.

AH Boom store link on AliExpress ...

if you do a search for JAK000010PMA on AliEx you will probably find a few stores. I think a few will be this AHBoom group.

Thanks Arthur.

Being very naive when it comes to 3D printing, does anyone know how resistant is it to UV damage compared to the plastic that LR used in the original?

I am keen to have a crack at ordering one but not sure how long it would last.

Dave, I suspect I'm less knowledgeable than you when it comes to 3D printing, but I believe the various filaments have different properties.
I don't think there is a big enough printer to make a wiper plenum, at least not for hobby use.

Not sure if it actually is 3D printed, although it would kind'a make sense commercially. The time and cost of making a mould for something that may not sell in huge quantities wouldn't make sense.

if it is 3D printed, it's hard to tell when compared to a mid priced home 3D printer. Only thing that kind of brought it to my attention is that the backside, unpainted, has a lateral pattern to it and you can only see it in the sun. It has an almost rainbow effect. Surface is as smooth as any moulded part is, and no overmould dags anywhere and no sanding or cutting marks to hide any removed dags.

And like I said, to me it feels more sturdy than the original part. a lot less flexy and doesn't feel like it will break or snap when held in certain ways, as you may tend to do with a large flimsy piece.

I had to remove the one off my D2a recently is it felt all wobbly, and trying to be careful it still snapped in a large piece! I had to remove it to refit some pieces, but ended up making more pieces instead.
I plastic welded it first to try to get it in one piece, then layered two sheets of fibreglass on the underside to try to get some strength into it. It came up ok-ish, but then it just lost a small amount of curvature so it's a tight fit, but still fit(if that makes sense).

But on the D2, nearly half the plastic is now missing, so no other option than to get another one of any kind. And they're getting too hard to find off any wrecks now.

Sorry I can't compare build quality relative to a new original one, but can compare to an old original one, and as it stands this Chinesium one is much better.

I will try to fit it either today or at the latest tomorrow, my current issue is I can't locate the rubber ends, but I have a couple on a project D2(V8) I have waiting, so while it's waiting I'll use them just to seal up the D2 and more importantly check how well it fits and sits.

Sun's out so can take pics to show what I talked about:

Image_plenum00001.jpg
very closeup, easy to see the pattern in this 'macro' image

Image_plenum00002.jpg
very clean shapes, no dags.

Image_plenum00003.jpg
rainbow pattern when viewed in some angles. I think is colour of the plastic.

Image_plenum00004.jpg
topside painted sheen finish.

Image_plenum00005.jpg
under normal viewing, hard to see the line pattern of the raw plastic.