The best brand of windshield wipers???? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

The best brand of windshield wipers????

LSW1

Member
Joined
January 12, 2010
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
City, State
Georgia
Year, Model & Trim Level
1999 XLT
Ok, you guys were the best when it came to helping me with my 'ghost wipers'. Because of all the advise I got, they are still working great !! Now I want to get the best brand of wipers for my 1999 Explorer.

As you know, there are tons of wipers on the market. My wipers are missing large areas of windshield. Especially the one on the driving side and rear window.

What is the best brand to buy? Should I replace the whole assembly or just the blade? I have never replaced them myself so are there any videos or picture instructions on how to do it?

Thanks all.
Linda ;)
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





the wiper blades are simple compared to the multifunction switch you just fixed.

I like bosh or anco wipers, bosh are expensive and anco are cheap ($4.50 per blade)

bosh are in every auto store and anco used to be everywhere but lately ive only found them at walmart.

yes you want the whole frame as corrosion or damage to you old frames could be causeing some of your issues.

the blades on the fron of a second gen are size 18 and come off by pressing a very obvious tab then pulling down toward the wiper arm

the rear's on a 95-97 are 14 but i have found 15 to work too, these you pull the tab outward and wiglle like mad pulling up till it pops off

be aware some blades are not made with the hole needed for the rear and i always buy the higher end all weather blades from anco for the rear, they last a little longer

if you have a different model year check your sizes


if you still have problems we'll talk about ways to address the wiper arms
 






DO NOT USE ANCO CONTOURS!! I put them on my 94 in October by December they were junk. I would say a Bosh icon is your best bet.
 






i have got bosh excell and i really like them, quiet, quick, even cleaning, etc. Of course i usually clean with isopropilic alcohol and use rain-x my windshield like every 2 months, andevery time i wash the X i clean the blades delicately with the microfiber cloth i use to soap up the x.

i´ve used michelin ones with great results also, but the frame kindda dulls fast with the sun.

Both brands have lasted lots on my cars, but then again, i have no snow and no desert weather.
 






DO NOT USE ANCO CONTOURS!! I put them on my 94 in October by December they were junk. I would say a Bosh icon is your best bet.

i wasnt referring to contours, in fact i have had any good result from the newer style low profile wipers
 






I put the Bosch something or others on my superduty. They were on the expensive side ($60-$70) but well worth it. The best wipers I've had.
 






My rear wiper before...

wiper1.jpg


My rear wiper after removing it, soaking it in my sink in hot soapy water, rinsing the two joints throughly, letting dry, spraying the two joints with PB Blaster, and reinstallation...

wiper4.jpg
 






Yep- the rears do crust up... Also in the summer, clean your windshield once in a while with Bon Ami (yes, the kitchen cleanser) as it is non-abraisive, and it cleans all of the grime and junk off the window and keeps everything working well. I find that the Bon Ami once in a while and Rain-X windshield washer solvent works as good as Rain-X for me. Just my .02

I run either Bosch (the only Bosch part that touches my Ex!) or the Anco's. I've never had particularly good luck with the one piece contoured wipers. The Ex seems to be a little too upright, and they flap around a lot, at least on my truck, and I am running the stock 18" size.
 






i was getting odd streaks one and tried every cleaner known to man, even acetone

my dad suggested putting a cup of ammonia in the wiper fluid (dont do this in the winter) and it cleared the problem right up, we suspect rainx caused the problem
 






I have used the Bosch Icons on all my vehicles since 2006.They last a long time and work great.
 






The best two i've used were the Bosch Icons or the Rain-X latitudes.....they look and act the same.
 






WOW !!! See you guys are just the best !!! I knew I just had to ask. My back one is really worse than yours was, Toypaseo. It is really bad. I can stand a bad wiper unless it is the back one and the driver's side. My driver's side is leaving a streak un-wiped about 7 inches wide right in the middle of the my view.

I will try washing off the back one before I buy one for it. I don't use it that much but sometimes during rain the mud flies up and covers it so it is probably really grimed up !!

I had actually looked at the bosh online and read all the reviews. The reviews were pretty good. I don't drive my 'baby' a lot. I work at home full time so errands here and there are all it gets. But when it is raining, I am stuck at home because the wipers are so bad.

So thanks again guys !!! Saved me again !!!

Linda
 






over time the springs in the arms can lose tension

when this happens there are two realistic ways of dealing with it and one way out there way I used, lol

1 replace the arm (new or used, $30 from the dealer for the front two)
2 bend the arm toward the window to add tension

and really out there
3 shorten the spring (I made one arm for winter use in the UP where the blade flew off the windshield constantly)
 






i use 17 inch latitudes on my explorer and had no problem, my only question is how can i remove rain-x off of the windshield to make the water sheet, not bead?
 












do i wipe it on or put it in the washer fluid?
 






I would wipe it in the winter as it might raise the freezing point of your washer fluid
 






do i wipe it on or put it in the washer fluid?

I once dumped the remainder of a Windex bottle (basically ammonia) into a washer tank. Seemed like a good idea at the time. The change in pH produced quite a lot of solid preciptates from the dyes and detergents, which clogged up the works! Spray or wipe on is the way to go here....

BK
 






I once dumped the remainder of a Windex bottle (basically ammonia) into a washer tank. Seemed like a good idea at the time. The change in pH produced quite a lot of solid preciptates from the dyes and detergents, which clogged up the works! Spray or wipe on is the way to go here....

its funny because i did that once too and it worked great but still did not get rid of the rain-x. i dont know if its different removal but i used the rain-x washer fluid.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





I like Michelin Radius wiper blades....about $12 each at Wal-Mart.
 






Back
Top