how do i change the rear wiper blade?? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

how do i change the rear wiper blade??

Vikram

Active Member
Joined
November 14, 2014
Messages
95
Reaction score
16
Year, Model & Trim Level
1995 Ford Explorer XLT 4W
i know this is a stupid ass question, but i cant figure it out and im going crazy!

I got the front 2 done with no problem, but the rear one is just insane. according to guides i read online it should be the same, but it has this weird pin and i cant figure out how to get the old one off and the new one on...i cant find any releasing tab or anything, also the fact that its way below freezing isn't helping either :/

btw any recommendations for wiper blades? I got the napa store brand a couple years ago, and its meh, still seems to leave a film on my windows. thinking of getting motorcraft for my rear and bosch icons for my front, how are those?
 



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!
.





that depends on what type of arm you have and what type of blade you have. I'm not sure which type of rear arm a '95 has. there are 2 basic types, the "bayonet" style and the "hook" style. which do you have? I'm guessing the hook style as that's what most 90's and newer vehicles used.

normally, to remove the blade from the hook style you lift the arm, rotate the blade 90 degrees and it should push off toward the arm's attachment/pivot point. sometimes there's a small release button you have to depress to release the blade. if the blade has been on there a while it can be hard o slide off, because of dirt buildup in the hook. if so, some force will be required to get it to slide.

some blades (like Bosch Innovation's) have a cover which must be released in order to get the blade off.

I just looked at my '97 and it has the bayonet style rear arm. this style uses a metal spring strip to lock the blade to the bayonet pin, which has a depression its center. to release this type you have to lift the spring clip to get the blade to pull off. sometimes there's a tab you press, sometimes you have to use a small pick or screw driver to release the clip. with dirt and rust buildup this type of blade can be stubborn to get off. the new one will just snap into place.
 






dont sweat it ,they never clear the window worth a dam anyway ,new blade or not .
 






My new rear blade cleans the window like a dream, it has a medal pin in the center, you just have to pull it off of the pin, its a bit hard, used a screw driver to pry the old one off.
 






^ My new wiper arm and blade clean the window good too...
 






Yeah I got the pin version, it actually ended up breaking off (live in MN and its been like 5 degrees F on average this week and it was breaking this week but yesterday I turned it on and it just broke off.

dont sweat it ,they never clear the window worth a dam anyway ,new blade or not .

I agree tbh, on pretty much ALL SUV's I've seen in my life, even on my friends new buick rendezvous, rear wipers don't seem to do a good job, I got a bosch microedge and yeah it wipes just fine but still leaves a film, and then I went to the ford dealer and got the motorcraft blade...same thing. and it's not like the arm's rusted or anything, and its not bent or having trouble making any contact...its just somethings ya gotta accept in life....however living up here wiper blades in general won't last you more than 1 season regardless of if you spent 5 bucks on one or 50 bucks... when you spit on the ground and it turns to ice before hitting the floor, you are screwed no matter what you do.
 






the explorers i have driven(sports) all have the motor in the hatch with a arm that reaches to the glass and they just dont hit the glass with enough tension to really do even a mediocre job .(always missed a big area)
now if you have a rear glass wiper that sits on the glass itself with no arm those do a pretty good job .but i dont think any explorers have those .
so it was never a big concern of mine .
in the winter the arm and blade would freeze to the parking rest and wouldnt move anyway..lol...
 






the explorers i have driven(sports) all have the motor in the hatch with a arm that reaches to the glass and they just dont hit the glass with enough tension to really do even a mediocre job .(always missed a big area)

I drove 5 years with my arm not working right (bought the truck already 7 year old, never had a new car), because I thought the same. Until I decided to spend $25 and get a new arm and surprise - it did work on whole window.
 






the explorers i have driven(sports) all have the motor in the hatch with a arm that reaches to the glass and they just dont hit the glass with enough tension to really do even a mediocre job .(always missed a big area)
now if you have a rear glass wiper that sits on the glass itself with no arm those do a pretty good job .but i dont think any explorers have those .
so it was never a big concern of mine .
in the winter the arm and blade would freeze to the parking rest and wouldnt move anyway..lol...

From 1991-1997 they had the hatch mounted blade ( like my Mountaineer ), and from 1998+ they had the glass mounted blade.

Personally mine cleans the window great, no streaks, film, or missed spots.
 






From 1991-1997 they had the hatch mounted blade ( like my Mountaineer ), and from 1998+ they had the glass mounted blade.

Personally mine cleans the window great, no streaks, film, or missed spots.

the hatch mounted arm continued through 2001 on Explorers/Mountaineers.

2001 Explorer below:

109_0043.jpg
 


















Hmm, saw one today on the window, guess it was custom.

I just saw a picture of an '01 Sport on eBay. It still has the wiper arm on the liftgate, so I don't know what the OP saw. Whatever it was, it must have been an '02 or newer.

01sport.jpg
 






My 4 door Explorer is 2001 and has the wiper below the window, as in the above picture.
 






last year for the sport was 2003, body style changed started in 2001 . so it only lasted another 2 years .
 






My sister's 03 Sport has the wiper on the window, but my 96 has it on the liftgate. I'm guessing it was put there on the 3rd Gen Explorers, but not the 2.5 Gen.
But now on to my question: is there a special kind of blade I should get for my rear wiper? Or is it the standard kind? I've never replaced a bayonet style blade before, so is there a specific kind of blade I need to buy or do standard ones have a hole for the pin?
 






My sister's 03 Sport has the wiper on the window, but my 96 has it on the liftgate. I'm guessing it was put there on the 3rd Gen Explorers, but not the 2.5 Gen.
But now on to my question: is there a special kind of blade I should get for my rear wiper? Or is it the standard kind? I've never replaced a bayonet style blade before, so is there a specific kind of blade I need to buy or do standard ones have a hole for the pin?

pretty much any blade you buy should come with different mounting pieces for the j-hook or pin-style arms. I just bought a cheap 13" blade for the rear of my '97 at AutoZone and it came with the pin-style adaptor.
 






Back
Top