OEM rear wiper blade refill insert - Trico 14-2

[toypaseo]

Well, my $6 Champion rear wiper blade does not seem to fully swipe the rear glass around the top most area of the wiping area. It did at first, but since it rests totally straight, it does not flex as much now. I'll pry keep it around for winter duties.

I like that my OEM 1996 rear blade is mostly made of metal, and is a pretty solid unit overall. Most aftermarket blades seem flimsy, with plastic components.

Ran across a Trico 14-2 blade. It looked more heavy-duty than a standard wiper blade, and the design looked like it would contour better also on curved glass. It was only $4.90 on Rockauto, so I ordered one with some other stuff. Packaging had some major shelf wear and yellowing, so they are not a huge seller for Rockauto. Wiper was fine though. The wiper's insert, and metal support rib, are similar to the OEM one. The rubber inserts might be interchangeable, but the Trico's top-most rubber piece is larger than the OEM one. I did not attempt swapping them.

Attempted to install the Trico on the rear wiper arm, but the hump over the side post hole was too high. Plan B. Swapped the wiper's insert, and metal support rib. Perfect fit, but the Trico's end clip would not allow the insert to snap into place. It was close. I think if you would flatten the very end so the OEM wiper blade could slide past, it would work. The end clips just slide on, so I just swapped clips. Now, the insert snaps in place like the OEM one.

Haven't tried the wiper yet, but if there are any issues, I will post them up.

Trico blade frame top, Trico insert in OEM blade frame bottom:

OEM insert clip left, Trico insert clip right:

Trico clip not allowing insert to snap in place:

 

[lobo411]

Hope it works, but don't be too surprised if it doesn't. The spring on the rear arm gets tired and that causes it to miss part of the sweep. I replaced mine for $15 on Amazon or something and that fixed it.

 

[toypaseo]

So far, works great Full contact across the whole swipe

OEM clip installed

Full view with OEM clip installed

 

[koda2000]

The door mounted rear wiper is just a poor design. At the risk of starting another discussion on this subject (which has been beaten to death) I think the biggest issue is the rubber motor mounts. The best fix I've found (other than replacing the arm) was to cut amount an 1/8th inch off the arm stops with my Dremel tool. It gives me 100% glass coverage now with any brand of blade. I've done it on 3 Gen II's now.

 

[SoNic67]

I have replaced the whole arm with a Dorman one to get consistent good contact over all the surface.
The mounts indeed are another weak spot, but is really nothing I can do about that, except buying a new assembly - the JY ones are soft too, in the same condition due to age.