Windshield wipers

[Brian McVickers]

I just returned a set of RainX weatherbeater blades from Autozone. The Autozone computer and the RainX book both specified a RainX part number for my vehicle, 2001 Land Rover DII, but they just would not fit. The RainX blade was too wide to fit into the wiper arm.

The answer turned out to be a set of ANCO blades, the rubber blades only and not the whole assembly. These were five dollars and slip into the channels on the existing assembly. The downside it that they don't seem to be form fitting to the window and they are rubber not silicone.

Time will tell.

Brian

 

[01tundra]

Not available here, I'm afraid.

As a matter of interest, while I can understand you being negative in the light of your own bad experience, but what do you think they would have been like if the endcaps hadn't been loose? IOW, do you think there were fundamental flaws with their design or performance in addition to the loose-fitting caps?

I believe that they would have been fine if they would have stayed together. The engineer side of me knew something wasn't quite right as I was installing them, but I like to give people & products the benefit of doubt. If I still had the little end cap, I could probably super glue them all on and run them.....but oh well.

 

[01tundra]

Well I just received an email from the President/CEO of Scrublade asking for my shipping info and apologizing for the experience I've had so far with their product. I will be giving these a follow-up review once I get the new ones installed and fully anticipate this one will be a little more positive !

Definitely want to give both Scrublade & Extreme Outback Products major props for actually caring and going the extra mile to make sure things are right.....sadly this type of good business ethic is becoming a rarity now a days it seems...........

So stay tuned kiddos :victory:!

 

[Martyn]

Well I just received an email from the President/CEO of Scrublade asking for my shipping info and apologizing for the experience I've had so far with their product. I will be giving these a follow-up review once I get the new ones installed and fully anticipate this one will be a little more positive !

Definitely want to give both Scrublade & Extreme Outback Products major props for actually caring and going the extra mile to make sure things are right.....sadly this type of good business ethic is becoming a rarity now a days it seems...........

So stay tuned kiddos :victory:!

I'm glad it's working out for you.

I would say that this standard of service and business ethic typifies the Expedition vendor. All the ones I know live the life style and expect the best from their equipment.

 

[UCBerzerkeley]

I have tried many aftermarket blades on our Cruisers, and for some reason, all the aftermarket blades miss the outer section of the right side of the windscreen, where it curves back, on both trucks. I stick with OE Toyota blade assemblies and refills. The blades are actually quite different, right and left, with the pressure points in different areas and the right one is curved more with more spring tension. Since I figure Toyota will someday discontinue them, I have 2 more complete blade assemblies new in the boxes for each rig and several refills.

Dave

But the refills are identical for the front wipers on an 80, correct? When I bought new refills from Dan, he sent two identical fronts and one rear.

 

[MoGas]

But the refills are identical for the front wipers on an 80, correct? When I bought new refills from Dan, he sent two identical fronts and one rear.

Yes, the refills are the same. It is only the blade holders that are specific to the Driver's or Passenger's side. I'll put up some pics later.

Dave

 

[01tundra]

Update - finally got to use my replacement Scrublades this weekend during our latest monsoon and they performed flawlessly. Don't expect to throw them on and have all the deceased, dried up bugs on your windshield to magically disappear after a few minutes, but after using them for a little while during a rain storm they did wipe my windshield clean! The owner of Scrublade is definitely a stand-up guy and cares about his product's performance and his customer's satisfaction - major props to him!

 

[Hilldweller]

I installed Scrublades on the Jeep Friday afternoon and drove to work this very dark morning in a fine drizzle with fog.
I couldn't see a blessed thing when they were running; they left a fine tracery of parallel lines across the windshield. Oncoming lights turned the lines into a blinding array of prisms.
Where the rain was lighter and I used the delay function for the wipers, the lines would disappear in about 5 seconds or so.

Not sure if this is another bad set or what; I had been using Bosch Evolution blades up til now and I think I'll go back to them.

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

I installed Scrublades on the Jeep Friday afternoon and drove to work this very dark morning in a fine drizzle with fog.
I couldn't see a blessed thing when they were running; they left a fine tracery of parallel lines across the windshield. Oncoming lights turned the lines into a blinding array of prisms....the lines would disappear in about 5 seconds or so.

This is what I would expect from a blade with small bumps designed to scrub the windshield, which is why I never seriously considered them. It's dangerous enough driving in a constant light drizzel with old streaking wipers, I'm not going to intentionally pay for the experience.

I am intersted in the Silblades or the PIAA Super Silicone blades, but I may just stock up on std blades for those prices.

I also never seriously considered the different properties of a summer blade vs. a winter blade and swapping them out accordingly.

 

[NitroRoo]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned triple edge blades yet. I've never seen them in an autoparts store, but they are available at wallmart at a reasonable price (~$7 IIRC). They are a silicone blade, last a very long time, and after a bit of use they create a bit of a rain x effect (presumably from silicone residue). They do take a while to break in and smooth out, but once they do they last for a VERY long time.

 

[4xdog]

Costco has a recently-broadened selection of Goodyear-branded frameless wiper blades, made in USA, at about $8 each. Similar to the Rain-X wipers in design, but US-made and cheaper.

My experience so far with them (after about 3 months on one vehicle) is that they're perfectly good wipers for the money. Good pressure and aerodynamics from the frameless design. Too soon to tell how they'll last. You might want to give them a look.

I've found that price and quality are two **very** different characteristics where wipers are concerned. My favorite for many years ago was the absolutely cheapest wiper I could buy at a Canadian Tire store, at about $2 each. I've thrown away $20+ wipers after a few weeks. There seem to be no rules here. Ya gotta try stuff.

 

[01tundra]

I kept my second (replacement) Scrublades on for about two weeks until I couldn't handle the streaking anymore......I'm back to cheap old auto parts store blades and happy with them..........

 

[Hilldweller]

Mr Fair-&-Objective, checking back in here.

I PM'd Wil and came up with a plan to thoroughly clean the Scrublades with isopropyl alcohol; it seemed like there was still a mold-release agent on them of some sort.
It worked somewhat.
The streaking is 90% reduced; all that's left is the inherent streaking caused by the multiple pressure points of that sort of wiper.
I think I'll keep these for times when I wheel in muddy/gritty/buggy situations; they do a great job on the nasty crap.

 

[craig333]

Using a bosch icon on one side and a piaa silicone blade on the other. Both work very well in rain. The bosch started getting a streaky spot after using them in the snow. Personally I don't expect long life from a blade thats exposed all the time. I figure wipers area seasonal item. I don't mind paying more for better wipers. If you can't see and get in a wreck you aren't saving any money.

Too bad I don't have any choice on the Jeep. The little ten inch blades are only made by one company.

 

[Rattler]

I installed Scrublades on the Jeep Friday afternoon and drove to work this very dark morning in a fine drizzle with fog.
I couldn't see a blessed thing when they were running; they left a fine tracery of parallel lines across the windshield. Oncoming lights turned the lines into a blinding array of prisms.
Where the rain was lighter and I used the delay function for the wipers, the lines would disappear in about 5 seconds or so.

Not sure if this is another bad set or what; I had been using Bosch Evolution blades up til now and I think I'll go back to them.

I ran som eScrubblades for a while and I noticed something similar but yours sounds worse than anything mine ever did. They seemed to like to hold mud and dirt in them some. Overall the blades were ok but didn't seem to last as long as cheaper ones I have ran.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned triple edge blades yet. I've never seen them in an autoparts store, but they are available at wallmart at a reasonable price (~$7 IIRC). They are a silicone blade, last a very long time, and after a bit of use they create a bit of a rain x effect (presumably from silicone residue). They do take a while to break in and smooth out, but once they do they last for a VERY long time.

I may check into those next.

Costco has a recently-broadened selection of Goodyear-branded frameless wiper blades, made in USA, at about $8 each. Similar to the Rain-X wipers in design, but US-made and cheaper.

My experience so far with them (after about 3 months on one vehicle) is that they're perfectly good wipers for the money. Good pressure and aerodynamics from the frameless design. Too soon to tell how they'll last. You might want to give them a look.

I've found that price and quality are two **very** different characteristics where wipers are concerned. My favorite for many years ago was the absolutely cheapest wiper I could buy at a Canadian Tire store, at about $2 each. I've thrown away $20+ wipers after a few weeks. There seem to be no rules here. Ya gotta try stuff.

Or maybe look for these.

Using a bosch icon on one side and a piaa silicone blade on the other. Both work very well in rain. The bosch started getting a streaky spot after using them in the snow. Personally I don't expect long life from a blade thats exposed all the time. I figure wipers area seasonal item. I don't mind paying more for better wipers. If you can't see and get in a wreck you aren't saving any money.

Too bad I don't have any choice on the Jeep. The little ten inch blades are only made by one company.

I put Icons my Taco and the wife's Escape. My wife loves them and insists on the Icons. I beat my blades too much I guess. The Bosches are too $$ for how often I have to replace blades though. Right now I am running the cheapest set they had at Autozone. The rubber must be shorter than usual because I am getting an "over-splash" I guess you could call it. The blade appears to be shorter than normal and some water goes over the blade at higher speeds when it is raining. Oh well. They will be replaced in a couple months anyway.