Windshield wipers that stay on the windshield?

[LSMITH]

Have any of you found a windshield wiper that will STAY on the glass at 70+? Mine skip off of the windshield badly at 70 and over, I would like to find some that stay on the glass and do the job they are supposed to. Thanks.



Save the lecture if you feel the need, I drive the way I drive and yes I go over 70 in the rain and snow.

 

[benhall]

LSMITH,



I don't know if you are using winter blades that are completely covered in rubber or summer blades that show the entire blade workings. I found that if I ran the summer blades, the air would pass right through all the openings, and the blade would stay down. I tried winter blades for a while, but they wouldn't stay down while driving on interstates.



Ben

 

[bighammer]

Go shorter. You won't miss a couple inches in length. It seems to have helped.

 

[MarkF]

Do they do it new out of the box? I use regular "summer" blades Anco I think and they work great in the 70-90 mph range. But... . once thay get to be four or five months old they start to skip and chatter and occasionally leave two thirds of the drivers side windshield un-wiped. When this happens I instatntly go get new ones, give the windshield a good cleaning and no problems for four or five more months. The rubber wrapped winter blades on my wifes saturn do the same, change em every few months.

M

 

[TboneMan]

I've tried both summer and winter blades , niether work that well. I picked up a set of "helper springs" at a NAPA store. They fit over the wiper arm and add some much needed down pressure.



This is the first winter with them and so far I really like them. THe remove the salty backspray very well and the wipers stay down when passing semi's.

 

[Morphious]

bighammer, that's not what she said.....



I've had the same problem, since I bought the truck new in 98 and only run summer wipers, any idea on what the part number for the napa helper springs are? The problem I have is that it leaves the center of the wiper unclean like the windshield is indented a little.





Morph.

 

[CRSmith]

In the early 90's they sold those double bladed, finned wipers all over the place. The fins were supposed to keep the wiper down on the windsheild, and look cool while doing it.

 

[TboneMan]

I don't recall the part number on the helper springs. I ack the clerk at the counter and he directed me to the area containing the wiper blades. The springs were packaged in a set of two and hung on the pins like the wiper blades.

 

[Extreme1]

The early second gen wiper blade holders came with a small air deflector to stop that from happening. They have superceeded to the new syle though. You might be able to find a set used in a bone yard if your lucky.

 

[csevers]

You kill me LS

Save the lecture if you feel the need, I drive the way I drive and yes I go over 70 in the rain and snow.







Craig

 

[AggieJustin]

Rain-X

Ever since I've been running Rain-X on my windshield, the wipers have been lasting a lot longer.



The nice part is that the water usually clears right off so I don't need to run the wipers, but when I do they wipe clean. They also seem to do a better job around 70+ at getting the water off, no more skips.



JM

 

[C Schomer]

Lsmith, I drive the same way buddy! No reason to slow down if you're the only one out there! In the early 70s I sold what was called anti-windlift blades - don't remember if they were Anco or Trico. Been meaning to find them again. They had a metal scoop to catch the air and push them down. On some vehicles they actually work too good at high speed and flattened the rubber. The scoop could be trimmed accordingly. The advantage is, they only push down when needed - the helper springs would eventually crush the rubber. I used to have a blade scale looked like a tiny bathroom scale. Take the blade off and put the scale under the end of the arm - should have 1 ounce/inch of blade. The helper spring should be used only to get that or you'll be buying blades often. I will post if I find the other blades. Craig

 

[C Schomer]

Nope, just called! They were Anco. Trico made something similar but not anymore. I might try to make them. The scoop was about 10" long and 1"wide and rolled about 70 degrees. It was riveted to the arm with the roll going up. The trick will be to find an arm without all the hinges in it - need a long rigid base to put the scoop on. Craig

 

[LSMITH]

Thanks for the info guys.



Last place I looked the kid working there tried to sell me some stupid neon lights that go on the wipers, in addition to some triple blade WHITE blades. I told him I was hetero and had no intentions of purchasing the ones he pointed out, he didn't even get the jist of that LOL.



CSchomer, I know what you are talking about, but I have not seen any in recent years either.



Rain X does work, and it is above freezing so I could put it on if it stops raining. I usually have the windshield coated with it, but it is worn off right now.

 

[J@NWC]

I've been trying a new product for the last couple of months, PIAA yes the light company came out with silicone imbeded wiper blades. If you buy the replacement assembly they come with a silocone coated cloth that you wipe on first (like rain X) then the blades as they work keep some what reaplying this to the windshield. So far (2mo) they are the neatest thing since sliced bread. I'd give a snow use update but as to date it refuses to snow here.

 

[DaveN]

I belive I have a solution....

After a little investigation, I believe that the aerodynamics of the truck cause the wiper arm to lift from the windshield at speed. Both the drivers side and passender side wipers use the same spring, but the drivers side needs more due to the angle the wiper arm makes with the airstream that flows over the windshield. So I designed a new spring that provides 10~15% more down force on the wiper arm. Some guys have tried the old "bend the arm" trick, but it doesn't really cause the spring to extend very much, and doesn't really provide any more down force on the wiper arm.



I installed it on mine, and also gave it to a couple of other TDR members to try it out. I haven't received any negative feedback (other than the spring is a real bugger to get on and off) and most of the results have been positive, but what I've noticed personally is that the situation is much improved. The only drawback that I've seen is that it tends to wear out the wiper blade faster due to the increased downforce.



I've had it installed on mine for almost a year now, and have "road tested" it to 90+ MPH. At 85~90 I'm not sure anything will guarantee that the wiper will stay on the windshield, I've seen it lift with some wind gusts and semi's passing by. Ice and snow are still an issue, because the ice will build up on the blade, regardless of what you do. But I've noticed a significant improvement in rain performance.



If there is enough interest, I can have some more springs made up. My previous order of ten cost me about $25 a spring, I don't have any left. Obvioiusly I would be able to sell them cheaper with larger volumes, as they are custom made springs. I'm not looking to get rich, just looking to cover my costs and hopefully keep people from getting into an accident from not being able to see. I know the springs will fit 2001's but I believe the design is the same from 94~2002. Not 100% sure on that though...



Send me a PM or reply to this thread if anyone is interested.



Some other things to check:



Make sure that the wiper blade assembly does not contact the wiper arm during it's stroke. Mine was touching, causing the wiper blade to lose even pressure across the windshield. This aggravates the problem at speed.



Reroute your crankcase breather tube down and to the back of the engine. (This idea is from WTburke... ) he noticed a big difference in the amount of grime on his windshield from this simple mod.



Thanks,



Dave Niec

 

[fulltime]

With Rain-X you don't need wipers over 45 - 50 MPH, At highway speed I never use wipers, day or night.

 

[mbaston]

bug reflector

Has anybody else removed their aftermarket bug deflector and found that their winshield wipers stuck to the windshield better? Did the trick for me.



The blades I have had the biggest problem with up here are the winter blades. There seems to be more for the wind to catch.