Car wiper replacement

[Brian Gaff]

I do believe from chatter I hear over the gardens that it seems some windscreen washer stuff rots some blades due to the material used. Sorry not being a drive of course I was not really listening. I suppose being cynical, its not in the best interests of accessory companies to make them that will last a long time. grin. Brian

[Jim Stewart ...]

yip....crap

[Paul]

Tools and technique.

It might not look like much, but this is THE tool for winter here. The plastic scraper on that is virtually bulletproof. You can use the corner of that, to scribe a line in 1/2" thick ice for example. You can pound on the ice with that blade (to the point you'd think the windshield would break).

But it's also partially technique, as when you're beating the piss out of that thing, you're applying the forces in-plane. And not trying to bend it in the "weak direction", which might snap it. Don't try to pry open a paint tin with that :-)

You can buy ally versions of tools like that, on which the blade breaks on the first usage. But not that one. And it's cheap.

You can apply defroster heat. If there is enough ice buildup, sometimes you can't scrape right along where the wiper is frozen enough, to free it. And then you have to wait until you get some heat in the car.

As for windshield washer, I keep -40C "green" liquid in the tank year round. I buy a couple jugs of -40C while it is available in winter, and use it in summer too. It's pretty effective on bug splat, but not perfect. The summer version has a detergent-like material for bug splat, which the -40C does not have.

The other thing I do, is take an old Windex bottle with the pump on it, fill it 3/4 full with the -40C windshield cleaner, and spray that on the frozen wiper blade. That can help free up the blade for minor frosting. Since the liquid will not freeze, the pump in the Windex bottle continues to work when temps are less than 0C. I keep the Windex bottle near the console in the car for easy access. You take the Windex bottle outside the car, spray the blade area and wait a bit. Or, continue "working on it". As you wish. The advantage is, the wiper motor does not try to tear the blade edge off when you apply the liquid from a separate bottle.

Paul

[alan_m]

Buy a car with a heated windscreen :)

[soup]

I tend not to spray windsheild washer to clear frost as whenever I press to spray the wipers do a sweep (which would tear them if frozen in place.

I spray iso-propyl to 'defrost' things, it is relatively cheap if bought in bulk and it doesn't seem to affect any seals /rubbers/paintwork. I must admit I am not a fan of mechanically removing frost/ice but if you get away with it,... .

[JoeJoe]

Bought the Bosch ones in the end - front and back - took a total of 5 minutes to replace.

So far so good.

Thanks all for your useful advice.