wiper blade rubber inserts

[Toughy]

has any body had problems with replacment wiper refills on focus ls?
I have had two replacment wiper refills from ford dealers on my zetec and after only 4to 5 weeks the rubber's start chattering across the screen ?
does any one have any idea's This is driving me nuts! :

[T-bone88]

Just on the wiper blades, what options do we have when it comes to replacing them? Are we stuck using the ford wipers, or are there 3rd party wipers we can use?

[Toughy]

I am not sure surly someone must do a after market set like bosch ?

[DZFord]

My wipers have always done this, and replacing them only temporarily fixes the problem. The only time the wipers were actually quiet for a decent amount of time was when Ford actually somehow adjusted the wiper arm...the problem eventually came back.

On a side note (for a bit of a laugh) - my Ford dealership had the nerve to try and tell me that the Focus wiper inserts are not replacable, and I would have to replace the whole wiper arm - $100+ each on the front and even more on the rear - rather than replacing just the inserts. I rang the parts department at the same dealership to confirm this was not the case and got Ford to fit them in the end.

[More revs]

Same here mine have chattered for the last 3 years despite replacing the refils every service. I use rain x now and problem stays away.

[Velociraptor82]

Mine chatter as well depending on how much water there is on the window but it has never really bothered me.

I'm pretty sure there was another thread earlier about replacing the wiper blades and it seems to be a common thing that Ford tell people to buy the whole arm. Included in that thread also was a build guide to dissassemble the arm and replace just the rubber bit.

[Velociraptor82]

Here is the thread:

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthr...t=wiper+blades

[Toughy]

yeah thanks ,mate i know hoew to replace the rubbers,but it shits me that they chatter ,they shouldnt do it?

[marg99]

great to now know how to do insert new blades when I need to do that!

[Toughy]

Yeah at the end of each blade is a plastic cap. use a small flat blade screw driver praise up the cap it should pop off, under that is a flat piece of metal it has a pin or spike in the middle of it gently raise it up about 2mm pull out your rubber and reverse to replace.
Toughy

[Tj-zetec]

The wipers in my 10 week old LV are still wisper quiet.

The ones on my LR however squeal louder than a Mexican pig being chased by a mob of angry scientists. In fact they used to slip out of the arm. Happened on the F3 to newcastle one night in what could only be described as a tropical down pour. Fun.

[Fast Eddie]

I've had zero problems with mine on my LR. Having said that I have always used RAINEX on the screen and that seems to help.

[BBQshapes]

The wipers on my ST170 are only a bit noisy when the blades are dry, they soon quieten down... except over the weekend where the blade came away from the arm, now there is a scratch on the windscreen from the metal arms that hold the wiper blade :(

[Tj-zetec]

That's exactly what happened on my LR.

Turn the blade around to the little clippy thing is on the bottom side of the wiper-arm. That is, the end that points down when the wiper arm is pointing up... couldn't think of a better way to explain.

That stopped em coming out for me.

[BBQshapes]

Originally Posted by Tj-zetec

That's exactly what happened on my LR.

Turn the blade around to the little clippy thing is on the bottom side of the wiper-arm. That is, the end that points down when the wiper arm is pointing up... couldn't think of a better way to explain.

That stopped em coming out for me.

Mine are currently set-up like that, they slid the other way, so the top edge of the arm was what scratched the glass, the blade-holder things were a bit wide at the top edge, and it seems the blade just slipped out, and the tension put the end of the wiper arm onto the glass...

any idea if glass scratches can be fixed? i didnt take out windscreen insurance, so the cricket ball idea is out of the question :

[#Russ#Es#]

Originally Posted by BBQshapes

Mine are currently set-up like that, they slid the other way, so the top edge of the arm was what scratched the glass, the blade-holder things were a bit wide at the top edge, and it seems the blade just slipped out, and the tension put the end of the wiper arm onto the glass...

any idea if glass scratches can be fixed? i didnt take out windscreen insurance, so the cricket ball idea is out of the question :

Find a good local windscreen repairer, many can actually polish scratches out.

[grmas1]

Had the very Same problem on mine. I took it for it's 75k service yesterday and once again I asked for them to be fixed. Peter Warren @ Warwick Farm told me they hated them as they could never get them right without changing the whole arm. They are pulling them apart and trying to feed in new rubbers. Lasts about 2 weeks on the car before the chatter starts again.

[alky89]

oh man this is the worst problem ever! i get it too. new wiper blades are only good for a few weeks. occasionally i hit the wrong stalk and the chatter gives me a bit of a fright.

[Buzz Box]

Yeah its true we've taken the ends off and replaced the rubbers 3/4 times and they do only last a couple of weeks the traditional old style wipers are better than these European enclosed things.

[More revs]

I might have a solution.... Involves buying a 3rd party set for the previous model and drilling some holes...

I'll let you know in a few days how it went..

warning it means losing the aerotwins and reverting back to framed blades.

[BlackLS]

What about replacing the Aerotwins themselves. It was about a 1.5 years my original wipers were good for.

[More revs]

Well the mod works but I need some more road and rain time b4 I can recommend.

Sure you loose the original blades BUT get cheap to replace options...

Loving it so far....

[Toughy]

hey thanks ,to you all for the feedback .looks like rainex maybe the only answer as ford cant help? once again thanks to you all ..Toughy