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Wiper Blades - I'm Losing My Mind!

  • 27-08-2014 9:55pm
    #1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,088 ✭✭✭


    The wipers on my car are only two weeks old and they're so noisy (previous set were the same) and they're not cheap crap either. It's mainly the driver's side blade. The middle of the blade is folding over and causing a very loud juddering noise. I've tried cleaning the blade thoroughly but it makes no difference. I nearly stopped the car on the middle of the road today to rip them off and fuck them into the hedge.

    Help me, please..


Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 73,513 ✭✭✭✭colm_mcm


    How clean is the windscreen? Deposits on the glass will wear out new blades and cause nastiness


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,088 ✭✭✭Nib


    It's pretty clean from what I can see. I haven't cleaned it with and fancy windscreen cleaners, just the usual water and whatever I cleaned the rest of the car with.

    These wipers are only two weeks old. Would they really wear out that fast?


  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 51,690 Mod ✭✭✭✭Stheno


    Nib wrote: »
    It's pretty clean from what I can see. I haven't cleaned it with and fancy windscreen cleaners, just the usual water and whatever I cleaned the rest of the car with.

    These wipers are only two weeks old. Would they really wear out that fast?

    Are they fitted properly?

    My OHs car has just one wiper, but sometimes it gets dislodged from the fitting at the bottom of the windscreen that holds it and jumps all over the place.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 971 ✭✭✭Senecio


    Use a clay bar on the windscreen. Only way to decontaminate the glass properly. You'll be amazed at the difference it makes.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,532 ✭✭✭JohnBoy26


    What brand of wiper are they?


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,585 ✭✭✭jca


    Valeo blades are the best by a long chalk. Bosch are the worst, squeaky and juddery truly awful crap.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,532 ✭✭✭JohnBoy26


    jca wrote: »
    Valeo blades are the best by a long chalk. Bosch are the worst, squeaky and juddery truly awful crap.
    what car? Are the flat blades or regular blades?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 23,572 ✭✭✭✭mickdw


    Sounds like the angle of attack to the windscreen is wrong specially if 2 sets of blades are giving trouble.
    Get a vice grip and adjust the wiper arm very slightly to adjust the attack angle.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,945 ✭✭✭Bigus


    Check out the angle that the noisey blade is hitting the window, its / way or\ way instead of 90 degree , to adjust it lift the arm away from the screen an twist the whole arm ( using the blade as a lever ) to alter the angle of attack and stop it skipping . You need to look at this angle over full sweep to see which way to twist it to get nearer 90 deg rubber to glass ,


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,585 ✭✭✭jca


    JohnBoy26 wrote: »
    what car? Are the flat blades or regular blades?

    My last car 07 Octavia had flat blades, the Bosch ones barely lasted 3 months the main dealer supplied valeos were over two years old and going strong when I traded it in. I notice my local skoda dealer has a german brand of blades on a stand behind the counter, these must be the ones on my latest aquisition an 09 Octavia as it says it was fitted with 3 new blades before I collected it. They are very good at clearing the glass but sound a little "grindy" as if they were made from hard rubber.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,532 ✭✭✭JohnBoy26


    jca wrote: »
    My last car 07 Octavia had flat blades, the Bosch ones barely lasted 3 months the main dealer supplied valeos were over two years old and going strong when I traded it in. I notice my local skoda dealer has a german brand of blades on a stand behind the counter, these must be the ones on my latest aquisition an 09 Octavia as it says it was fitted with 3 new blades before I collected it. They are very good at clearing the glass but sound a little "grindy" as if they were made from hard rubber.

    I find ford blades to be the best of any blade tbh, they aren't much more expensive than your regular Bosch or valeo either.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,532 ✭✭✭JohnBoy26


    mickdw wrote: »
    Sounds like the angle of attack to the windscreen is wrong specially if 2 sets of blades are giving trouble.
    Get a vice grip and adjust the wiper arm very slightly to adjust the attack angle.

    Before doing that I'd make sure that the nuts on the arms aren't loose. I had a car once that had very noisy wipers and loose arms was the culprit.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,585 ✭✭✭jca


    JohnBoy26 wrote: »
    I find ford blades to be the best of any blade tbh, they aren't much more expensive than your regular Bosch or valeo either.

    I think the Ford blades are Valeo.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,532 ✭✭✭JohnBoy26


    jca wrote: »
    I think the Ford blades are Valeo.

    I don't think the regular blades are valeo, not sure about the flat blade though. My post above was in reference to regular blades, I should of been a bit clearer on that.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,652 ✭✭✭Chimaera


    Bosch blades are good IME. Any blade is going to perform badly if it's not fitted correctly and the glass is properly clean.

    Like others have said, the blade is probably at the wrong angle to the screen so it's not flipping over when it changes direction. Get an adjustable spanner to twist the wiper arm rather than using the wiper. Do it a little at a time and test the wipers after each adjustment.

    Clay the screen and then use a good glass polish to finish it.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,088 ✭✭✭Nib


    These are Bosch, not sure what the old ones were. €22! It's a 06 Almera. They are fitted correctly, there's no play if wiggle them.

    Passenger side wiper is working fine, so I don't think it's the alignment.

    Thanks for the suggestions folks, I'll try the clay clean first before I go and snap them of trying to adjust them.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,652 ✭✭✭Chimaera


    Nib wrote: »
    These are Bosch, not sure what the old ones were. €22! It's a 06 Almera. They are fitted correctly, there's no play if wiggle them.

    Passenger side wiper is working fine, so I don't think it's the alignment.

    Just because one is good doesn't mean the other is. They're two separate components.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,585 ✭✭✭jca


    Bigus wrote: »
    Check out the angle that the noisey blade is hitting the window, its / way or\ way instead of 90 degree , to adjust it lift the arm away from the screen an twist the whole arm ( using the blade as a lever ) to alter the angle of attack and stop it skipping . You need to look at this angle over full sweep to see which way to twist it to get nearer 90 deg rubber to glass ,

    It never worked for me, the steel used in those wiper arms is very strong stuff.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,845 ✭✭✭Noccy_Mondy


    Don't have a lot of experience on bosch aero blades, but the normal ones ain't the best, they ain't too bad though. As said the Ford ones are class altogether, mine are on at least 2 years now, but need changing, and I want a set for the focus aswell. I take it you need to go to the dealer to get them?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,532 ✭✭✭JohnBoy26


    Don't have a lot of experience on bosch aero blades, but the normal ones ain't the best, they ain't too bad though. As said the Ford ones are class altogether, mine are on at least 2 years now, but need changing, and I want a set for the focus aswell. I take it you need to go to the dealer to get them?
    You can get them online too afaik but to buy in a bricks and mortar shop the main dealer is your best bet.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,004 ✭✭✭ironclaw


    How old is the car OP? You may need to replace the spring system that holds the arm down. If its not applying proper tension, the blade could hop and judder.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,237 ✭✭✭✭djimi


    Nib wrote: »
    It's pretty clean from what I can see. I haven't cleaned it with and fancy windscreen cleaners, just the usual water and whatever I cleaned the rest of the car with.

    These wipers are only two weeks old. Would they really wear out that fast?

    Even giving the windscreen a blast of Windoleen or the like might make a difference. It does on my car.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 564 ✭✭✭fmcg_scribe


    djimi wrote: »
    Even giving the windscreen a blast of Windoleen or the like might make a difference. It does on my car.

    A clay bar is perhaps the ultimate cleaning tool for a car window never mind a car body panel. If you don't have a clay bar, household vinegar (preferably distilled) is very effective for cleaning the exteriors of car windows. I would rate it more effective than than Windolene or similar products.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,755 ✭✭✭ianobrien


    Nib wrote: »
    .... It's a 06 Almera. They are fitted correctly, there's no play if wiggle them.

    Passenger side wiper is working fine, so I don't think it's the alignment.

    ....

    If it's an '06 Almera and if it's the drivers side the wiper spindle casing is worn where the drivers wiper spindle comes up through the bulkhead. As a result, the tension on the wiper forces the spindle to rotate at an angle.

    You can check this by pressing down on the middle of the drivers wiper hard. If it moves, the spindle is worn.

    The cure, either replace the mounting or get a spacer made up to full the gap. My cure was to keep the windscreen spotless and regularly clean the wiper blades.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 17,733 ✭✭✭✭corktina


    have you it on the right way round? If identical to the other side, try swapping them.

    (In my view don't put anything on your screen as it will smear and you wont see out properley when the sun hits it.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,281 ✭✭✭naughtysmurf


    I'm by no means an expert but I've found that the difference in rubber between different types was an issue, had to find as soft a rubber as possible for my windscreen, a hard rubber blade just jumped & dragged across my windscreen


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,830 ✭✭✭RandomAccess


    Maybe the spring on the wiper arm is putting too much pressure on it.
    Not sure how you would confirm that other than replacing the wiper arm with another.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 556 ✭✭✭Carson10


    I had this problem a few Years ago, the only solution is the main dealer factory blades, eg. VW. they last about 2 years, no squeaks.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,585 ✭✭✭jca


    Carson10 wrote: »
    I had this problem a few Years ago, the only solution is the main dealer factory blades, eg. VW. they last about 2 years, no squeaks.

    Yep. You get what you pay for.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,096 ✭✭✭kirving


    Which type of blades are they OP? You didn't happen to replace sprung blades with flat ones?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,845 ✭✭✭Noccy_Mondy


    Just to give a rough price about oem wipers. Ford dealer quoted €45 for a set of aero's for a mk4 mondeo, and similarly €36 for a mk1 focus. Well worth the bit extra imo.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 454 ✭✭EunanMac


    Try the adjustments / cleaning suggested on the thread first, but if I'm keeping a car, one of the very few things I ever buy from a main dealer are wiper blades. They are pricey for what they are, but they do work much better and last longer.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,237 ✭✭✭✭djimi


    Just to give a rough price about oem wipers. Ford dealer quoted €45 for a set of aero's for a mk4 mondeo, and similarly €36 for a mk1 focus. Well worth the bit extra imo.

    Good lord :eek:

    I paid €13 for a set of Bosch in the local motor factors and they are perfect. They would want to be diamond encrusted for me to spend that kind of money on wiper blades.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,585 ✭✭✭jca


    djimi wrote: »
    Good lord :eek:

    I paid €13 for a set of Bosch in the local motor factors and they are perfect. They would want to be diamond encrusted for me to spend that kind of money on wiper blades.

    Perfect for how long? The Lidl wipers are better than Bosch rubbish. Main Stealer blades will easily last 2 years.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,907 ✭✭✭✭CJhaughey


    I've had both Flat blades and conventional blades from Lidl and they work great. Aldi's ones not so good in my experience.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,237 ✭✭✭✭djimi


    jca wrote: »
    Perfect for how long? The Lidl wipers are better than Bosch rubbish. Main Stealer blades will easily last 2 years.

    I actually can't remember the last time I changed them. It was this time last year at least.

    Haven't tried Lidl ones. Didn't even know they sold them.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 23,572 ✭✭✭✭mickdw


    jca wrote: »
    Perfect for how long? The Lidl wipers are better than Bosch rubbish. Main Stealer blades will easily last 2 years.

    I've been using bosch flat blades for years. They don't wear out. I changed the factory blades after 2 years. Got bosch. Lasted another 2 years no issue. They are still perfect really and have them kept aside for emergencies.
    Worst I've seen are the factory fit blades on a 12 passat. Flat blades and they fell apart in less than a year.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,585 ✭✭✭jca


    mickdw wrote: »
    I've been using bosch flat blades for years. They don't wear out. I changed the factory blades after 2 years. Got bosch. Lasted another 2 years no issue. They are still perfect really and have them kept aside for emergencies.
    Worst I've seen are the factory fit blades on a 12 passat. Flat blades and they fell apart in less than a year.

    I never used Bosch flat blades so I can't comment but when I had a car that used the old type blades, the Bosch blades were terrible. The Lidl ones were great but didn't last as long as main dealer blades.


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