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#@^&*! Windshield Wiper Blades
Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 12:36 pm
by JEBar
a couple of days ago we put our Chevy 1500 in the shop to have it serviced and the tires rotated .... while working on it they called us and said the wiper blades needed to be replaced .... I have no doubt that the blades needed to be replaced but declined having them do so .... sat down and ordered a reasonably priced set guaranteed to fit our truck from Amazon .... blades delivered next day which naturally had bands of rain moving through .... to take advantage of a lull between showers, I decided to go out and install the new blades .... naturally the truck was parked in standing water and yes, I my shoes were quickly saturated .... that was then things became unhinged .... first, I couldn't figure out how to removed the old blades .... frustration escalated as once again it started raining .... back in the house I decided to read the directions .... must admit I was a bit taken back by the instructions being all pictures, not a single word .... for me that's not bad at all .... both of the pages of diagrams were divided to sections written for the up-teen types of wiper arms one might find .... problem, you couldn't know which type of tip was used on our truck's arms until the blades were removed .... during subsequent lull, I must have pulled or pushed or twisted something be cause all of a sudden I had a wiper blade in my hand .... back to the directions and found the area that covered the arms on our truck .... another lull, back out there and lets just say that things didn't go well .... finally gave up and decided to drive over to an auto parts, buy another set and have them install them for free .... figured that would probably be cheaper than going to a regular garage and paying them to install the ones ordered from Amazon .... naturally not a cloud in the sky this morning .... got in the truck, put the key in the ignition to head to an auto parts but I couldn't make myself crank the truck .... went back to work on the blades with the directions in one hand .... finally I noticed that one of the many parts of the adapter that came with blade needed to be removed .... once again, a picture of the part off to the side but no hint as to how to remove .... eventually, I did figure it out and the blades popped into place .... must say that don't know whether grumble or smile
Re: #@^&*! Windshield Wiper Blades
Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 1:05 pm
by Sir Henry
Don’t get me started……….
……I had the same problem on my RV.
Re: #@^&*! Windshield Wiper Blades
Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 1:41 pm
by Shakey Jake
It's always a mystery when dealing with wiper blades. There's not a bit of commonality within the companies. I always try to get the same brand so I don't add to the confusion. We've had good luck with the RainX blades in our area so that's what I usually get. Do you remember the days when wiper blades lasted longer than six months to a year? Can't hardly go four or five months in our area before they need replacing.
Jake
Re: #@^&*! Windshield Wiper Blades
Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 2:52 pm
by BigAl52
Ya and the price of them has gone up totally out of control for what you get.
Re: #@^&*! Windshield Wiper Blades
Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 2:56 pm
by CT_Shooter
Shakey Jake wrote: ↑Fri Mar 25, 2022 1:41 pm
We've had good luck with the RainX blades in our area so that's what I usually get.
I use RainX blades and RainX windshield treatment. The blades are good blades, but
RainX treatment is AMAZING!
Re: #@^&*! Windshield Wiper Blades
Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 3:34 pm
by JEBar
the blades I took off were RainX .... they had been good ones but their time had come
Re: #@^&*! Windshield Wiper Blades
Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 4:12 pm
by Sir Henry
Shakey Jake wrote: ↑Fri Mar 25, 2022 1:41 pm
It's always a mystery when dealing with wiper blades. There's not a bit of commonality within the companies. I always try to get the same brand so I don't add to the confusion. We've had good luck with the RainX blades in our area so that's what I usually get. Do you remember the days when wiper blades lasted longer than six months to a year? Can't hardly go four or five months in our area before they need replacing.
Jake
I would get years of service out of mine in Washington. Now that I’m in Wisconsin I wonder if the chemicals used and the constant freezing will shorten the life of them.
Re: #@^&*! Windshield Wiper Blades
Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 4:46 pm
by markiver54
BigAl52 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 25, 2022 2:52 pm
Ya and the price of them has gone up totally out of control for what you get.
VERY true. I just replaced mine recently. I remember the days when you could just change the rubber. Not anymore though. They weren't making enough money, so now it's the whole arm!
Re: #@^&*! Windshield Wiper Blades
Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 9:10 pm
by brm4450
JEBar wrote: ↑Fri Mar 25, 2022 12:36 pm
a couple of days ago we put our Chevy 1500 in the shop to have it serviced and the tires rotated .... while working on it they called us and said the wiper blades needed to be replaced .... I have no doubt that the blades needed to be replaced but declined having them do so .... sat down and ordered a reasonably priced set guaranteed to fit our truck from Amazon .... blades delivered next day which naturally had bands of rain moving through .... to take advantage of a lull between showers, I decided to go out and install the new blades .... naturally the truck was parked in standing water and yes, I my shoes were quickly saturated .... that was then things became unhinged .... first, I couldn't figure out how to removed the old blades .... frustration escalated as once again it started raining .... back in the house I decided to read the directions .... must admit I was a bit taken back by the instructions being all pictures, not a single word .... for me that's not bad at all .... both of the pages of diagrams were divided to sections written for the up-teen types of wiper arms one might find .... problem, you couldn't know which type of tip was used on our truck's arms until the blades were removed .... during subsequent lull, I must have pulled or pushed or twisted something be cause all of a sudden I had a wiper blade in my hand .... back to the directions and found the area that covered the arms on our truck .... another lull, back out there and lets just say that things didn't go well .... finally gave up and decided to drive over to an auto parts, buy another set and have them install them for free .... figured that would probably be cheaper than going to a regular garage and paying them to install the ones ordered from Amazon .... naturally not a cloud in the sky this morning .... got in the truck, put the key in the ignition to head to an auto parts but I couldn't make myself crank the truck .... went back to work on the blades with the directions in one hand .... finally I noticed that one of the many parts of the adapter that came with blade needed to be removed .... once again, a picture of the part off to the side but no hint as to how to remove .... eventually, I did figure it out and the blades popped into place .... must say that don't know whether grumble or smile
Been there, done that, saw the movie, bought the T-Shirt
Re: #@^&*! Windshield Wiper Blades
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 1:51 pm
by daytime dave
I try to replace mine each spring. It sometimes works out. If not, they last through another year. I have a new set ready to go on as I'm writing this. The only problem I have is like Jim described. Having to remove a part from the adapter I need with no explanation. It usually turns out to be so simple that it just about falls off the second one. Just about..........