Simple windreen wiper problem I've never solved.

Dec 20, 2009 13 Replies

I usually drive quite old cars. The one I have at present is a fifteen year old Toyota Corolla and it still runs perfectly.



The problem I have is when I renew wiper blades. To get the Toyota ones from a Toyota dealer would pay for a Toyota Excutive's winter sun holiday, so I just cant afford it.



This reduces me to buying from Tesco and Lidle and usually the wiper blades work just fine.



But for some reason the part of the wiper blade that slides into the ' U ' shaped cradle on the wiper arm is invariably quite a sloppy fit. Sometimes causing the wiper blade to click-clack noise when in use. I know its unlikely to escape since centrifugal force causes it to snug up to the U bend. Although once, one was well on its way to escaping.



To get a tight fit I have tried several things. Cutting up various strips of plastic like old debit cards and folding them over to double the thickness. Then they are just a shade to fat to go in properly.



The ideal answer would be something like a glue that fills the gap, but does not stick. I don't know of any such thing that yet exists? A thin piece of wood would be easy to trim to an exact wedge, but if i did it on a damp day it would likely drop out in the warm weather, of if i did it on a dry day it would expand on a damp day and I likely could not get the blade off the arm if I needed to.



Has anyone any idea on a simple solution please?


Can you not use your existing / original Toyota cradle and slot the new rubber blade into that?

Gio

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Wrap the arm with a bit of old inner tube to make a tight fit and ease the other bit on with a drop of washing-up liquid. Renew as necessary.

Cic.

buy bosch wiper blades from a car shop

"john bently" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Eh? Sorry, but what about motor factors, even Halfrauds?

[...]

Can't speak for Toyota main dealer prices, but Ford wipers are cheaper and better from a dealer than Halfrauds own. Have you actually checked prices?

Chris

The universal solution to all such problems is hot-melt glue. If the metal is cold when you apply it it's unlikely to to stick very well because it will have cooled off at the point of contact. You can build things up to whatever you want.

Rob Graham

I did check toyota prices a few years ago. i suppose things may have changed??

complete toyota blades are still very expensive. bosch blades are about 7 pounds each and include the adaptor to fit your wiper arms.

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All the major brands, including Bosch, which seem hard to find in motor factors near me.

What they said. Any decent wiper blade will fit properly. The local factors have been selling Trico, which seem decent, but I suspect Bosch & Valeo are still the top dogs.

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