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Why do new wipers skip?

I got two cars with the exact same problem. One is a 1987 Subaru wagon and the other one is a 2003 Subaru Baja.

The wipers on both of these cars skip when it's raining. If the windshield is dry, they don't skip. Sounds weird to run wipers when it's not raining but I'm just saying when the rain slacks off the skipping goes away.

First the 1987 Subaru. I've :

1) replaced the wiper arms (thinking the springs were weak) 2) Tried two sets of Anco wiper blades (whole thing not just refills) 3) Cleaned the windshield with various solvents 4) Have a 1 year old windshield (old one was cracked) 5) Cleaned the blades with Purple Magic, rubbing alcohol 6) Tried lubricating the blades with silicone lubricant 7) Removed assembly to inspect and lubricant/clean the bushings 8) Tried with Rain-X, then without. 9) Tried installing a bolt and nut through the hole in the blade to see if this would keep it from moving around.

I cleaned wiper blades with rubbing alcohol all the time in the past and use Rain-X all the time too so I don't think either is the cause. I'm just pulling stuff out of the air to try.

Both cars sit in the garage when not driven so it's not parked under any trees.

Nothing I do has seems to work. But if I put some sort of lubricant on the blades it makes it worse. Like silicone spray.

Now the Baja. I replaced the three year old blades the other day because they were starting to leave streaks. I had been running Ancos. I replaced them with new Ancos and the wipers skip worse than on my 87 Wagon! I cleaned the windshield the other day and it helped but it still skips.

So I'm starting to wonder if the problem with both cars are Anco wiper blades because my Baja started doing this the other day immedietly after installing new blades.

That doesn't make sense that a new blade would skip right off the bat.

I picked up some Bosch blades today and will install them tommorrow on the 87 wagon.

Any ideas on this?

Reply to
James
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One thing you might look at...the angle of the blade of the wiper needs to be about 90 degrees to the surface of the windshield. The wiper blade flexes on the arm, so it will not hold at an exact 90 degrees, of course. The ability to flex in both directions is important. If it cant, it will wipe in one direction, and then skip or skitter in the reverse direction.

You can adjust the angle, using a couple of crescent wrenches to slightly bend the wiper arm. This must be done carefully and in small steps.

Proceed at your own caution.

I listened to a colleague kvetching about his new Mercedes doing the same thing the other day. The Mercedes mechanics have not been able to solve his problem, and it IS an irritating situation. Some of the odd windshield angles make wiper skipping a lot more prevalent.

Reply to
<HLS

I have a Toyota p/u and I have had the same problems you are experiancing. I was also using Anco blades. I switched to the Toyota wiper refills and have not had any problems since. In my opinion Anco blades are junk. The Anco blades would only last 3-6 months before they skipped. The Toyota refills last at least 2 years before they start to streak.

Reply to
Mike

You might try, on one of your cars, using regular windshield washing solution rather than Rain-X. I distinctly remember having bad experiences with skipping and 'scrubbing noise' a couple of years back--the problems showed up as soon as I filled my reservoirs using Rain-X. Seems like I recall their making several products, and the one I used was supposed to keep the windshield free from water spots after a rain. Good luck, & I hope you find the cause. Awfully agitating! s

Reply to
sdlomi2

I put some Bosch blades on the 87 model and it still skips a bit but doesn't seem as bad as the Ancos. I'll let them "break in" and see what happens.

Reply to
James Seabolt

Both windshields are sandblasted due to age.

Reply to
Nicik Name

"James" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mygate.mailgate.org:

Try OEM refills. Aftermarket is shit.

Reply to
TeGGeR®

Kinda hard to do remote, but here's a couple of ideas.

  1. As I understand it you replaced the wiper arms and blade inserts separately using aftermarket parts. Make sure the arm and blade flex easily and are not binding at all.

  1. Check the glass carefully for streaks of built-up road grime, especially at the point where the blade stops to reverse direction. Sometimes that grime is only seen when the glass is wet. That alone will make blades dance and chatter like crazy.

  2. If the above fails, replace arms and blades with factory units. In my experience with Volvo and Toyota cars they are much better than the after market replacements. I suspect the same will hold true for Subaru.
Reply to
John S.

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