Thursday, January 24, 2008

Wiper Wiper Wiper Blades


Who knew that wiper blade replacement could be so hard???

This summer I paid nearly $50 for a set of Rain-X wiper blades and they were the best set of blades I've ever had.

I've always had an issue with wiper blades making a horrible noise rubbing against my van's windshield and the Rain-X blades were the first I've had that were quiet.

Yesterday they were a caked with ice and I pulled out the driver's side blade arm and flicked it against the windshield to clear it of ice. The ice fell off and so did the end cap that keeps the blade from slipping off.

Today the squirty blue stuff wouldn't squirt out on the driver's side and the passenger side wiper arm's spring sprung so the blade wasn't totally touching the windshield.

So, on my way to work this morning, about half way into South Bend, I got splashed with road slush and was left with two 1" strips of clean windshield. The unfortunate part was one was about 3" above my normal line of vision and the other was about 3" below.

I called around to find replacement wiper arms and NAPA was kind enough to order them in from their Ft. Wayne store and I picked them up after work. While there, I bought some new blades, too.

Tonight, we messed with the wiper arms, blades and squirty stuff for about an hour. The end result is I have squirty stuff again, but no wipers. The wiper blade arms were the wrong size, the blades had the wrong attachments and no adapters.

Tomorrow's drive to work should be fun!

Check out this ode to wiper blade replacement by Heywood Banks.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I personally think that seeing where you're going is highly overrated. Just point your van in the general direction of your office, lay on the horn, and GO! Tee hee!