My windshield wiper solution

[FFracer]

Love my MM!! But the wipers stunk! I run an auto repair shop that is an AC-Delco TSS facility. Well, the rep was in the other day hawking the latest and greatest top of the line blades. I said gimme a set for my Mercury and I'll let you know. WOW MUCH MUCH better. My wife noticed the difference instantly. They are the new teflon composite blades. I know, I know the car will reject the GM blades! But until then, they are a nice looking modern blade, black, nice. AC-Delco # 8-122 or GM long # 89000980

[Moparzz]

I know what you mean about those original wipers. The dealership gave me a brand new set off another new GM to see if it would help. It didn't. I went out and bought a new set of Bosch blades and it solved the problem.

[tomt41]

Mopar- We've just had nothing but 2 days of rain here and I am about to blow my brains out over these wipers. What is the Bosch part#'s- Thank god for RainX.

[Moparzz]

Tommy,

Go to your local auto parts store (AutoZone, PepBoys etc.) and just get the stock Bosch 22" wiper blades. They will snap right on to the MM arms and you will notice a great difference............ they actually remove the precipitation without having the seizures that the stock blades seemed to have.

[gja]

Same here Moparzz,
Put them on 2nd day after purchase of car. Bosch teflon edge are ALL I run on my cars. They are so damn smooth and the quality is consistant. The blades are really high quality and the arms have never rusted.

[NYSP618]

Drove in the first snowfall of any amount this morning, wiper performance wasn't bad but winter blades are a sure purchase.

By the way, for the first day in the snow the handling was about what I expected but it is going to be a loooooong sloooooow drive to work.

[Marauderman]

you know- I thought those wiper blades were/are a bit flembsy(sp) almost nothing to them--I take it from reading everyones comments that they are rather trashy and "no good"..thats terrible--a car costly that much to find so many things starting to appear so "cheap"....guess I'd better start looking up those "better" ones you'all have been talking about before the rain starts here for the winter...

[hd2805]

John,
Got caught in rain the other day and noticed how bad the wipers were and remembered seeing something here about them... If I read it right I should get some AC-Delco # 8-122??? You mentioned a GM part number also??? I assume that is Grand Marquis??? I just want a GOOD set of wipers....Help!!!
Thanks in advance...
Ed Moulton
EMoulton@SeacoastHarley.com

[hd2805]

Jim,
Sorry about the name mess up!!! Called you John in last reply.. Memory is the 2nd thing to go......
Ed

[Bigdogjim]

Guys! For what it is worth the dealer loaned me a MM for the afternoon to "show" the wife. It rained that afternoon on the way back. I thought to myself the wipers are worthless! Sunshine car only! When I finally bought a month later the car I took delivery of had better blades. Still after 2 ranin storms I swiched to the Bosch baldes after I read that what gja posted. They are a better blade!

Big Dog Jim

[VaderSS]

Does the MM use a female-receiver wiper blade and sidepin wiper arm? If so, then you could use the 9C1 (cop) wiper off the caprice. They have a wing that holds them down no matter how fast you drive. I've personally tested them to 120 with no lift. My stock wipers would be useless at that speed.
PN is 10283602

They will set you back about $50 but are well worth it. Use Lexor "B" refills, available at walmart.

You can get them cheaper here:

http://fs3.formsite.com/cplca/form650397773/index.html



http://www.naisso.net/naisso/superstore40/storepics/wiperseo.jpg

[metroplex]

I use Tripledge Blades and I'll keep using them

They're made of Jamack Silicone (the older ones used Dow Corning silicone) and won't freeze, squeek, or streak since they're silicone!

Good down to -50F up to +450F.

I'm not sure how composite graphite fares as a wiper, but silicone is a soft but firm material that has a low wear rate and is naturally water repellant.

I tested the Tripledge blades on 2 separate cars through 3 winter storms, and countless rain storms. All with better than excellent results.

I've heard lots of good results from Bosch blades, but then I heard a lot of ppl complained about them. Do the Bosch blades use rubber? If so, I'd avoid them. The rubber is permeable and allows water retention - which means they can freeze during the winter.

The silicone does not freeze even if there's ice all around it. I broke loose the wiper blades and the blade material was still soft and flexible. I can't say the same for the stock Motorcraft blades or Ancos.

Lexor, if i recall correctly, uses rubber blades.

I'll be switching to the Tripledge blades on the new E-250 as soon as it gets here.

[VaderSS]

I've tried the silicone triple-edge blades and did not care for them. If I lived where it got cold enough, I might use them in the winter, but I don't have that problem.

Before I started using the 9C1 wipers, I used Bosch Microedge Excel blades with Lexor refills. I found them to give the best performance of any blades I've tried. They are actually slightly better than the 9C1 wipers, but they do lift at high speed.

The Lexor refills are rubber. I just replace them twice a year. Takes 5 minutes.

[metroplex]

Vader: Yep, I wouldn't touch the Lexors or the Bosch blades here though. They'd freeze too quickly. I've heard lots of ppl w/ bad experiences using Bosch.

The Tripledge blades I used on two vehicles have proven to be superior to the stock rubber blades. It cleans w/o squeeks, streaks, and it doesn't freeze - which is a major problem in NJ when its as cold as now. The rubber is permeable, which means water can be retained in the blade material. Then when it freezes, it becomes a hard plastic squeegee that doesn't flex. :(

I don't care for the 3 blade design, but I do like the silicone they use. They cost as much as the Lexors.

[RCSignals]

I've tried the triple edge as well, and didn't like them. They initially were OK, but very quickly lost performance and squeaked terribly.

So far those odd blades on my '03 are working great in the Oregon rain. I find the new '03 wiper system to be very quiet as well.

[Colin]

What's rain?? :confused:

Colin

[metroplex]

Hey I just thought of something - maybe the reason the wiper blades rattle at high speeds is because of how aerodynamic the stock wipers are.

If you look at the aftermarket ones, sans the Lexor, they have holes on the top of the bracket. The stock blade bodies are like wings.

And like real airfoils, air flow ABOVE the wing surface creates lift.

I've NEVER had a problem with the perforated brackets at high speeds rattling around. The perforations pretty much kill the lift, so the blade stays put.

I can attest that after the snow, ice, sleet, hail, and rain I've driven the Vic through - the Tripledge blades are king. From -20C to 90F+ I will continue to use them and only Tripledge blades.
Rubber just doesn't cut it.

I don't know why some of the blades you've used have squeeked or not performed up to par - but the new Jamak silicone material is top notch. The older ones were Dow Corning, I've never used the Dow Corning blades but I'm getting Tripledge blades for the E-250 asap.

Frozen wiper blades suck :alone:

[RCSignals]

The triple edge I had were a couple of years ago. Maybe that is it.

So far I have better luck changing blades once a year.

[metroplex]

http://users.superford.org/metroplex/CVN/bernoulli.jpg

The stock Motorcraft? wipers that came with my 00 Vic have this nice aerodynamic "wing" shaped blade covering.
Now, my driver side blade is pretty much kept under the hood, while the passenger side is slightly exposed.

Theoretically if you drive fast enough, the faster air flow over and under the blade (seeing how its not perforated) could theoretically lift it up.

Now if it were perforated, like a MiG-29 that just ran into a USAF F-15E Strike Eagle with a guns happy pilot, it wouldn't be able to generate the necessary lift to cause chattering because the air flow wouldn't build up enough pressure. It'd dissipate due to the fact its passing through the wiper. It doesn't have the airfoil shape or structure. This is all theoretical of course, but I've never had a problem with the wiper blades chattering at highway speeds even in 45-55 mph gusting winds. IN FACT I've driven the T-bird through the most recent Hurricane and the wipers never chattered. :)

[TAF]

I was introduced to a Blue Marauder this a.m. I must say, I liked it and it looked MUCH better than the earlier pic that was posted.

Reason for the mention here is it was a 300B build, after 10/9 with TC and heated seats....AND...completely different and much better looking wipers. They were very similar to the Bosch that I have gone to.

So...somebody decided those :censor: piece of :censor: wipers that most of us got were exactly that...

[03 Merc]

Todd,

Where was the blue MM local to us? Also check out the wipers on the 03 Town Car.. a much better blade design and arms...and it should pop right on.. Now if I can just sneak into the garage and do the quick switch when my wife isn't looking.... :D

[schuvwj]

I went to the Ford/Mercury Dealer today and talked to the service department manager about these really poorly made wiper-blades on my MM.

I told them they should buy me a new pair of Bosh 22's but they said they had not recived any bad comments about these wiper blades from any other crown vic owners yet. (I am the only buyer of a MM from this dealer so far.)

However I did find a set of heavy duty 22" Motocraft Wiper Blades that fit my MM perfect.

The Motocraft number is WW-2204 or XF6Z-17528-AA.
My cost for the pair was $20.50 w/tax.

These blades are very heavy duty and work great!

Hope this helps!

[RCSignals]

Interesting about the second build blades, but considering Ford is cutting costs, I'd suspect the new version is less $$ to them

[jes1521]

I bought the Bosch blades and they are very bad in wind they lift in gusts. I talked with the dealer and they offered to swap out the original for ones from a GM and they work ok. This and the gas guage both suck.

[schuvwj]

I was at the local dealer yesterday burning some time while my sales person was with another customer and on the showroom floor was a new 2003 MM 300B and guess what! It had the same set of heavy duty 22" Motocraft Wiper Blades that I bought for my 2003 MM 3 months ago!

The Motocraft number is WW-2204 or XF6Z-17528-AA.