Wiper blade refills

[XtRmn8]

Originally Posted by apstar

Thanks please let us know how the fitting goes once you get them

apstar

Will do. they are very easy to replace as they are identical to the OEM item.

Originally Posted by xr6turbo2005

replaced mine of both cars not long ago with ones from repco. I think they were actually Repco brand and are a silicone type blade. Best I've had, so we'll see how long they last.

I also have the Repco blades on my BA, they are not bad but I do not like how chunky the elbow is where the blade connects to the wiper arm. The Mondeo is a different kettle of fish though and the Repco blades to come come in the correct size unfortunately.

[stuart]

I had mine replaced by Ford on my lease car at the 45k service since they were smearing rather than wiping. Had nothing but trouble since - been back twice to have them adjusted but still not OK.
Ford said they have a lot of trouble with replacment blades due to the 'sensitivity' of how the blades sit on the windscreen

If Ford can't get it right who can?

[NZ XR6]

Originally Posted by stuart

I had mine replaced by Ford on my lease car at the 45k service since they were smearing rather than wiping. Had nothing but trouble since - been back twice to have them adjusted but still not OK.
Ford said they have a lot of trouble with replacment blades due to the 'sensitivity' of how the blades sit on the windscreen

If Ford can't get it right who can?

Did they replace the blades or the inserts?

I changed them myself, the most difficult part of the job was remembering how to put the wiper arms in the service position! Must have taken all of 2 minutes to do the job and the blades worked perfectly. Sounds like typical Ford service dept. BS to me.

[XtRmn8]

Originally Posted by NZ XR6

I changed them myself, the most difficult part of the job was remembering how to put the wiper arms in the service position!

There is a service position for the wiper arms?

All I did was lift the blade of the windscreen and remove it from the arm while they were in their normal rest position.

[Zippy7]

Originally Posted by XtRmn8

There is a service position for the wiper arms?

Yep. You have 3 seconds to hold the wiper stalk down after you turn off the car. The blades will stop in a vertical position.

In other news - got 2 Tridon Flexblade arms from SuperCheap. TFB26TLP and TFB19TLP cost $50 for the pair (or $35 for one).

They are quite a bit smaller than the standard Ford arms (there is no aero moulding/fin on the top of the arm, its the bare arm itself). Given the lousy weather in Sydney, should get a chance to test them out in the next few days.

I then decided to have a go at taking apart the original Ford arms. You should be able to take the end caps off by sliding a small screwdriver under cap, but coming from the top side of the assembly - there are 2 tabs inside these end caps that hold them in place (one on each side of the fin). One end of the wiper blade is held in place with a 2 teeth on a metal tab pressing down. Looks like a simple 6mm refill, but the challenge will be to get the right size. Will probably do this next time around.

[stuart]

Originally Posted by NZ XR6

Did they replace the blades or the inserts?

I changed them myself, the most difficult part of the job was remembering how to put the wiper arms in the service position! Must have taken all of 2 minutes to do the job and the blades worked perfectly. Sounds like typical Ford service dept. BS to me.

Good question Zippy.
In fact it started raining this morning in Melbourne on the way to work. The wipers made so much noise I couldn't hear the radio!
Took the car to Ford (opposite my work) for the umpteenth time and asked for a FIX!!!!
Low and behold they said they only replaced the insert before.

After replacing the whole blade they are now beautifully SILENT and EFFECTIVE

[NZ XR6]

Originally Posted by Zippy7

Yep. You have 3 seconds to hold the wiper stalk down after you turn off the car. The blades will stop in a vertical position.

In other news - got 2 Tridon Flexblade arms from SuperCheap. TFB26TLP and TFB19TLP cost $50 for the pair (or $35 for one).

They are quite a bit smaller than the standard Ford arms (there is no aero moulding/fin on the top of the arm, its the bare arm itself). Given the lousy weather in Sydney, should get a chance to test them out in the next few days.

I looked at the Flexblades when I replaced mine, but they were only $20 cheaper than the Ford set. $50 a pair is a much better price.

Repco has their own brand that look OK but they don't fit the Mondeo.

The standard blades are great - very smooth and quiet and they stay on the screen really well under all conditions. You can tell they're German - designed for stupid speeds on a wet Autobahn!

[Marlboro2728]

Ford replaced my originals wipers on my Focus which were fantastic at the
30k service and they are the crappiest blades ever. I read on the Fiesta forum to try and wipe the blades with metho which helped a little but they are still crap. I bought some Bosch Aerotwins which are great. No squeaks or judders and really effective in the downpour we had last night.

[Spinner77]

Maybe I didn't try hard enough, but I couldn't find any Bosch Aerotwins in Melbourne when I was looking for them a few months ago.

On the Bosch Aus website, but not in Autobarn or Supercheap.

[Marlboro2728]

Bought mine from Bursons in Thomastown, heaps of stock. Only thing was I bought the next size up blade as to what they had recommended in the catalogue for the drivers side as it was shorter than the original . The next size up was the correct size!

[Spinner77]

Thanks, Marlboro.

[Zippy7]

I can confirm the Tridon replacement set works nicely.
There was plenty of rain and drizzle up in Katoomba over this Easter break, and it let me test out the new blades. Quite happy with the results - obviously, will do it cheaper next time.

[booker_noe]

I replaced these on my wifes car, they were Trico:
Driver TB560
Passenger TB500
They are the complete BLADE ASSEMBLY, AND DO A BETTER JOB THAN AN INSERT.

[bovva66]

i used trico a couple of years ago, worked fine, but were rather pricy about $100 for a pair. Cheaper to get genuine oem frorm UK