Wiper blade replacement

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Originally Posted by trobbo

I did, but when I told the wife I had to run. $5000 in servicing costs in 6 months is getting expensive and the next one wont be any better with timing belts needing to be repaced. :(....

but how do you get the old wiper blades off so you can replace them with one of the options identified above? I did all the work on my old D1 but this one has got me.

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Trobbo,
Lift the blade away from the screen a little & feel under the rear section towards the arm, you will feel a little tab, push this in & slide the blade down towards the screen & lift away.
I tried to d/load some pic's hopefully this helps.

Cheers

This may be of interest. Received it today.
BTW what is the forum's opinion when it comes to replacing - genuine LR or aftermarket?
I have a Discovery II

As my drivers side blade makes a huge amount of noise and does not wipe all that well I thought I would have a look at this thread.

This thread is a joke isn't it? Why design a wiper that needs special blades and costs a fortune to replace - I normally need to replace my blades on my cars every six months or so because of the crud that gets stuck under them so this is going to get expensive - why did Land Rover over design (as usual) something as simple as wiper blades - afterall they do not work any better than any other vehicle I have had.

So I guess the cheapest option in the long term is to get the Bosch blades and when they have worn out, take out the rubber and replace it with the inserts.

I guess this another example of cars becoming more complex for the sake of becoming more complex when perfectly good solutions have existed for years.

Garry

You might want to try some suppliers on the net. Prices seem pretty good.

The cheaper bosch blades also fit the Land Rover arms. I've been running them for the last few months and they seem to work OK. Same part as a BA Falcon as my old blades fit my wife's car. ( had to fit them when hers stuck to the screen and bent)

Regards,
Tote

I think whether a wiper blade is good or not depends upon where the vehicle is being driven.

I think a cold climate requires one kind of blade "rubber" compound and a warm wet climate needs a different rubber compound for optium effectiveness.

The factory Land Rover blade is therefore by design, a compromise solution - a best attempt to create a blade that works worldwide.

I find that the Aerofoil brand Reflex blade seems better than the factory blade for winter conditions here in Canada, but that does not mean it would be a good blade design or has a good rubber compound suitable for tropical areas.

It is the same as for tyres, a good tyre design for the arctic is not necessarily a good tyre for the desert.

I think whether a wiper blade is good or not depends upon where the vehicle is being driven.

I think a cold climate requires one kind of blade "rubber" compound and a warm wet climate needs a different rubber compound for optium effectiveness.

The factory Land Rover blade is therefore by design, a compromise solution - a best attempt to create a blade that works worldwide.

I find that the Aerofoil brand Reflex blade seems better than the factory blade for winter conditions here in Canada, but that does not mean it would be a good blade design or have a good rubber compound suitable for tropical areas.

It is the same as for tyres, a good tyre design for the arctic is not necessarily a good tyre for the desert.

The large wiper blade found on the D3 is not unique to LR and you will find them on many euro cars plus as I spied yesterday the new prado.

Anyways, not being real happy at having to spend somewhere between $50 & $130 each time I wanted to replace wiper blades, I went for a walk around auto barn yesterday and picked up a single complete 22 inch wiper assembly for $14.00.

After the first trial fit one end of the blade did not touch the windscreen. Obviously the D3 screen has too much curve and hence the expensive blades. Well with a little bit of encouragement the assembly had a bit more of a curve to it and the blade now touches across it's length.

A test wipe with the washers and it appears to work perfectly. I will wait for our next proper rain storm before reporting finally, however with a $28.00 modification I think I can now go back to appropriately priced wiper blade replacements. What's more is if I ever feel the need to fit expensive wiper blades again I can do so and no-one will ever know.

Hi garrycol, I had the problem with noisy wipers about 12 years ago on my D1 and after some research, I got in contact with Shelly’s technical section where a very learned techie told me “never use Wash-N-Wax products on a vehicle because the wax builds up on the glass and in the case of the windscreen, this causes the wiper noise".

I have also found tree sap has the same effect.

In both cases a lot of elbow grease and a combination of soapy steel wool pads and something like Jiff paste cleaner and scratch the crap off the glass. Don’t worry, you won’t mark the glass.

As for wiper blades, after two sets of genuine blades that lasted no time at all, I got my hands on some truck wiper blades and did a bit of fiddling and they fit the existing LR blade arms and at $9 a pair, I don’t care if they had a short life, but they lasted fine.

I ditched My D4's original blades quite early and replaced them with ones from an auto outlet - a straight swap and silence is golden!