windshield and wiper comments

[GSMblue]

It is that time of year when the rain is coming and I carry out some much needed visibility improvements on both my cars Maybe these comments will help others that have wiper issues.

So, here we go:

New wiper arms - the ones that actually lift off the windscreen! This will be great for parking the snow! They are not cheap but well worth it. The arms are "pressed" on to the spindles. To remove them use a quality gear puller and the set the new arms use a torque wrench.

Deep clean of the windscreen.... 3 steps:

1. I used "0000" steel wool for the initial scrub to remove bugs and bird crap...
2. Glass polishing compound (I used the rainX one as it was easily available) to polish off all that traffic film... This fixed the big issue I had, which was the driver side wiper having a big patch in the middle where it seemed to have poor contact with the glass.
3. A good quality glass cleaner - Stones invisible glass works well.

rainX treatment - love it or hate it. It works for me!

CLEAN THE WIPER BLADES: Isopropyl on a clean rag, wipe it up and down a few times to de-gunk the blade.

This has made a HUGE improvement on the visibility I have My new Silblades have arrived, but I am holding off installing them as the deep clean has revitalized my Bosh Icons I put on last Autumn.

 

[Houm_WA]

I used something too abrasive on my rear window to get pitch off...and put fine scratches on the glass (doh!)....and suggestion on making it good again? Will that glass polishing compound help with that?

 

[GSMblue]

What did you use to scratch it so bad?

A polishing kit could help, here is a link to get you started...

http://www.eastwood.com/pro-glass-polishing-kit.html

 

[Houm_WA]

It was basically a plasticky material that is typically used to scrub dishes. It was stupid on my part but that damn pitch was STUCK on there.

 

[thorgal]

What is a part number on the wiper arms that you used on LR3, is it latest OEM or something else?

 

[GSMblue]

So the part number for the ones I got are:

Left: LR038124G

Right: LR038124G

They were $68.95 each from Atlantic British - they appear to be out of stock..

http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/LR038124G.cfm

I also bought a "small gear puller" from the local parts store, It worked but bent itself out of shape. Either rent one or buy the $20 one, not the $5 like I did...

The base of the arms where they go on the spines do not have the spine grooves pre-cut into them, when you mount them they are basically a press fit, so this makes it really hard to remove.

Hope that helps!