Windshield wiper reccomendation?

[DosMars]

Wow, what a difference a blade makes!
Thunder storms from former hurricane Dolores off of Baja gave me a reason to hit Costco for new tires for the wife and new 26" Goodyear wiper blades for me! Had to wait until the storm passed to swap them out, but after a little monkeying around got the new blades installed.
Very impressed with the extra three inches top and bottom compared to the stock 20" blades. My wind shield is now as squeegee clean as it is when the winshield cleaner kids get through with it at the border.
Thanks for all the input everybody, well worth the time to post the question as opposed to guessing at the wiper isle at Pep Boys. (Not to mention the $10 or so I saved buying from Costco!)

[Jeffrey]

I found these sizes to be an improvement over the stock size:

26"drivers, 24" pass.

[BillPa1]

Pep Boys will install you wipers for free. Does Costco?

[REF]

No, but where's the satisfaction in having someone else do it?

[Bbasso]

I run two 17 inch wiper blades, cheapest possible. Because I use so much RainX they hardly ever get used.
Also the smaller the blades the less wear on the wiper assembly.

[TheLetterJ]

Originally Posted by Jeffrey

I found these sizes to be an improvement over the stock size:

26"drivers, 24" pass.

I just put 26" blades on both sides and would have to agree that a 24" would have fit a little better on the passenger side (unless somebody makes a 25"?) I just cut a little bit off the outer edge and that is probably enough, anymore and it will be into the metal part. Now when is this "El Nino" supposed to hit so I can test these things out?

[WeatherManVan]

Originally Posted by BrianW

Has anyone tried up-sizing the Ford E-van blades? They have always seemed so short to me. Not sure why they didn't spec longer blades.

I had plenty of time to contemplate this a week or so ago as we drove trough Tropical Storm Bill's rain for a few hours at highway speeds...

Sorry to bring this back from the dead, but I wanted to increase the size of my blades. I found on the ford truck forum that people go from 20" to 24". I can confirm this to be true. As long as your wiper arm is oriented correctly you will clear the radio antenna when flipping them up as well.

Here's a comparison of the wipe area:


I highly recommend replacing the wiper arms as well. It is SOOO EASY and the added spring tension is a world of difference on wipe quality. On my 2006 E-350 they are part #7C2Z17526A and $56.56 from Ford for the pair.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGUdJt0rhcY

Looking for a rain repellent? I storm chase frequently (see I get paid too) and I no longer use Rain-X, but use Aquapel instead. It is more difficult to apply, but lasts 4-5x as long and better repellant.
https://www.amazon.com/AQUAPEL-Appli...xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

[86Scotty]

Interesting on the Aquapel. Never heard of it. I hate the old catch 22 here though. Buy one for $20 or 10 for $25 just to see if you like em. No bueno.

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by WeatherManVan

...I highly recommend replacing the wiper arms as well. It is SOOO EASY and the added spring tension is a world of difference on wipe quality. On my 2006 E-350 they are part #7C2Z17526A and $56.56 from Ford for the pair...

Great recommendation. I may look into that for a few of my older vehicles.


Herb

[BrianW]

You can actually upsize to a 26” on the driver side, 24” on passenger. Just did it on my 2011, and also previously on my 1998 vans.