I was looking for something close to original and I found it in the Trico 18-2 Exact Fit Wiper Blade. Exact Fit is correct. Notes: 1) I experienced more luck in inserting a flat blade screwdriver between arm and wiper and gently prying the old wiper off than in using the method shown below. 2) A tiny bit of lube helps in both removal and installation. 3) There may be two versions of the 18-2, an old and new version (my belief is that the new version has an adapter) but both apparently fit. Chime in if you have info/experience in this latter regard.

JamesC

 

They used to be super easy to find etc but now you can't find them anywhere..... .that's the older 18-2 (you can also tell by the older packaging) The newer 18-2 is a standard wiper blade replacement but is kind of universal so it has provisions for a hook arm, but has a hole for the pin arms as well...so no adapter is needed. The same one is available at NAPA under their Exact fit brand,,,which I think is just a repackaged trico

I find the newer style 18-2 wipes better as that older style seems to chatter on the glass......... but that older style looks better and matches the older GM originals....... problem is the metal seems to corrode pretty fast and gets rusty. I used to remove the blade and sand / paint the metal but it would still get crusty after a while. I wonder if I could do a better jon now with the autop body info / knowledge Ive gained...


Where did you find that?

 

Side note.......... I found the rubber insert refills (when they had them) to wipe better than the ones that actually came on the 18-2. The newer current 18-2 still wiped better though.


The inserts / refills were of a slightly different design... I found that to be a bit odd... .they used an I think a 43-180? refill

 

My IROC only sees rain once a decade (so why buy new blades, he asks), so I'm content that I can avoid "crust" for a while, lol. Bought them on Ebay. BTW, they didn't seem difficult to find. Thanks for the info.

JamesC

 

The worst parts are the end of the tips and around the spring... watch for some bubbles and some discoloration! Mine would rust even without any rain... just from exposure to a little humidity!



man you're right lots on ebay... but the prices are high.. .they used to be like $4-7 bucks max!


good to know theyre available though!

 

I just put on a set of Trico 35-180 ICE blades. Why ice? No reason other than I like the look of a monoblade vs the stock bridge looking design. Although, I didn't know how to remove the old blades, I studied them for quite some time before the youtubes set me straight. I am the dumb.

 

I'm curious if anyone has found a compatible wiper arm(s) that will fit (from a different model)... allowing us to use newer style wiper blades (J hook as opposed to the factory pin style)...?

 

THose 18-2 will not work on my 1984 T/A. It requires the flat style that was used on the a-body cars in that 70's & 80's that had hidden wipers.
These are the proper blades
see the attachment for the blades for hidden wipers

 

I tried.. .very hard.............


The style that attaches to the F body (that round stub with the grooves) is common on American cars of the era........... Dodge, FORD, GM... but majority of the cars that had that are pin style. Majority of J hook use the new bolt on style wiper arm... The only one that I know of that would fit the driver side is from the older 95 and below F-150.... for some odd reason, they had a j hook and pin style.. I guess it depends on trim?? that and the newer 01 Cherokee.
But those wiper arms are too short.

the F-body passenger arm is also quite unique how it attaches to the wiper linkage....


You'd have to disassemble / meld two wiper arms together. The arm with a J hook and the F body part that connects to the linkage.

 

Thank you for the reply.
I was thinking the same thing on the RH arm...pity it's pot/cast metal, not sure how I'd do it but that was my thought.

 

I orignally thought you could weld.. but if its pot metal...


I did dabble a lot with it... I grinded off the rivet at the joint and connected one fro ma Saturn... its sill to oshort and getting the sprg on is difficult.. I just leave it stock lol

Too bad

 

Agreed...welding would definitely simplify things.
I might experiment with an old arm and see what happens.

Leaving things stock is usually the way I go but sometimes I just can't leave well enough alone

 

if you can get it done let us know! Id like to see this done.

 

Absolutely!

 

I've done WAY more research than necessary on this... but another thing I have thought of is to drill out the rivet that holds the "pin arm" (the long thinner metal piece) that the pin is actually on, removing it and installing a J arm hook arm.


the problem with that is I don;t know if the arm will come out once the rivet is removed as its pinched in pretty tight by the "body" of the arm., and finding another long arm that would work. Youd need to then rivet / bolt the new j hook unit to the body.


The hard part will be... the spring attaches to this part... getting the spring onto the new arm and tensioned will be a bear since those springs are so tight.


Kinda lost motivation for a bit but thats al lthe ideas / info i got for tese if anyone cares to use it lol

 

Thanks, I appreciate it.

Also glad to see someone besides me still haunts the forums as opposed to Facebook when you need accurate answers

 

same!!!


My dream is to have Hook wipers, then get the OE toyota blades from the Toyota dealer for 90's -00s toyotas. those blades look nice last long....and the service life on the rubber is great / are readily available. the ones on my daily Camry last about 6 years and then some and still wipe well.

 

I'm finding that the arms are usually galvanized or SS so welding may be possible.
As I said, I'll experiment one day on an old one and report back.

 

I dont have a welder . am bad at it anyway... but if they are weldable maybe Ill give it a try!

 

We may have solved this ! lol

 

I bought a huge box of these from rockauto when they were on a closeout sale for pennys on the dollar.