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How To Install Blade Type Bracketless Windshield Wipers

By , About.com Guide

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Why Choose New Contoured Frameless Wiper Blades
Contoured wiper blades ready for installation or repalacement.

These frameless blades are ready to be installed.

photo by Matt Wright, 2011
For decades wiper blades have been fairly standard -- a thin rubber strip was suspended by a springy metal frame that attached to a strong metal arm on a sprung pivot bolted to a geared rotating pin driven by an electric motor through a couple of long arms. This remained mostly unchanged through the system's tenure. Sure, there were some "innovations," like the two-blades-are-better-than-one double blades with wings on them that were all over my high school in the '80s. Others tried to incorporate more wiping edges within this single rubber strip -- TriplEdge was a major player in that department. Through all of this, some major problems remained. The face that the rubber blade was suspended by 4-6 points of contact separated by air created differences in pressure against the windshield, and provided lots of space for snow and ice to build up and ultimately render the wiper useless, even with healthy blasts of windshield washer fluid.

This new style of wiper blade provides even pressure across the entire surface of the blade. Since there are no points on the blade that are receiving more pressure, the wiper will tend to wear more evenly, avoiding premature failure due to worn edges. But the best part about the frameless wiper, in my opinion, becomes apparent in winter weather. There's no place for the ice to build up between the metal frame and the rubber wiper blade, so your wipers keep working no matter how icy it was the night before!

Until recent years this type of wiper was relegated to high end vehicles like Mercedes. Now they are standard equipment on many new cars. The really good news is that they are available from a number of companies like Bosch and Rain-X as upgrades to your old school wiper system. You should be installing wiper blades as part of your regular matinenance routine anyway, so now's the time to upgrade. There are some supplied adapters to install, but don't sweat it, I'll help you get it done safely, reliably and without issue. Let's get started!

You can also check out the video on how to install wiper blades!

If you are installing older school wipers, you can use this awesome tutorial as a guide.

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  5. How To Install a Blade Style Bracketless Windshield Wiper Upgrade

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