Bosch Icon Size for Rear Wiper (Metal Arm)

[phil47]

Just installed all 3 Bosch Icons on my 2005. They all attach with zero effort. Good blade, we'll see how they hold up.

Some observations. 424A is perfect for Drivers side. Yes, you need to pull off the U-shaped plastic clip on the wiper arm for it to wipe properly.

Folks have discussed 2 sizes for the passenger side...421B and 422B claiming the 422B "hangs over the edge" or something like that. I bought both and 422B is definitely the right size for the 2005. It is identical size and wipe as the OE blade and doesn't "hang over the edge" in any way, it's a perfect fit. 421B is a half inch less wipe on the bottom and top of the blade. Both the 421B and 422B suffer from reduced contact at the tip of the blade but only on the last few degrees of the wipe (near the bottom of the windshield)...nothing really.

The rear blade is 418B. It fits great, doesn't contact the spoiler at the top (not even close), and wipes well. Weird thing is there is a small missed patch on the forward wipe that gets cleared on the back wipe so I guess it's not an issue. I'm wondering if I need to remove the plastic U-clip?? Doesn't seem to be the problem and there doesn't seem to be an easy was to remove that clip other than cutting it off!

BTW, a tip for the stock blades when they start streaking (assuming they don't need a new refill) is to remove the blades, run them through the DISHWASHER, dry them, silicon lube all the hinges and the rubber blade and replace them. Takes 2 minutes total time (not including time in the dishwasher and it's unreal how well this works!! I will use the Icons for the winter, but I may return to the OE blades for the summer.

[m5james]

Originally Posted by statdoc

Bosch Icons
Driver's Side: 424A
Passenger Side: 422B
Rear: 418B

Thread revival....

So I did this combo all the way...loving the no chatter noise from the fronts now. My only problem is that the rear is leaving the entire middle like 6-8" completely misses, so it's riding on the tips of the arm. My X5 is an 01 and it's a plastic arm, which I'm now assuming matters

[chilliwilli]

Originally Posted by m5james

Thread revival....

So I did this combo all the way...loving the no chatter noise from the fronts now. My only problem is that the rear is leaving the entire middle like 6-8" completely misses, so it's riding on the tips of the arm. My X5 is an 01 and it's a plastic arm, which I'm now assuming matters

Clean then lubricate the joint/hinge...wiggle in & out of resting position a few times. Used to happen to me when hinge was full of debris or when temp' dropped.

When done, toss back a few brewskis and get on the good foot...you'll be good to go

[phil47]

Originally Posted by chilliwilli

Clean then lubricate the joint/hinge...wiggle in & out of resting position a few times. Used to happen to me when hinge was full of debris or when temp' dropped.

The rear blade was always problematic for me so I eventually just replaced it with the OE blade and left it alone. No amount of cleaning/adjusting/lubing helped (or helped for long).

[TwinsPoppa]

Originally Posted by phil47

The rear blade was always problematic for me so I eventually just replaced it with the OE blade and left it alone. No amount of cleaning/adjusting/lubing helped (or helped for long).

I agree.If the hinge/spring is bad or the arm is just so rusted then replace the arm. Replacing the blade won't do any good. I ended up replacing the complete arm with the factory part.

[we350z]

WD40

[m5james]

So, mind you I have the plastic arm, but I was able to fix this today. I noticed when I 1st put these on that there were two spots on the arm itself where it had a riding condition on the blades fancy cover. Just now I took a razor and trimmed back so it stopped riding, and then noticed another spot that was contacting. The very furthest tip of the arm to the left was contacting the flip-open cover on the wiper blade. Upon lookin at it, I noticed two staright pieces of plastic had been bent over from touching the tip of the arm itself. I cut those two pieces of plastic back from the flip-open cover, i noticed immediately that the arm had more contact w/ the window, problem solved. I'm driving to work now (someones gotta build those 787's), so I'll take pics later.

[romeokc10]

I take it you work for Boeing, well I don't build them, just fly them...lol!!! By the way, isn't the 787 being built at the new plant in one of the Carolinas?

[m5james]

It's a "world" plane in that parts of it all build are over the world, then we have a specialized plane called the Dreamlifter that bring all the sections here where we do final assembly and delivery in the Everett, WA plant...they're just starting to do the same in S. Carolina as well. Without getting into specifics, but I'm working on AP 52 right now and I think maybe 3 have been completed in SC.

After working on F14's and F18's in the Navy, I came to Boeing in 98 on the F22 program. I've been on the commercial side for about 6 mo. now, but both AP's are quite similar since it entails all carbon fiber, titanium and aluminum...the 787 is just on a MUCH larger scale