Greg's First DIY Work on Boxster ???

[GregE240]

Gents,

Now then, the GLW loves her car. A lot. She let me drive it last Saturday (gawd bless 'er), but I happened to notice something quite annoying about it: the wipers squeak on the windscreen. Loudly. And annoyingly.

So, it's a simple one really - are Porker wipers easy to replace ? I'm off early today (well, earlyish) so I pop into my local OPC on the way home, grab a set of wipers, swap them over, job done. Brownie points all round. Smiley faces.

Any ideas ? I've taken out engines and gearboxes before etc etc so I doubt it's too difficult ? Or does one require Porsche Part 986-453-4501-02(2001) - wiper removal tool ?

Thanks in advance. For the record, Mercedes swap my wiper at each service - probably mutter "There's that whinging Cockney bsatard - better do him a new blade" every time the Taxi goes in for a fettling.

[Podie]

As far as I know, wipers are the same fitment on all cars these days.

Given that the Porker ones squeak.. why replace them with the SAME items... surely they'll do it again?

Trip to Halfords... get some nice Bosch ones? Or do they just need a good clean and degrease?

[ninemeister]

After exhaustively testing most on the market like Porsche, SWF, Bosch and others, I can definitively say that the 9m favourite is the Champion X33. No squeeks, absolutely clean wipe with no streaks, lasts longer than the others and costs around the same.

Now that's what I call anal......

[granville]

ninemeister said: After exhaustively testing most on the market like Porsche, SWF, Bosch and others, I can definitively say that the 9m favourite is the Champion X33. No squeeks, absolutely clean wipe with no streaks, lasts longer than the others and costs around the same.

Now that's what I call anal......

No, no - that's bloody superb advice! Cheers.

Can I get sommat comme ca pour ma 993TT? Cos the wipers on that are a bit crap in mucky conditions which are all too frequent in ze NW!

In truth, even the blades on my Lexus aren't viceless in this respect.

Best blades on a car? For me, those on the EVO VII - they were clearly designed for the grottier stages of the filthiest rallies.

Anal wanal; shocking!

[McNab]

Peculiar and infuriating malady - can be intermittent and totally unpredictable. New blades probably a last resort - try cleaning the old ones with a glass cleaner - soak a cloth in the stuff and draw it along the blade edge (both sides).

Then clean the traffic film off the screen. I use Toyota glass cleaner, but any good automotive brand should do.

A good squirt with the washers always helps, so worth trying a strong mix in the car's screenwash container. Terribly expensive stuff, but:

Comma All Seasons Screenwash - 5 litres for £6.00 - lots of on-line sources in Scotland - surely more in England?

Anybody tried RainX - might solve the problem completely?

Then again - once you've melted the car with all this crap you can just throw it away and forget the whole issue.....

Happy Christmas,
Ian.

[GregE240]

McNab said: Peculiar and infuriating malady - can be intermittent and totally unpredictable. New blades probably a last resort - try cleaning the old ones with a glass cleaner - soak a cloth in the stuff and draw it along the blade edge (both sides).

Then clean the traffic film off the screen. I use Toyota glass cleaner, but any good automotive brand should do.

A good squirt with the washers always helps, so worth trying a strong mix in the car's screenwash container. Terribly expensive stuff, but:

Comma All Seasons Screenwash - 5 litres for £6.00 - lots of on-line sources in Scotland - surely more in England?

Anybody tried RainX - might solve the problem completely?

Then again - once you've melted the car with all this crap you can just throw it away and forget the whole issue.....

Happy Christmas,
Ian.

Hello Ian !!

Lovely to hear from you. Hope you're feeling better than me, mate (been in bed all day with the dreaded lurgi - hope I shift it tonight or tomorrow...)

OK, in order of your posting:

Clean current blades - done.

(properly) clean windows - done.

Washer fluid - must admit the Boxsters washer bottle isn't gonna win any size prizes, but done and still the same.

Comma Screenwash - sadly my experience has told me a simple fact: good screenwash is a rare as reindeer poo from good old Rudy. Expensive does not necessarily mean best. Strangely, I use the Merc screenwash in the Merc as its the only one that doesn't smear the screen. Ironic, huh ? Sadly, the Boxster has had varying types of screenwash - same effect.

RainX - blimey, your lairdship. Interesting "hot potato" this. Rain-X is rather akin to Marmite (use as an accompaniment to toast excluded). You either love it or you don't. Personally I love the thrill of watching water bead off the windscreen, using my wipers on intermittent whilst the proles use regular speed. Emma hates it - she thinks it makes the screen all smeary. Which it does.

New blades, I think. Dealer beckons tomorrow, assuming I'm out of my deathbed.

Merry Christmas dear friend,

Greg n' Emm

[McNab]

Hello again Greg!!

Sorry you're prostrate (no - I didn't say prostate ) and the only thing for it is sleep and more sleep.

Squeaky wiper syndrome set in with the Turbo after only a few hundred miles, but I certainly won't use Rain-X after reading your verdict.

I suggested Comma All Seasons Screenwash because it's highly concentrated, and £6 for 5 litres of concentrate can't be bad. Rumour has it that lots of the more expensive stuff is Comma in a fancy bottle...

Best to try 9m's suggestion of Champion X33 blades, provided they fit - thanks 9m!

Ian.

[GregE240]

Quick update:

After an utterly tedious morning last Friday, went out to the Porsche dealership in search of wiper blades. One set later (plus various seats in cars/chat/coffee later) came away. Cost ? Fifteen nicker. Staggered, as Halfords wanted nearly twenty for their blades, plus all the hassle of playing "Guess which part of the fitting kit goes with your car".

Fitted it 3 minutes precisely - clip off, clip on. Repeat.

Update from Her-Inside-The-Doors just now ? Sorted. Not a squeak. Mucho Brownie points. Happy faces all round.

So there you go - the dealer was cheaper. Considerably.

[rotaree]

Greg,
Thanks for going through all of that hassle, I've got exactly the same problem with my S and I now know what to do - Happy New Year!
Tim

[kevinday]

£15-20 for a pair of wiper blades, it really is rip-off Britain at work isn't it? I just replaced a pair here for about £4 (same brands as in the UK).

[GregE240]

I don't doubt you could get cheaper blades. But they probably won't last as long. Would you buy remoulds over more expensive tyres, Kevin ? No, thought not.

For example, the replacement rubber on the Merc is just over 4 quid. And that's from a dealer. So I'm not altogether bothered. I got OEM wipers cheaper than the (Bosch) wipers in Halfords, and they fitted straight to the car, as opposed to sitting there for ages working out which piece of the universal fitting kit would be suitable for the Boxster.

And as its fixed the problem, I still say it was money well spent.

[Manager]

On my 911SC I swap the blades over from side to side every so often.Because the arms park with the drivers side blade on the curve of the screen they blades set in a distorted condition especially if you don't go out in the rain very often.It seems to prolong their life and prevent the dreaded squawk when you first use them.