windshield wiper pressure

Hey folks, I've found that the windshield wipers on my new-to-me Ranger are pretty much ineffective because the wiper arm springs exert zero pressure and the blades basically barely tough the glass. This seems to be due to the salt build-up in the arm hinge. After thorough clean-up and lubrication, they worked a little better, but after just a couple outings the hinges were crudded up again and back to no pressure.

Question, are there wiper arm designs that work better in a salt water environment? Or do you all just go through cleaning and lubrication before every trip? I see expensive stainless wiper arms at marine stores, but I don't see how those hinges are more impervious to crudding up than cheaper wiper arms.

And yes, I've heard one solution is to forget the wipers and Rain-X the windows. I'm considering that as well. But I'd also be very interested in any solutions out there for working wipers.

Thanks

Rain x is great but it doesn’t replace wipers on a boat. Some were around 60 mph rain x will eliminate the need for wipers. You need to acquire new wiper arms. Check out thr Fisheries Supply website.

Yes every boat I have used wipers on (probably 100's)all had enough spring tensin to properly wipe the windshield.




Now.... many stick and don't apply emough pressure, my trawler's sonetimes stick, but usually a firm push is all it takes to get them towork properly.


If yours don't the springs are bad or the angle from the motor is weird, etc...

Thanks for the info.

It's good to hear others haven't had this problem with good marine wiper arms. I was concerned in that looking at the design I don't see how they prevent salt crud build up in the hinge, but I suppose I should assume they're expensive for a reason. Hard to swallow spending a couple hundred bucks on 4 wiper arms, but I'm getting used to moving the decimal to the right one space on anything marine as compared to automotive prices!

WD-40 renewed mine.

I clean mine with SaltAway then spray with Boeshield T9 to keep them lubed.

You might like to try some new rubber inserts for your existing wiper arms. You can find them online. They made an amazing difference on my boat, and work well even with weak spring tension.

Truck parts shops have add on springs that increase pressure on wipers.