Wiper Blade/Arm questions

[eastsidebimmer]

I think I have 16” wiper units installed and I can’t seem to find appropriate refill inserts. I purchased a new set of 15” blade refills from BMW (PN 61611352734) but they are too short and I do not have spines to install them. Believe it or not, the previous owner has superglued the blade inserts to the individual tabs of the blade which is stamped “made in England”. This works, but I’d rather find the right setup. Does anyone have a used set of 15” Silver Wipers possibly with Arms they would like sell?

Thanks,

Ben

[Mike Self]

BMW switched over to 15 inch blades sometime in either late 69 or early 70...and yes, I know the parts book doesn't show '02s with 13 inch blades, but that's how my car was delivered in May '69.

The wiper sweep with 13 inch blades is perfectly adequate, and they actually wipe faster than the longer blades--less drag.

mike

[eastsidebimmer]

Makes perfect sense--but how did I end up w/ (what I think) are 16" blades? Is the "made in England" stamp any clue? The 15" inserts I purchased are about 1/2 inch too short....

I'd be fine w/ 13s--anyone have a set for sale?

[02Les]

If you have a RHD car, you need the longer blade on the RH side so you can see out when it rains, (or if windshield is dirty). BMW never changed the wiper layout for RHD '02s.

[Delia]

02s were designed to use 13" wipers. They work just fine. A few years ago I sold a set of NOS Silver Bosch blades to Mike S.

The holes in the cowl were never changed throughout the production run. For whatever reson, on newer cars, the blades are longer. Actual wiper blade length is somewhere between 15" and 16".

If you want silver wiper blades for your roundie, some late sixties GM cars had the bayonet style 15" blades.

Despite how the brochures and magazine ads appear, 15" blades are too long to rest against the bottom edge of the windshield on the right side.

On my cars with 15" blades, including my '73tii and the one I bought new in 1975, the right side wiper arm is attached one spline clockwise, keeping the rubber wiping surface of the blade in constant contact with the glass.

Click on my website below to see the 15" wipers in their proper, though not most aesthetically pleasing, position.

Delia

[02Les]

Quite right, the blade does not touch the windscreen on the far right lower corner, but they clean the screen high enough for me to see out of from my right hand seat.

[BillWilliams]

The wipers were one of the last components I installed on the touring. I had the silver aluminum arms and blades. I ordered the 15" rubber inserts that come without any metal support in them at all.

I too found they were 1/2" too short. I had a pair of 18" refills that have those two metal splines or stays that run the length of the refill and a cap of some sort on the end.

So, Evan and I ran the metal stays through the keepers on the metal arms. I allowed the blades to extend 1/4' past the arm on both ends. Then I took a Dremel with a cut off blade and cut the part of the refill with the little keeper thing on it off.

I too found the blade does not rest totally on the windscreen on the passenger (LHD) side.

Your arm that says England sounds like the arm some are purchasing from Jaymic now. Unfortunetly, many 2002 owners pitched the original arms when they replaced them with the plastic unified arm and blade.

[02Les]

I seem to remember a thread a good while back, where it's believed the Touring had a longer Wiper Arm to compensate for the different (higher) windshield.