My wipers make a God awful squeaking noise in the rain. Remember Deliverence? Bend over that log boy, and sqeal like a pig. That is how my wipers sound.

I've cleaned the windshield and applied Rainex, used cheapo and better grade blades and used that stuff on the blades that is supose to stop the noise but no luck.

Anything else I could try?

Having spent most of my adult life running from those same types that want to make you squeal like I pig ... I can understand your dilemma . (Probably why I have an aversion to mechanics...just kidding)
As to the wiper problem ... maybe the stuff
we all use to make our interiors so glossy would work (Armor All) ? I have the same problem and it is annoying and since my wipers only have two speeds ... fast and faster .. it makes you want to rip out your hair on rainy days

The next thing I would try is giving the wiper arm a bit more of an arch to put more pressure on the blades. They usually chatter when the rubber does not flip back and forth when the direction changes.

Thats part of your problem. Rain X 'AND' wipers dont get along well. Use Rain X if you dont want to use wipers, otherwise use the wipers. The Rain X makes the glass slick so water runs off it and unfortunately, it also makes the wiper blades skip across them. Best way to cure it now, is replace blades (only a few bucks for refills) and wash the window down very well with alcohol and newspaper to get all the Rain X off.

800 grit sandpaper, just run it down the edge of the blade. Dont take off too much, you just want to remove some of the glaze. That should help the blades wipe instead of sticking and squeaking.

There are several things that can do it. The things above are stuff to look at...

Try cleaning the glass. There was a GM TSB that I can't find right now that recomended a Bon Ami glass cleaning product. I've also been told Barman's Friend (It's made for cleaning beer glasses.) will do a good job.

Whatever cleaner you try must not leave residue on the glass. According to GM the water should sheet off and not bead. If it's beeding then the glass is still contaminated.

I've seen replacement wiper arms at Pep Boys. I don't know if they have ones that will fit Fiero.

Wiper heads or blades are factors.

I just put new inserts in and they squeak and jump worse than the ones I replaced. Rally "perfect fit"... fit good but work like crap.

If anyone tries the sand paper... make sure you go long ways and not across the blade.

I've used those Triple Edge jobs before... The material for the blade itself works well but the plastic backing strip that is holding it sucks. The backing strip warps after a couple months and the blades won't work right any more. If they would put metal backs on them then they would be worth using. Don't buy the whole wiper head either... It's the same crappy blade but now it is in a crappy head. Poor imitation of an Anco head.

The last item is your glass.... If the windshield is all pitted up and worn the wipers can have a hard time no matter what you do. If you look up close and see allot of fine scratching where the wipers run or allot of pitting, it may be time to replace the glass.

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11-Sept-01, The day the world as we knew it ended.

Don't try using sandpaper on a wiper blade. This "money saving" tip has been going around for years and is totally wrong. Sanding the edge of a blade will never make the wipe quality better, it will always make it worse. A wiper blade is like an ice skate - for it to perform it's best, it has to have two sharp edges. If you look at a wiper along it's length (in profile), the tip of the blade needs to be nearly perfectly square. It's the two outer sharp edges that do the wiping.

Squeaking blades and chattering blades are caused by two different issues, neither of which are related to each other (although it is possible to have a condition where a blade will squeal and chatter). Blades squeak on a windshield when there is too much friction. If you don't have intermittent wipers where you can reduce the wipe frequency, any blade can squeal when there's not enough water on the windshield to lubricate it. Rain X is bad for wipers cause it chemically affects the rubber element and greatly reduces it's usable lifespan.

I would suggest that you clean the windshield thoroughly with denatured alcohol, or clean it several times with Windex. Get a new set of wiper blades (a pair of Anco's will cost $10 or less). The blades should perform fine when they're new, but if in a few months they start to squeal, wipe the blade element with silicone (do not use Armor all or something similar), and that should quiet them down for a couple more months.

Thanks for the ideas. I bent the arms just a bit today and will pick up a new set of blades even though the one on her aren't that old. The blade on the pass side looks cheaper that the one on the drivers side even though both are Anco Preimium . Wonder if some one did the old switcharoo. I always use Anco and that solves the problem.

If this dosen't work I'll Bon Ami the windshield. I'll post results so it will help others with this problem.

You might find the following links helpful.

Glass Cleaner

Bon Ami as windshield cleaner?

Bon Ami Cleaning Cake and Bon Ami Cleaning Powder

Let us know how the Bon Ami works.

Thanks.

I just threw the Bon Ami out there... I still can't find the TSB. If it is abrasive, you'll want to be careful how you use it and how often. If I can find the TSB I'll let you know.

Barman's Friend, at least that is the name I remember, is a glass cleaner for beer glasses. It is made to leave no residue. Reason being the resdue from regular soaps will kill the head in a glass of bear. I forget who said try that one.

Glass polishes might help but be careful with those as well. Used wrong some can cause damage. You've got to remove any residue as well.

a little off subject. Bon Ami has lot o good secret uses. When GM brought out the first small block in 55 (265) they had a real problem with ring to cyl seating. Under a recall you know what the dealers did. Poured a little Bon Ami in it and ran it a little while, then changed the oil and filter, worked perfectly........not kidding.

I thought Roger's last post was interesting enough to post on Team Camaro, and a few posts there (Bon Ami & ring to cyl seating) noted that the abrasiveness of Bon Ami enabled the rings to seat quickly--so using it on your windshield may not be the best thing.

Well I'm a FIRM believer in the Rain-X product! At 40MPH it is just beading right up and off the windshield. I even drive in heavy rain (60mph) and hardley ever use the wipers!
I do use them to "wipe" the small sprinkles off(almost a mist), but that might be every 10 -20 mins.

I even tried the triple edge wipers, I liked them had no troubles with them at all(sold that car with them)

One last note...The rain-X anti fog crap...NO WAY !! I tried it on the bathroom mirror, I had puddles of water at the bottom of the mirror. I hated it. No way would I like to clean up puddles in the car.

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[This message has been edited by revin (edited 11-05-2002).]

Most likely you need to do two things. Wipe the window down with alcohol as stated above to clean off any residue including oil and grease.

Second and perhaps the most important thing is that you need to replace your wiper arms and blades. The springs that hold the arms to the windshield get weak over time.....at least 14 years in the best case scenario. This keeps the blades from having the proper tension on the windshield thus, they will be more apt to jump and squeal or squawk. Fixed quite a few this way. Another thing stated above that is quite true. If the windshield is pitted severely, the blades won't last long. It's like sandpaper on them. Good luck.

Phil

PS Robert....Aversion to mechanics, huh....BEND OVER BABY!!!!!!......LOL!

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GTDude
OVER 25 years GM experience

[This message has been edited by GTDude (edited 11-05-2002).]

I don't think it's mentioned above, but another old trick is to use an old cotton bath towel to clean the blades. Just grip the edge of the blade with towel (both sides of the blade) and pressure wipe down the length. It cleans the hardened rubber oxide off the lip without scratching it.

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Click to Listen!

Haven't had the chance to try anything yet other than a slight bend in the wiper arms. This weekend I'll get new blades and try that. I've used Rainx on all my cars and that solved squeaking on two of them, but it didn't help on the Fiero. If that doesn't help I'll Bon Ami and then try new arms.

I'll post the steps untill I find something that works.

Hope you got you wipers to quit squeaking. I just could have went all day without Deliverance being brought up. LOL

I think it's solved. I bent the wiper arms in a bit, but that didn't help any.

Today I picked up a set of Bosch Micro Edge blades, put them on and washed the car. The sweet sound of silence!!! Sprayed heavy at first and slowly less and less and still no noise. Just hope it stays this way.

FYI:
I came across the part number (1050427) for the Goodwrench Glass Cleaner.

GMPartsDirect.com has it for $2.38.

I'll have to pick some of that up. That's not a bad price.

Thanks.

Here's that TSB I was mentioning above... It's really old so it may have been updated/replaced but I put it up anyway.

code:

---

Wiper and Washer Systems: All Technical Service Bulletins
Cleaning For Procedure Chattering Wiper Blades
Bulletin Number:    91-10-8
Reference Number:   031066
Publish Date:       11/90
Subject:     CHATTERING WIPER BLADES OR BLADE WIPEABILITY (CLEANING PROCEDURE)
Models
Affected:   1982-1991 ALL MODELS
This bulletin cancels and replaces bulletin 87-10-4 issued 10/86. Please discard
bulletin 87-10-4.
Condition:
Chattering and poor wipeability comments may be due to the windshield glass and/or 
wiper blades becoming contaminated by insect residue, dirt, road grime, car wax etc.
Correction:
1.   Clean the windshield glass with GM # 1050011 (Bon Ami) glass cleaner or
     equivalent.
Important:             The glass is clean when rinse water does not "bead-up", but
                       "sheets" across the entire glass surface. Multiple cleanings
                       may be required to remove all contaminants.
2.   Clean the wiper blades by using a cloth that has been saturated with full
     strength washer solution and wipe vigorously. Rinse the blades with water after
     cleaning.

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They may not mean regular Bon Ami as a cleaner but something else they make/made at the time. At any rate there is is.
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11-Sept-01, The day the world as we knew it ended.

[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 11-16-2002).]

I saw Bon Ami used on one of the car related TV shows. I think it was Shadetree Mechanic and had forgotten about it until it was brought up in this post.

I picked some up but haven't used it yet as bending the arms and Bosch blades seem to have cures the problem.

If it comes back I plan to try Bon Ami and new wipers arms in that order.

Thanks everyone.

NOTE! The glass cleaner above, 1050427, is $28.56 plus shipping.... You've got to buy the 12 can case thru GMPD.

Always watch the "Pack Qty" column. The price shown is for each unit in that column.

Here's the full text of the GM glass cleaner discription....

Glass Cleaner
A pleasantly scented, non-streaking, foamy cleaner that, when used on glass surfaces, quickly removes dirt and grime, cigarette smoke and finger prints. This product is water based, alcohol butyl cellosolve and a blend of surfactants that complies with all Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) requirements. A great product for all vehicle preparation, as well as home use

I've never used the stuff so I can't say how it works...