Half the price and one-third as may pieces as the $2 wiper delete kit!

Consists of one part:

A rubber stopper from the hardware store. It is listed as " 1 inch top diameter" and actually cost $1.17 with MA sales tax.



I simply drove it into the center hole of the stock gasket/grommet with a wooden mallet. It's in there very snug and I expect it to stay that way. I've tested it with the power-washer and not a drop of water is getting in. Here in New England, this is vitally important to prolong the rusting-out process which is the eventual death of most every car 'round here.

As for the washer tube, I simply turned the check valve around.

 

lol

 

Thanks for this post. Definitely a neat solution for those who prefer to get rid of it altogether. This same thing was done over on the Porsche forum and was very useful to a lot of members.

 

Scratching my head on this one - why would you want to remove the wiper?

 

A few reasons (in no particular order)

It weeped water copiously after washing the car.

I never used it. (no need)

I think the car looks better without it.

The motor had gotten quite noisy.

 

I also live very near to this area and don't understand people that say this. I use mine all the time to be able to see out the back window. Even after washing the car and driving 1 mile on the winter roads in this area will cover the window with a sand haze that can not be seen thru. So I see this as a serious safety issue. They really are needed in this part of the country. Unless of course you dont drive it in the winter.

I can certainly understand the looks are better without it and if the motor is noisy (and mine have become that way as well) but they are not that expensive or hard to replace.

 

Well, there's really no need that I can think of for a rear window on any vehicle. The rear window is redundant when you can see everything safely using the side mirrors.

If you check, you'll see a significant percentage of vehicles on the road have no rear window at all; box trucks, 10-wheelers, 18 wheelers, contractor vans w/o back windows, moving trucks (that anyone can rent), utility trucks (like the cable company), campers, low-slung cars like Ferraris and Lamborghinis etc, etc.

Safely using only the side mirrors is a skill I think anyone can learn.My first car was a '71 VW camper bus which had a curtain covering the rear windows, and a closet installed in the passenger side blind spot. I drove it from '87 to '93, so I guess I just got conditioned to not use the rear window for anything. I still don't. I back into driveways and parking spots in the Mini without turning my head; i just use the side mirrors.

25 years @ 30k miles a year and i have yet to come close to hitting anything. So I disagree with your general statement that rear window viability is needed in New England and not having any is a "serious safety issue". Considering all the vehicles that don't have such visibility, I have to beg to differ.

Try it out! If you feel unsafe not having a rear window, practice using your side mirrors only (bend your rear-view so it points at the headliner). I bet if you got more comfortable using your side mirrors, it will boost your confidence in general as you navigate your way around the roads and parking lots.

BTW, we're pretty much neighbors. My Dad lives in Gardner and that bus I referred to, I bought down on West Street a little past where Atter's Market used to be.

 

has anyone had problems with the rear hatch door not opening after removing the wiper blade? Just removed mine and the door wont open! WHAT DO I DO!?!

 

I would guess that you upset the wiring to the electric latch. I don't know its path, but it might not be a bad idea to go back and check that all the wiring looks in place and the connections are tight.

Also, I'm not sure of the fusing for the tailgate. Perhaps you popped a fuse?

 

Ok, here's an update. I got a cleaner take on it. i realized if i just bought a larger plug, I wouldn't need to original rubber surround.

I installed this one under slight compression and sealed it with clear latex caulk. I did this last fall and now it's spring here in New England. Not a single leak!

Now I'm thinking about how to make it shiny so it doesn't contrast with the glass so much.

However, I'm pushing the cost of this mod upwards of two dollars with this larger plug. (for the sake of full disclosure)

 

So you took the grommet out, what size plug did you end up buying?

Since I live in the desert and it only rains about 3 times a year for a day at a time - all the rear window wiper does is bake in the sun until the rubber rots and the plastic is brittle enough to shatter when moved, which is what mine just did. It is coming off.

 

Sorry for the delay in response. But i actually wanted to have an answer for you.

The hole in my 2003 R50 window is one-and-a-sixteenth inches in diameter. And yes, I have taken to wiper shaft grommet out and am fitting these plugs diretly in the hole n the glass.

Home Depot sells rubber stoppers of 1-1/16" and 1-1/4". One-and-a-quarter is obviously going to leave quite a bit of plug protruding. And one-and-a-sixteenth is the same size as the hole, so there will be no compression.

One-and-a-sixteenth is what i have in there now. And the clear silicone calking is essential to getting it to stay in place and to seal.


I bought a couple more plugs just yesterday thinking i would reinstall a new one that i pained first. (I'll see how flexible spray paint made for plastic is.) Unfortunately, the plugs I just bought a HD have a number "5" cast on their tops.

I'm going to stop at my local hardware store (Home Depot is not my local hardware store) and see if they have 1-1/16 plugs w/o any lettering or printing like the one I have in there now. I'll see if 1-1/8" is available too and check the fit with that.