R50/53 R53 Rear Wiper Blade Revisited.....again
#1
R53 Rear Wiper Blade Revisited.....again
Now before you all jump all over me for starting another rear wiper thread, trust me when I say that I did a search and read every thread that came up for the rear wiper and my 3 working brain cells are now more confused than before......so, here we go again (with maybe a few twists involved this time)
my 2004 R53 was one of the first ones off the line, production date is 10-7-2003. My source of wiper blades has gone MIA and I need to find another outlet for replacements. I just put my last blade on the car yesterday that I had in the garage. They only seem to last about a year seeing as the car sits outside year 'round
I looked all over various vendors, but can't seem to come up with something that matches what I have on the car now. The car is original as far as I know, but I'm wondering if maybe the rear arm & blade are not "correct" for the car. (wrong arm, wrong blade, or both??)
My plastic blade measures 10-3/4" long, and the rubber blade insert is 10-1/4" long......everything I am finding is over 11" long from all the vendors....as you can see in the pictures, I don't think I can use an 11"+ blade on the car....it would hit the upper window seal at the top of the glass......
So, am I missing something obvious here, or am I on the hunt again for a blade under 11" for my car again? I don't want to do the wiper delete on the car, we really need the rear wiper up here in NW Washington
Any insight would be helpful here.....thanks
Bryan
my 2004 R53 was one of the first ones off the line, production date is 10-7-2003. My source of wiper blades has gone MIA and I need to find another outlet for replacements. I just put my last blade on the car yesterday that I had in the garage. They only seem to last about a year seeing as the car sits outside year 'round
I looked all over various vendors, but can't seem to come up with something that matches what I have on the car now. The car is original as far as I know, but I'm wondering if maybe the rear arm & blade are not "correct" for the car. (wrong arm, wrong blade, or both??)
My plastic blade measures 10-3/4" long, and the rubber blade insert is 10-1/4" long......everything I am finding is over 11" long from all the vendors....as you can see in the pictures, I don't think I can use an 11"+ blade on the car....it would hit the upper window seal at the top of the glass......
So, am I missing something obvious here, or am I on the hunt again for a blade under 11" for my car again? I don't want to do the wiper delete on the car, we really need the rear wiper up here in NW Washington
Any insight would be helpful here.....thanks
Bryan
#2
I found that if you take the blade insert out of the arm it is pretty generic other than the length
took in into the parts store and found a refill that was a match except for length
a lil work with some cutting tools and POOF I had an insert that slid in just fine ..... get a long enuf replacement and you can make TWO from one!
I was able to pull the metal stiffeners out of the old and new ... simply cut the new rubber and then put the old stiffener in the new rubber ..... after the first time 3 minute job.
took in into the parts store and found a refill that was a match except for length
a lil work with some cutting tools and POOF I had an insert that slid in just fine ..... get a long enuf replacement and you can make TWO from one!
I was able to pull the metal stiffeners out of the old and new ... simply cut the new rubber and then put the old stiffener in the new rubber ..... after the first time 3 minute job.
#3
#4
I have a May '02 with the same rear wiper.
I doubt that you have anything odd.
The fitting for the blade onto the arm is unique to MINI, I think, so other blades won't fit.
Rubber refills alone are hard to find now - try Wal*Mart - but as Captain BJ said, just get a generic 22" blade, slide the rubber bit out & cut it in half.
Then a few minutes fiddling on the kitchen table to swap the parts over.
I doubt that you have anything odd.
The fitting for the blade onto the arm is unique to MINI, I think, so other blades won't fit.
Rubber refills alone are hard to find now - try Wal*Mart - but as Captain BJ said, just get a generic 22" blade, slide the rubber bit out & cut it in half.
Then a few minutes fiddling on the kitchen table to swap the parts over.
#5
#6
I just measured the rear wiper on my '02 R53.
The rubber insert is 11 3/4" long
The plastic blade itself is 12 1/4" long.
The wiper arm is 9 1/8" from the washer jet to the tip.
There's about 3/4" clear above the sweep of the arm at the top.
So it looks as though I have the NMA3019 but I'd say either one will fit.
Note the slight difference in angles between the two.
The rubber insert is 11 3/4" long
The plastic blade itself is 12 1/4" long.
The wiper arm is 9 1/8" from the washer jet to the tip.
There's about 3/4" clear above the sweep of the arm at the top.
So it looks as though I have the NMA3019 but I'd say either one will fit.
Note the slight difference in angles between the two.
#7
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#8
Rear blade complete with rubber insert, $18.95 plus tax
Rear blade replacement rubber insert only, $17.50 plus tax
The parts guy and I agreed that these rear blades never wear out, they just deteriorate from sitting
So I paid for my little lighter bulb and the amber ring for the lighter socket and walked out $15 poorer for those 2 items
On the way home I stopped at another parts store with the 10" rear blade off the car.....they don't sell just replacement rubber inserts anymore....but he had a 19" Trico blade insert on the back shelf for a long time gathering dust.....he took it out of the package and it's a perfect match for the little 10" insert I have now....even the two metal rail guides are the same.....He sold me the insert for $7........granted, I can only get one blade cut from this, but right now, I'm waiting for the one to arrive from overseas that I paid under $4 for......
Bryan
#10
#12
I think some folks are rather missing the point!
$20 for a simple wiper blade you're going to change every year is just ridiculous.
Your local auto store may not stock refills, but can "get them from the warehouse" in a day or two.
or just get a complete blade & only use the rubber bit for $5 - $10 depending on your preferred brand.
$20 for a simple wiper blade you're going to change every year is just ridiculous.
Your local auto store may not stock refills, but can "get them from the warehouse" in a day or two.
or just get a complete blade & only use the rubber bit for $5 - $10 depending on your preferred brand.
#14
Yep the price went down over the years for wiper/blade combo/ where its now lower priced than the insert.
https://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2003-...xterior/Wiper/
https://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2003-...xterior/Wiper/
__________________
MINI Guru/ MINI Owner Since 2004 | NEW Lifetime Part Replacement | Local Pickup
Milltek | Genuine MINI | Forge Motorsport | NM Engineering | ECS Performance | M7 Speed
Customer Service Hours: 8am-8pm EST|Sales Team Hours: 8am-11pm | SAT 10am-7pm 800.924.5172
MINI Guru/ MINI Owner Since 2004 | NEW Lifetime Part Replacement | Local Pickup
Milltek | Genuine MINI | Forge Motorsport | NM Engineering | ECS Performance | M7 Speed
Customer Service Hours: 8am-8pm EST|Sales Team Hours: 8am-11pm | SAT 10am-7pm 800.924.5172
Last edited by ECSTuning; 03-19-2019 at 05:56 AM.
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beken (03-15-2019)
#15
Interesting to read. The a few years back, I replaced the rubber with a generic refill. I think it was $5 CDN. I cut to fit and it worked out to 11.25" on my 2005 MCS. Since a replacement wiper is plastic, I hesitate to pull it off and replace the whole thing. At 15 years old, I am already getting plastic parts warp and crack. Where the rear wiper arm joins the blade, is a prime part to crack, or not fit properly. I went to the MINI dealer, NAPA, Lordco. Nobody sells or stocks a refill anymore, short of ordering PIAA refills.
So I am going to buy a 23" blade for about $10CDN and pull out the rubber and cut it in half so I will have 2 refills for my rear blade.
Incidentally, my front windshield wiper blades are PIAA blades. I have had them on my car for 7 years now. They are still going strong in the Pacific Northwest where it rains a lot, and snows a bit, all year. I recently bought PIAA refills for them, but have not needed to actually swap them out yet. So I highly recommend PIAA blades for the front of your car.
So I am going to buy a 23" blade for about $10CDN and pull out the rubber and cut it in half so I will have 2 refills for my rear blade.
Incidentally, my front windshield wiper blades are PIAA blades. I have had them on my car for 7 years now. They are still going strong in the Pacific Northwest where it rains a lot, and snows a bit, all year. I recently bought PIAA refills for them, but have not needed to actually swap them out yet. So I highly recommend PIAA blades for the front of your car.
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ECSTuning (03-15-2019)
#16
Yep the price went down over the years for wiper/blade combo/ where its now lower priced than the insert.
https://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2003-...xterior/Wiper/
https://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2003-...xterior/Wiper/
Curious as to why you don't have them for my '04 R53.....all of yours show over 11" long.....
Bryan
#18
Thats the latest part number and blade and size at one point they updated the parts.
__________________
MINI Guru/ MINI Owner Since 2004 | NEW Lifetime Part Replacement | Local Pickup
Milltek | Genuine MINI | Forge Motorsport | NM Engineering | ECS Performance | M7 Speed
Customer Service Hours: 8am-8pm EST|Sales Team Hours: 8am-11pm | SAT 10am-7pm 800.924.5172
MINI Guru/ MINI Owner Since 2004 | NEW Lifetime Part Replacement | Local Pickup
Milltek | Genuine MINI | Forge Motorsport | NM Engineering | ECS Performance | M7 Speed
Customer Service Hours: 8am-8pm EST|Sales Team Hours: 8am-11pm | SAT 10am-7pm 800.924.5172
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