Wiper Replacements

[Bpinard]

Looking to replace my wipers on my 2002 28, any thoughts?

[Pitou]

Stainless arms probably means AFI / Marinco. That's what was on my '02 28 TE.

Post a picture for certainty.

[Paddy]

My wiper replacements are a work in progress, so bear with me. The stock AFI / Marino blades are horrible and expensive. After doing some research, I cross-referenced the wiper arms back to an early 60's Ford. They even used the same screw on wiper with those junk round plastic grommets.

On Ebay I found cheap car blades that come with an adapter that slides onto the end of the stock AFI arms.

Run this on Ebay:

Windshield Wiper Blade-AeroVantage Wiper Blade Front/Rear ANCO 91-16

I bought them, and slipped the adapter on. Now I can use better automotive wipers at a fraction of the cost. My only problem, I have yet to be able to drill a small hole through the arms and secure the adapter with a small s/s sheet metal screw. I assume you can epoxy it on, but for now I used silicone and clear fishing line tied to both the wiper and arm. At least I won't lose the wiper / adapter if it slips off. I'm going on 2 seasons and all is good. Again, work in progress...

The arms are not in the best shape, so I plan on buying new arms and using a drill press to make the proper hole to for the screw, but with the short life span of boat blades, its great to know I do not have to be forced into buying those crappy expensive AFI ones.

For around $30 bucks, you can have 3 delivered to you with the adapters. 16" wipers are fine, but you can go a bit longer in the middle.

Good luck

[special k]

put the pantograph (sp?) style on mine 2002 te

[Tree]

see here - its a great upgrade and so long as you have AFI1000 motors (4 horizontal bars on the motor casing) you should be good to go.

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=5967&hilit=marinco

Oh and I have since changed the park position to Port but not yet had time to fit the washer bottle setup

[Pitou]

I've always had great luck with the"Deluxe" AFI / Marinco blades on my 28 that had AFI motors and they lasted. I always bought them through Amazon for around $20 each. AFI / Marinco also has a blade with a polymer connection as well. You can save some money there.

AFI Stainless Wiper Arm.jpg

AFI Deluxe.jpg

The arm is a piece of flat stock with a single nipple that clips into the blade when slid over the arm and is very secure. Trying to find an automotive blade to fit this style without some modification is nearly if not impossible.

The 31 has Ongaro motors, arms and wiper blades. A little different than the AFI as the clip on the blade is plastic similar to the automotive world, but a slight variation in size where the clip slides onto the arm. The previous owner tried to save a few bucks and went with automotive blades, but the clip when slid over the arm left the nipple on the arm not lined up and the blade not fully secure. The PO was an auto parts dealer and had tried many different blades and come up short on the attachment point. He used Rescue tape to secure the clip. I just recently saw another Albin set up the same way except using electrical tape. For the very few dollars more I use OEM and do not need to be concerned with a blade sliding off and the arm laying down a major scratch across the windscreen. To each their own. If someone had an exact fit replacement I'd probably be in on the convenience of the local auto parts store.

[carolmarie]

I highly recommend the pantograph modification as well. Google search the site; there are full specifics available.
Don.

[Chris & Dale]

Here's a link to a write-up I did on installing Pantographic wipers. Well worth the $ and trouble. Learn from me and others in the AOG and it won't be as bad. Good Luck!

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=5967