Wiper Blade replacement on a Ford E450

[Motts461]

Has anyone used a beam style blade on their E450? I like the Bosch Icon blades but no one shows the E450 in their fitment guides, just the E350 Super Duty. I believe I am looking for a 20" blade but Bosch says this is not a match for the E350. Any help would be appreciated.

[ThomB]

Not sure on the 450 but on the F53 the base of the arm is a wider dimension than on most cars and light trucks that may be the reason that they don’t say the one you are looking at is a match.

[luvlabs]

Use the E350 size. There is no physical difference in the cab/windshield between the two models. You can find everything you need on Amazon or your local Ford dealer.

[akeagle]

Haven't needed to replace mine yet. Costco runs great sales on their replacement wiper once in a while and I've already bought a pair to keep in the basement as spares.

[Morich]

Just looking at this on a 2015 winnebago vista on the E450 and not getting at all the same as you describe. What type vehicle are you speaking? I'm looking at 27 1/2 inch on mine.
I'm finding a different size on the end of the arm as mine are about 11-12 MM wide and "normal" for cars/light trucks seems to be 9 MM. Not finding a good total blade to replace so I am checking.looking at doing refills only as all I need is the new rubber.
I've not got too far on that search due to the holiday but if I can find the refill to fit the existing hardware it will be much cheaper. If I'm into doing the hardware as well, I'm looking at something like $28 EACH !
One of those things which seems to require taking the blade hardware into a store and seeing them match it to new rubber!
Lots of small fitting points in that game , though.

[akeagle]

I haven't seen replacement refills in years. I suspect the manufacturers figured out they can make more money selling us the entire blade.

[Phil G.]

Originally Posted by akeagle

I haven't seen replacement refills in years. I suspect the manufacturers figured out they can make more money selling us the entire blade.

By replacement refills, do you mean these?: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._rd_i=15735071

[akeagle]

wow!!! Been in Alaska for about 30 years. Must be another thing not sold up here but readily available in the Lower-48. Thanks for the info!

[Morich]

This is the one I was looking at for my long wipers.But then there is also the question if the grooves are just right to fit. I may go with trying a set as $20 for both sounds like a worthwhile bet when compared to the $56 for a pair of toal blades!
I saw a series of posts about changing the arm to fit but no thoughts on only changing the rubber part??

[Phil G.]

Originally Posted by akeagle

wow!!! Been in Alaska for about 30 years. Must be another thing not sold up here but readily available in the Lower-48. Thanks for the info!

I hear ya on that!


I just came back in September from an Alaska fishing trip and couldn't even find a simple 120V-AC-to-12V-DC converter to power my 12V CPAP machine. I checked in several stores and no-go.


How do you guys live up there.


P.S. We have plenty of trees around our house and great trout fishing right here in CA. Just kidding ... Alaska has some great features.

[akeagle]

I know this doesn't do you any good now, but in Anchorage there is a locally owned electronic store called Frigid North. They carry all kinds of electronic stuff, common and hard-to-find.

[TeJay]

Here's a fairly simple solution to the wiper blade problem and it will work on any RV. There are basically two sizes of wiper blade arms and replacements 9-mm and 12-mm. Before we get to far into this yes we can assume if the arm is 12-mm wide it is designed for longer blades. That may be true but there are some 9-mm blades in the 30+" range. I have been using 9-mm blades for 30,000 miles and no issues.

Most RV use the 12-mm blades. Determine if you have the "J"-hook design. If you do you are limited in finding a reasonable 12-mm replacement blade for obvious reasons. Most parts stores keep only 9-mm stocked. You have to go to an RV or Truck supply to find 12-mm and they are always pricey.

Here's what I did. I used my portable disc sander and ground the end of my 12-mm (the last 2") down to 9-mm. It took about 10 minutes of grinding then some black spray paint. Now I can get any "J" style replacement blades in any length and in any store for a lot less $$$$$.

If you happen to have something different than the "J" hook design I'd find a "J" hook replacement arm and first cut off your other style end then cut the "J" hook end off and bolt it to your wiper arm using 2 or 3 tiny machine screws. Just convert it to a "J" hook style.

My daughter had some Honda Odyssey blades she didn't like so I just put them on my RV. You don't have to be stuck with what they think will fit. Just find what length you want and find a "J" hook style and you're done.

Lastly we don't use the real long blades. IMHO it isn't necessary to completely cover the WS with a blade. I only need to see well enough to drive down the road. Instead of the 28" or 32" blades we use 24" or 26". It works well for us. If it's raining so hard that I need longer wipers {'m off the highway until the storm passes.


As mentioned the industry is going to make us buy complete blades instead of refills. They make more $$$$. An auto parts house told me that.

[Morich]

I discovered there are still refills out there. The store where I found them asked why I wanted them and the "new guy " had to be told they keep them in back, not with the whole wipers as they would not sell the $28 ones if there were $7 ones beside them! I had a store look in their system for who DID stock the refills and they told me which store to go find them!

[Dave11]

Originally Posted by Morich

Just looking at this on a 2015 winnebago vista on the E450 and not getting at all the same as you describe. What type vehicle are you speaking? I'm looking at 27 1/2 inch on mine.
I'm finding a different size on the end of the arm as mine are about 11-12 MM wide and "normal" for cars/light trucks seems to be 9 MM. Not finding a good total blade to replace so I am checking.looking at doing refills only as all I need is the new rubber.
I've not got too far on that search due to the holiday but if I can find the refill to fit the existing hardware it will be much cheaper. If I'm into doing the hardware as well, I'm looking at something like $28 EACH !
One of those things which seems to require taking the blade hardware into a store and seeing them match it to new rubber!
Lots of small fitting points in that game , though.

Never knew there was a Vista on the E450, thought they were F53.

[TeJay]

I agree there are some refills still available but not easy to find. That's not the point. Eventually the entire industry may or will stop making the cheaper refills available. Even now they are difficult to find. We all know is always about the $$$$$$$$

Take 10 to 20 minutes of time and Just convert them to 9-mm "J" hook blades and never fret about finding blades in any store that stocks blades.

Two years ago while camping in Hot Springs, AR one guy needed wiper blades. Four of us took off and traveled around the Little Rock area trying to find RV wiper blades. We drove at least 100 miles and finally found some for $35 each. I was riding so didn't care. We had a good time as we always do but I still thought it was absolute madness!!!!

At the time I was still not sure what to do about the blades. The trip to 6-8 different wiper blade stores and doing the research I finally figured out what was going on (9-mm versus 12-mm "J" hooks) and decided to converted our blades to 9-mm.

Problem solved and I've never looked back.

[Morich]

Originally Posted by Dave11

Never knew there was a Vista on the E450, thought they were F53.

Correct! It been pointed out and admitted to being wrong. It is on E53. But that did not involve the wipers. Learning lots of small points as I work to find exactly what I have.

[Dave11]

Originally Posted by Morich

Correct! It been pointed out and admitted to being wrong. It is on E53. But that did not involve the wipers. Learning lots of small points as I work to find exactly what I have.

Sorry, I guess I missed that. I have owned two E450 units and have gotten wiper refills from Walmart.

[asalvitti]

Go to the Ford website or call Ford. The windshield is part of the chassis.