[68ragtop]

The auto parts store I usually go to has stopped carrying wiper blade refills. Had to buy the entire assembly now at 4x the price. I just find it hard to accept that I have to pay nearly $40 for wiper blades. Recently looking at other stores & found the same thing.

In high school I worked at a Shell gas station & we had one of those outdoor wiper refill Amco displays. Have fond memories of that era in the 80's
Anyway, I understand that there is next to no money to be made in wiper refills, & many cars take specific blades, but it seems odd that the refills all just disappeared from all the shelves.

Bothers me from a monetary & nostalgic perspective.

Amazon has them though...... Go figure

[dataway]

I don't think 98% of the people even realize they are replaceable these days. What is strange is that they are actually easier to replace than the whole blade. Usually just a little metal clip you squeeze and then slide them out, slide the new one in.

[lemansboy70]

Unfortunately, it got to the point that the refills we were selling didn't fit anything. Many of the manufacturers designed their own blades to be just a little different than everybody else's. You should see our wiper aisle now. Where we used to have 8-10 numbers that fit everything, now we have over 100 part numbers for very specific applications.

[PunchT37]

Just went through that a few days ago. Finally found some cheap plastic bound Trico`s at O`Reily`s. I won`t put black blades on an older car with silver arms.

[Old Goat Racer]

I recently bought blades for the wife's 2011 Impala. Measured the driver side so I would know what size I needed.
22" right ? Luckily I read the book at wally world. Pass side is shorter.

[694.1]

In addition, today's rubber just does not seem to hold up.

[SRR]

If you look closely at the "Yellow" box blades at Autozone, they can be removed like the old school blades. Just cut them to the length you need and toss the metal piece.

[77 TRASHCAN]

I sold auto parts for 13 years from 1985-1998. We always sold Anco wiper blades and refills.

The old timey refill part number for an 18" wiper is 11-18, would be 11-16 for a 16" refill and so on...These are the old time refills that have the two stainless one a piece of rubber that slide into the old blade, just like Tom described..

I googled anco 11-18 wiper refills and got a lot of things to look at. Might be worth a shot for anyone here. I need some 11-18's for my T/A. Have some goofy plastic refills on it for now. On T/A's I don't much think you can use just any replacement blade, because the wipers hide under the hood, and it's a tight fit. I tried a replacement blade once, that did NOT clear....

[67drake]

Originally Posted by SRR

If you look closely at the "Yellow" box blades at Autozone, they can be removed like the old school blades. Just cut them to the length you need and toss the metal piece.

That’s how I do it.

[gtospieg]

you can also go to Rock Auto....way cheaper

[eaglesan13]

Ames sells the inserts.

[GT182]

And I have a bunch of Anco refills sitting in the garage that I bought from my local parts store. Just like the originals.

National Parts Depot has them in their catalog too, in pairs. Theirs is the only catalog I've seen them in sold separately from the wiper arms.

[chevymad]

Originally Posted by lemansboy70

Unfortunately, it got to the point that the refills we were selling didn't fit anything. Many of the manufacturers designed their own blades to be just a little different than everybody else's. You should see our wiper aisle now. Where we used to have 8-10 numbers that fit everything, now we have over 100 part numbers for very specific applications.

This, every wiper out there now has a different design. Even the same brand seems to change month to month. They must have a team of engineers just redesigning the attachments too. Just when I get one figured out, next time I have to get out the reading glasses and decipher the instructions that are apparently written in ancient Egyptian heiroglyphs.

[fyrffytr1]

Originally Posted by PunchT37

Just went through that a few days ago. Finally found some cheap plastic bound Trico`s at O`Reily`s. I won`t put black blades on an older car with silver arms.

At the O'Reilly store I work at we carry the Trico classic blades but keep them in the back as there is not that much of a demand for them. They are available in 10-15"lengths. About $9.00 apiece.

[68ragtop]

Originally Posted by chevymad

This, every wiper out there now has a different design. Even the same brand seems to change month to month. They must have a team of engineers just redesigning the attachments too. Just when I get one figured out, next time I have to get out the reading glasses and decipher the instructions that are apparently written in ancient Egyptian heiroglyphs.

We definitely live in a word of symbols, not words. Kind of like the instrument panels of our daily drivers. I still remember going from my 1997 chev silverado to my (brand new at the time) 2003 silverado & was dumbfounded that not a light on the dashboard had a word, just symbols everyone of them as I recall. Tuned on the ignition & thought..... What the heck is this?

Not doubt that's for a global platform & I get it, but 15 years later & I still don't have to like it.

[moneypit]

I'm the parts manager of a Honda dealership. We sell inserts for OEM blades for about $9.00 each. OEM blades are about $30 or $40 each. I have customers who put on the cheap Autozone blades and then bitch because they can't use the factory inserts.

[lemansboy70]

Originally Posted by fyrffytr1

At the O'Reilly store I work at we carry the Trico classic blades but keep them in the back as there is not that much of a demand for them. They are available in 10-15"lengths. About $9.00 apiece.

Yup, we have those also. We have a customer that restores vintage Chevy trucks and he uses them. Had a fellow in here the other day looking for oem style blades for his Corvair. You woulda thought we pulled off a magic trick when we brought those out of the back room. He's an older fella that doesn't use a computer and he had no idea how to find them otherwise.

[Dens71TA]

Last time I was at Farm and Fleet they had Trico refills.

[77 Canamman]

Carquest/Advance Auto recently carried the stainless framed refills for my 1972 Chevrolet truck, and 1976 LeMans.

[U47]

Originally Posted by 68ragtop

We definitely live in a word of symbols, not words. Kind of like the instrument panels of our daily drivers. I still remember going from my 1997 chev silverado to my (brand new at the time) 2003 silverado & was dumbfounded that not a light on the dashboard had a word, just symbols everyone of them as I recall. Tuned on the ignition & thought..... What the heck is this?

Not doubt that's for a global platform & I get it, but 15 years later & I still don't have to like it.

That's because if you go to places like California or New York no one understands English. Seen a ballot lately. Talk about Americans shooting themselves on this one.