The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Rain-x

My windshield wipers suck. I have had both wiper blades come loose in the rain. I finally bought some modern blades and was able to secure them so they wouldn't come off. Now the motor seems to be giving out on me. I was trying to get home a few weeks ago in misty rain and they quit me in heavy traffic. I bet the cars were lined up a mile or more behind me that night as I creeped home blindly. I decided to try some rain-x a few days later. I really didn't think that it would work very well after opinions that I had read here. I was wrong. I drove to town in heavy rain after applying it and I couldn't even tell how hard it was raining. It worked better than the wipers ever did. I know that I still need to fix my wipers but I am not really getting in a big hurry right now because the rain-x is doing such a good job. I will be recommending it to everyone now.

Gene,

Having lived in the Portland Oregon area for 20 years, I will second your endorsement for Rain-x. It really works. I applied it to the windshield of my 53 3100, before driving it 230 miles, to Eastern Oregon. It rained a great portion of the trip. With exception of the one stop we made, I didn't have to turn on the wipers once. Now, it wasn't raining as hard as it can up there. But still, it was pretty impressive. I used it all the time on my everyday vehicles up there. Glad you found the product. At least you can take your time to fix your wiper motor now.

Rugo

20 years in a big truck (OTR) and I didn't leave home without it. Best thing since sliced bread.

I second that on the big truck. Pain in the a-- climbing up on it to put it on but well worth it.

As to the wipers, get the electric conversion from Jim Carter, I did that on my 58 GMC and never regretted it.Larry

Do you remember what blades you replaced yours with? My vacuum motor was rebuilt and works great but like your experience the blades I have don't stay on very well.

Rain-x definitely money well spent, does what it sais. Someone got rich on this one. Bet they could come up with a good car wax that works just as well.

it works ok on the hi-way, but what about around town when your only going 25-35 mph. then you have to use your wipers and at night it makes a real mess on your windshield. I do like it on my side windows.
Jay D.

On my other vehicles that have windshield washers I use Rain-X washer fluid. After a few washes works just as well.

I don't remember when RainX came out, but it is wonderful stuff. Up until about 25 years ago semis had air wipers which weren't much better than vacuum. Another trick I learned in my many years of driving a truck is that Coca Cola dissolves bugs. When my windshield got to where I couldn't see, I bought a bottle of Coke, shook it up and spewed it on the windshield. It worked well. Of course, now it is a DOT violation for not having fluid in a windshield washer.

In my experience, the only folks who did not like Rain-x did not properly apply it. (I'm not pointing fingers here fellas).

Brad

Larry,
My '59 has an electric wiper motor that I think is original. All of the electric motors that I see for sale are advertised to replace the original vacuum motor. Will they also replace an original electric motor?

for fear of Uncle Brad's wrath (yes, this is all in good fun!), here is my experience with Rain-x. The harder it rains, and the faster you are going, the better it is. However, if you are driving around town in a light mist, I find it distracting as the beads of water don't have enough water or wind to clear the window. Other than the light mist, it is great stuff.

Does rainX still stay on your windows when the wipers are on? I want to try this stuff, not only on the windshield, but every piece of glass including mirrors as well. Its a pain when I cant see clearly out the sides and in addition the mirror coated with rain drops as well

The AD windshields being so close to vertical means they catch a lot of air, thus rainX works really well on them even at lower speeds. It was real handy on my round the country trip in the 52 several years ago. My vacuum wipers worked but just barely, sometimes helped by a string tied to the arm and run in the passenger's vent window...

You know Gene, that's a good question. My truck had a motor out of who knows what with only one arm hooked up and it didn't work. I just figured it was a bandaid replacement for vacaum wipers. I used the same arms and all the supplied parts in the wiper conversion I got from Jim Carter. It's all hooked up and works.Larry

I found some 12" blades at a local parts store ( Anco #91-12 ) and got them to order me some adjustable wiper arms ( Anco # 41-02 ). I still had trouble so I added a zip tie where the 2 parts connect. They are secure now and work well when the motor is working.

I have been a rain x fan for 20 years. Have it on everything I drive

Thanks Gene. Don't know why I didn't look into a solution like this in the first place. I guess I didn't remember the originals having such a flimsy attachment when I drove these trucks as a kid. Then again what I drove then was so worn out they only worked when you let off the gas.

GeneWiseman years ago I replaced my vacuum wiper motor in my 54 with an elactic one I took out of a newer truck. It was pretty much a direct bolt in. I did add a bracket from the bottom of motor to the dash.just to keep the motor from moving while it was on.it can't remember if I used the original cable from dash know or not,I remember it being tight. While the motor is electric it still uses the cable to manually turn it on...I think that 59 was a odd year for electric wipers as the vacuum motor was still being used. You can Still get a replacement electric motor from some of the suppliers.I've done 2 of these installs,and 1 with a conversion kit.I'd sooner search the country side for an 59 wiper motor than install a conversion kit.I can get you more info if you need..