Tested out the Michelin stealth 26 on the driver and 24 on the passenger. Looks like the middle if the blades don't make good contact in the windshield and does not wipe. They are beam type of wipers. Will try other sizes or makes.

 

The 26" Rain-X Latitude hangs off the passenger side of the window about 3/4"-1". I'll tell you next tuesday when my 24" get's here. Given the 2" reduction in length I figure it should be a perfect fit. If not, I'll swap it out for a 22" and let everyone here know.

 

Awesome. Some pictures, if there's any issues, would be lovely as well.

 

It was too dark to take pics but I'll try to get some tomorrow morning.

The 24" is a "good" fit on the passenger side with only a 1/4" of the wiper frame hanging over the cowl but the blade of the wiper doesn't overhang at all and clears it fine.

There may be an 1/8" to 3/16" gap between the blade edge and the glass at the down position.

It's supposed to rain tonight so I'll have some good water on the windshield in the morning when I get up and I'll test the swipe pattern and contact consistency.

If it doesn't work I'll just go down to a 22". I'm less concerned about the coverage on the passenger side anyway but I do want to most coverage on the panoramic windshields we have on these beasts!

 

I would classify that as a fitment issue but everyone is different.

Does the 24" on the driver side clear fine with zero issues unlike the passenger side?

 

The driver's side is a 28"! and it fits and clears fine and maintains full contact with the windshield through the entire swipe. Same goes for the 18" rear wiper. It gives maximum coverage, maintains complete contact with the glass throughout it's swing and has no overhang or interference with the outside edge of the glass.

The 24" on the passenger side has no blade overhang but the outside tip of the wiper "frame" hangs about 1/4" over the A-pillar. Also, when in the "down" position the last 2" of blade lose contact with the glass for about the first 4" of swing.

Normally this wouldn't bother me as long as there's no interference between the frame and no blade overhang on the A-pillar but I think there's no coverage advantage on the passenger side with a 24" over a 22" so I'll be swapping a 22" on there this week and will hopefully get more contact on the lower outside portion of the wiper's swing.

 

Ahh yes, I remember you mentioning the 28" on the driver side now.

I am going to have to try increasing the driver side wiper to maybe 24". I worry that the wiper arm and motor may not be able to handle the added length...what do you all think?

 

That is certainly possible. I figure the window motor on a '99-'04 F250/F350 is probably not that hard to find (MOTORCRAFT Part #WM577) and at $43 it certainly won't break the bank if it fails and needs replaced!

 

That's true...hmm, now I have ANOTHER option to contemplate for the Excursion

 

Just wanted to update this thread since it seemed the last few posts weren't really clear (or at least for me!) about the 28" wiper on the driver's side.

I just moved up from a pair of 24's on the front to a 28" driver and 24" passenger and no issues, even in a whiteout rain like we have in S FL. I do notice at highway speeds the driver's side does not wipe 100% of the water off toward the upper center of the windshield on the upstroke, but I think it is more an issue with the gusty winds I was in. Even with that issue, the improvement in vision and clearing water off was noticeable, and the wiper does fully contact at lower speeds.

I think I'm going to stay with the 28/24 combo.

 

I used the larger blades for years until I noticed that it stretched the arm spring causing the wiper blade not to make good contact with the glass. I switched back to stock and bent the arm down to compensate for the weakened spring. I expect I will have to replace the arm eventually. I found the stock size was big enough.

 

24" is the way to go.

If you use the rain x version blades without the extra supports (more of a contoured design) you could probably get a little bit more with the 26".

A good clean windscreen with some rain x goes a long way. But, you have to reapply it almost weekly or it gets really bad.

 

24" on front, stock on rear, works great

 

VELCOME to the vorld of XXXs Vinny

 

I use the GoodYear Assurance blades from Costco.

I borrowed the 18 incher on the rear from my wife's MPV minivan. It hit the nozzle grommet on the glass. I'll be going 17 on that one.

The pair of 24s fit fine on the front. I don't see a need to go 26 on the driver's side.