The truth about Aero windshield wipers

Speedlaw · Post by **Speedlaw** » Wed Mar 12, 2003 11:31 am

This has been bugging me for several months now, and I think it's time to sort things out once and for all. Who's with me on this?

Right.

Josh has confirmed that the wipers of the Lupo GTI are indeed the same size as ours. This means that the Mk4 and 5 have the same 475 mm blades that the Lupo has. So far so good.

Some Germans have already figured out that the Lupo arms will in fact bolt on to the Golf 3 mechanism, which should be similar or identical in size to ours. Anyone have a clue on this?

They (Golf owners) actually need different size blades, but that's not our concern now is it... So, here's my plan. I'll order the Lupo arms and blades, and then take it from there. The main concern I have is that the arms will not bolt onto the old mechanism. Therefore, I've opened this topic to get some external thoughts on the matter. Any and all help is very much appreciated.

If all goes well, I'll share the experience in a write up in the DIY section. As an alternative, I could order just one arm to see if it fits- if it doesn't, I've only wasted a fraction of what I would otherwise... The next step would be to fit the Mk6 rear wiper to our cars. Don't feel like giving that rear wiper up just yet, and this would be a cool alternative. Any info on this wiper (size, partnumber...) is also very welcome!

Thanks in advance for the help.

Pic of the wipers:

Speedlaw · Post by **Speedlaw** » Wed Mar 12, 2003 1:08 pm

Something else; here's a pic of a Mk4 with these wipers. I've zoomed and cropped it, so the quality's not that good. It does show the arms, which is the important bit. Also, the normal arms completely clear the bonnet. These seem to be hidden a bit.

Also, notice how it looks as if the passenger side (Euro car, LHD) arm looks angled about half way.

The Lupo wiper arms look straight:

Here's the regular wipers, they are clearly visible, even with the bonnet shut.

Still confused.

Post by **Josh_PoloGTi** » Wed Mar 12, 2003 9:12 pm

Right then!

I was going to suprise everyone with the (possibly) first set of Aero wipers on a 6N2 in the UK...

I've bought them, but the drivers side arm doesn't fit. It hits the top edge of the bonnet when the wiper blade is amost vertical (ie at the top of it's sweep). The passenger side seems to be ok.

My only thought was to butcher both the new arm and the old arm by cutting them both in half, then welding the new blade attachment and half of the arm to the bottom section and half of the arm from the old wiper.

I am waiting for a guy from Europe who has done it before to get back to me via email to maybe explain how he did it, but so far, my idea above seems to be the most likely.

I have a MK4 Golf today (hire car) and the bottom of the wiper arm on the drivers side seems to be a lot more similar to the 6N2 arm, but I think it's even longer...

The bottom of the Lupo arm is completely different to the 6N2, and therefore it hits the bonnet in use.

I can either send the arms and blades back to VW for a refund, or I can try to get them welded etc (don't know if they might break in use if I welded them??)

Suggestions please!

If anyone is good at welding, give us a shout!

Edit: The rear wiper is cool as well, but I don't know if it will fit on the spindle... I think the spindle on the 9N is longer than on the 6N/6N2?

polo2k · Post by **polo2k** » Wed Mar 12, 2003 10:03 pm

if you either get a good mig`d fillet weld of a decent gas weld then it will be stronger than before

fillet weld = METAL=====\/======piece 2
the weld goes in the \/ and its done like this so that there is good penetration without blow through and also the weld has a larger surface to plend with if you did a butt weld -------|------- with the weld at the | then it would bulge out and when you filed down the weld you would almost remove it and thus weaken it but if you did a gas but weld the melal kind of melts together and you would add very little new metal to the joint so there is little filing down to do but with gas you risk warping the arm
please also remember that an item that has been heated will rust faster than normal (look at a burnt out wreck)

Speedlaw · Post by **Speedlaw** » Thu Mar 13, 2003 8:47 am

Thanks for the replies guys. Sorry to steal your thunder Josh!

Anyway, maybe we can help you to achieve your goal... Too bad I can't weld to save my life.

Am I right in thinking that the Mk5 bonnet is different than the Mk4? The wipers seem to clear the bonnet completely (the original ones anyway) so I'm guessing that the Lupo wipers wouldn't cause much trouble. I know the bonnet is different on other issues (such as hidden washer jets) and it could well be that it's longer (i.e. covering the windshield more).

So Josh- are you waiting for a reply from a Mk5 or 4 driver?

Edit: One more thing- does anyone have a similar pic of a Mk5 to that black Mk4 I've posted, showing the bonnet and the wipers? Might help answer some questions.

One more thing; here's a better pic of the wipers on a Mk4. Does this tell us anything?