Windshield nozzles/hoses/pump

[chris15]

Been awhile since I last posted, but I finally decided to tackle a small annoyance that's been bothering me with my PT. About a month ago I went to use my windshield sprayers and they didn't work. I could hear the pump engaging so I had a feeling the electronic aspect of it was working, but at the time, I didn't think to check the rear. Bought fluid (even though I always top off my fluids.. and it was night time so I couldn't quite see) and it only took 1/3 of the bottle. I then checked the rear and noticed it was working, so I arrived at a couple conclusions:

1) The nozzles are clogged.
2) Hoses are clogged.
3) The pump is bad.
4) There's a leak.

After some research, I found that the PTs use only one pump for both the front and the rear, so if the rears work, that rules out #3.

So I ran the sprayers for a bit, checked under the car, no leaks. That ruled out #4. I then disassembled the cowl, and accessed the hoses mounted to the hood by removing the insulation pad. I worked backwards from the nozzles to check for blockage. Removed the hoses from the nozzles, no fluid. Then removed each hose, and went all the way back to the hose that comes from the pump and assumed that was it. Went up to Home Depot today, bought some hose, cut all my lengths and ran new hoses directly from the pump (where it says 'F' for front, I'm assuming) to the nozzles, and still nothing. The hose I bought is clear, and I also saw no fluids running through it whatsoever. Held it for a minute straight figuring maybe it had air in the system-- nothing.

That leaves a problem with the 'F' side of the pump. Ridiculous.

So, ultimately, my question is: is it possible to remove the pump without unbolting the fluid reservoir? (It would also really really suck to have to completely drain it.) And is it easier to simply replace the pump instead of removing it and cleaning it?

[Hooligan]

If you have access to a air compressor I would induce air from the nozzle end connection to the pump, possibly the pump outlet is plugged.

[chris15]

I just moved into my apartment, so I don't have any of my tools anymore, but was considering buying a can of compressed air of some sort (like the stuff they sell to clean out your keyboard or whatever) and use that instead, but even if I dislodged whatever was stuck, wouldn't it just wind up clogged again? :/

[Mean Green]

When that happened to me it was the nozzles and were replaced under warranty. The nozzles are of a bad design because the same thing happened to my '05 SRT-4 (Dodge).

[chris15]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of them either, but the only replacements I've seen are those shitty LED ones sold at Advance/Autozone. But like I said, it's not the nozzles that are the problem. Even when I disconnected the tubes from the nozzles, no fluid came out when I pulled the washer lever.. :/

[Mean Green]

Originally Posted by chris15

Yeah, I'm not a fan of them either, but the only replacements I've seen are those shitty LED ones sold at Advance/Autozone. But like I said, it's not the nozzles that are the problem. Even when I disconnected the tubes from the nozzles, no fluid came out when I pulled the washer lever.. :/

Yeah, the whole design is crap/cheap. If the back works then it has to be somewhere between the pump and the nozzles. Good luck.

[CityGirl70]

I had the same problem with my 2001 LE PT

1st Attempt- I tried air through the hoses to make sure they weren't clogged.
2nd Attempt -I tried removing all the fluid since I noticed it was just bubbling up inside the pump when I tried the front washers. I replaced it with straight water. Both front and rear windshield washers worked fine when I did that, so I assumed the fluid I had was a bad batch.
3rd Attempt - When the water started running a little low I added fluid to it, front washer stopped working again, but back washer still worked. I came to the conclusion the pump is the issue since the back washers were still operating fine. I did not want to replace the pump so I got a T Vacuum connector and hooked both front and back hoses to the one side of the pump that was delivering fluid. Now when I push the back wipers button I get fluid out both front and back. It is not the perfect solution, but it is cost effective and works.

[quicksilverdon]

Ingenious solution.
Be careful with just water... I had a car and I had just water in, tried it in winter, and the water was frozen and sheared the motor shaft to the pump.
I took it out, and being cheap, jury-rigged a brass fitting to replace the sheared plastic - when I put it back together, the fluid shot over the roof and hit the back window! I guess the mass of the brass fitting made the difference. I bent the nozzles down and had good pressure!
I wipe my windows with rain-x, and hardly use the spritzers...

[CityGirl70]

Originally Posted by quicksilverdon

Ingenious solution.
Be careful with just water... I had a car and I had just water in, tried it in winter, and the water was frozen and sheared the motor shaft to the pump.
I took it out, and being cheap, jury-rigged a brass fitting to replace the sheared plastic - when I put it back together, the fluid shot over the roof and hit the back window! I guess the mass of the brass fitting made the difference. I bent the nozzles down and had good pressure!
I wipe my windows with rain-x, and hardly use the spritzers...

Very true it would not be wise to run straight water during a Utah winter, brrr...
I have slowly added more fluid as the reservoir level drops, right now I have about 3/4 fluid to 1/4 water. I didn't want to pull the resevoir out again to dump the water or syphon it out (too lazy). I figured it was summer so no worries.
Just a side note: If anyone is worried about lack of pressure from running both at the same time I have not had any problems.

[chris15]

Oh, I had completely forgotten about this thread. Well, I found out what the problem was.

It's true that the PT utilizes a single pump for the front and rear washers, and what happens is when you trigger the fronts, a 'flapper valve'-type mechanism flicks over to block the rear hose, and when you trigger the rears, that same valve flicks back and blocks the front. On my particular pump, that flapper valve must have failed. I was able to manually move the valve back and forth after I removed it from the system and noticed that each time I moved it to one side, the other was completely clear-- not a clogged pump. I went ahead and replaced all of my fluid lines, so it definitely wasn't that-- and finally got around to picking up a spare pump, but my lazy ass still hasn't gotten around to putting it in! :x

Actually, they don't 'allow' us to work on our vehicles in my apartment complex (what a crime!!) so I have to wait until I have time off work and classes to head back to my parents' and use my ramps and whatnot.

Just thought I'd share.