My Windshield Washers have Prostate Trouble. Help!

"Richard Steinfeld" wrote in message news:9YadnalFp9o6ETzXnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@posted.sonicnet...

It may be a plugged line. You'll need to take it off to check. It may be on there pretty tight and you may have to... jerk it off.

You can access the reservoir by removing the splash panels underneath the car. That should give you access to the pump and the point where the lines attach.

Mike's sent you in the right direction here. Pull the hose off one of the nozzles and see if you get a good strong stream out of the hose when the washer is activated. If not, remove the pump from the reservoir (accessing from under the car as described by Mike) and check the pump screen. I've seen many clogged by slime.

Nice to see you again, HT.

I was able to clear the slime in an Aerostar a few years ago by running a few tankfuls of hot water through the system. The only thing I can think of that might cause the slime was the previous owner's use of cheap pre-mixed washer fluid.

There's something in the tank's neck that I've never seen before. It looks like a pink foam plastic piece. Any knowledge about that?

Thanks to both of you! I feel encouraged.

Richard

I unblocked mine yesterday. There was a small rubber gauze inside the reservoir. The pump fitted into it. Pulled the pump out, and then the rubber ring. It was disgusting. Resembled....well something really nasty.

All working well again. I blame myself, using washing up (Fairy) is not good for the system.

Wow. Hadn't noticed it was you when I first replied. Good to see you, too.

The foam piece is a float intended to enable you to judge the fluid level you can't physically see.

What I'm still not clear about is how do I access these parts from underneath the car?

Does "nasty" = slime? What's "washing up (Fairy)? It's not a term that I know here in USA, but I think I've seen it in UKese.

Something strange I'm coming across recently is unexpected slime in unexpected places. Like, in the sink where I rinse my dishes. Now, what's different is that here in the San Francisco East Bay, our water supplier has been using a chemical in the water that's supposed to kill the germs without corroding the pipes. It's called "Chloramine," and it consists, amazingly, of the two substances that we've always been told to never mix together upon, literally, the pain of death: ammonia and chlorine!

Well, yeah: I guess that it sure kills germs. It also kills tropical fish and, I believe, birds. And what does it do to us?

Anyway, this is the only change I'm aware of. As I mentioned earlier, I found slime in my Aerostar's washer tank; flushing it out with hot water cured the problem. Flushing in this case = filling the tank a few times with hot water and running the washer pump constantly. Doing this with the 2000 Hyundai Sonata is a bit tricky because if you keep the washer lever pulled for more than 1 second, it runs a three-sweep wiper cycle.

Feedback?

Richard

"Richard Steinfeld" wrote in message

If you want to do that, get a helper to spray some water on the windshield until the pump starts giving enough to keep it wet.

You'll need to take the front portion of the fender liner loose and pull it down. It'll attach to the bottom of the bumper cover with two screws or plastic inserts. I don't recall which.

You'll need to lay on your back to for the next step, so prepare for a quick exit. Once you get the fender liner out of the way, reach up and pull the wiper motor out of the washer reservoir-- it's primarily held in place by the rubber grommet in the reservoir-- and leave the area quickly to avoid getting very wet. Usually, a rocking motion on the washer motor eventually pulls it loose, but if that doesn't do the trick, you might wish to use some needlenose pliers between the pump and reservoir to pry it out.

There's a screen in the pump inlet which can clog with slime/goo. When you feel comfortable with returning to the area near the reservoir, simply dig the goo out. You should be able to remove the remainder with some sort of water type spray bottle.

Thanks, HT.

I almost see it. I think I'll go to the on-line manual and see if there are any pictures.

Also, I thought I'd mention this angle. Since I was successful once in the past with using hot water to melt-out the obnoxious gel, I may give this a try again.

However, when I tried it a few days ago, the system seemed to be too plugged for even this to work. In fact, it got a bit worse. Now, this last bit may, in fact, be an indication that it's working. But, on the other hand, it may be just moving the goop to new locations where it semi-solidifies again.

Hmmmm.