Screen wash tank leaking

Sometimes they just die, but more often the pipes half fallen off.

It's more likely to be the tube has popped off the pump...mine did that a couple of years ago and has done it again .I found out when I filled it with fluid and when I tried the washers they dribbled and I found the fluid on the road below the OS bumper .It freezes,you try the washers and the pressure makes the tube come adrift ....suggestion is to use small hose clips ..dunno what size yet tho'

Here is a link that might be useful.

the right answer is to use enough screenwash in the first place so that nothing freezes up, then there is no need for any clips to stop the pipe being blown off either by the pump or ice.

It's not the right answer ...it is another answer. A suggestion to help the OP's current situation is hardly wrong is it. .

It's a bit wasteful to use neat screenwash from autumn to spring just because there _might_ be a harsh frost before you next fill the tank...

I'm currently using 100% undiluted concentrated screen wash to stop freezing. Didn't work. No wash available in the morning, about 5 squirts coming home before it re-froze when temps went back below -3 on the motorway.

Indeed....Putting Meths in the tank along with the washer fluid used to be done but dunno if you can still buy it on Elf 'n Safety grounds now .

Halfords double conc is mainly meths.

Elder was thinking very hard :

It happened to me several times over the past week - I had to make several stops most days, to grab a hand full of snow to wipe wipe the screen down, but don't use the yellow snow :-)

I think that whatever you use as screenwash, it will still freeze in the jets, which is why some of them are heated of course.

Chris

Screenwash is just a couple of quid a gallon, cheap for a safety item like working washers. If there is enough in there then it won't freeze in the bottle, pump or pipes, outside temp showing -6 and it is still ok. The reason that some people get frozen jets is because the screenwash evaporates over time at the jet leaving water there, as long as the washers are regularly used then the jets stay OK

My take on the situation also.

Prior to Christmas, travelled from the Midlands to N Wales during freezing weather. Windscreen jets worked after a while but the rear screen took a long time to defrost and did not work well during the journey. During the journey, close to the end, I ran out of fluid for the front screen and suspected that we had exhausted the tankful. When we got to the destination, closing the rear hatch, I heard an unusual "tinkle/sloshing sound" - odd- am I hearing things.

I almost filled the tank with 4 pints of water and screenwash. Whilst doing this, I was pondering about the noise from the bootlid. Hmm, I wonder if that was water in the lid; checked the boot and yes there was water seeping out between the liner and the frame. "Hope that's just the pipe come off the nipple?"

Haven't checked whether the diagnosis is right yet. I'm loath to yank plastic bits apart in this weather when they can be brittle. Interestingly, I took the car into the MOT station whilst it was in this condition and it passed. It would appear that rear jets when they are fitted, are not part of the test.

Neither rear wash or wipe are legally required, and so are not part of the MOT.

Chris

Thanks. I guessed that was the situation.

Oh I agree. Best car I had for this was an old saab convertible with the screenwash heater coil round the top hose. Didn't stop the freezing, but did thaw them out during a journey.

Now we have 3 degrees above today, windscreen washer now works, but headlamp jets still frozen.

I'm still getting frozen jets using it several times to clear the salt during a journey, then parking at work. Sometimes it freezes during the journey.

Your heated nozzles have stopped working then.

Elder gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

My c900 doesn't have that top hose fitting, but frozen nozzles at the start of a journey turn into steaming water by the end. It's because of the routing of the plumbing, above the cylinder head, because of the front-hinged bonnet...

The fitting will speed that up, though.

Just tried washers and they work ok. Could still be a crack up higher than the bottom of the tank I suppose and still holding fluid in the tank below the crack. If there is a crack lets hope its in the neck so I can still get a mostly full tank. Looked like a fair bit went on the ground. At least a pint.

I'm still not convinced on a crack in the plastic though as never heard of them cracking before and most people just have water in them. Could even be something like the ice bulging out the hole where the pump pushes in and allowing water to get out when thawed but the rubber grommet not yet soft enough to get back to its proper shape. Probably over-analysing there, but you never know.

Cheers for all the ideas and advise