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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Maintenance and Repair / October 2007Tips on cleaning clogged winshield washer line?
Hi All, My 1998 Civic Hatch has a clogged rear windshield washer in my. There is flow as far as the rearmost coupling on the hatch; if I unplug it, fluid squirts from there. So the clog is somewhere in the last stage, possibly at the nozzle itself. Nothing gets through whatsoever. Anyone have some tips on declogging the sucker? Maybe if I could hold a small rubber hose against the nozzle, and apply some air pressure in the reverse direction. Or I wonder how fine a gauge of wire I would need to actually stick in there, if that's the way to go. [snip] > Or I wonder how fine a gauge of wire I would need to actually stick in > there, if that's the way to go. That's the way I've done it, but I don't remember what gauge it was. I simply rummaged through my parts bin until I found a wire that was thin enough. The "reverse-flush" might be a good idea - that would ensure whatever's in there (nozzle, or close to it) will be blown back out and away from the critical path. On Oct 15, 2:13 pm, calder....@gmail.com wrote: > [snip] > > > Or I wonder how fine a gauge of wire I would need to actually stick in > > there, if that's the way to go. > > That's the way I've done it, but I don't remember what gauge it was. A piece of shred guitar gauge E string (0.008") did the trick. It went in there quite easily; a bit of fluid suddenly gushed out, and that was that. On several old cars I have flushed out the lines and spray nozzle when the washer flow was weak. 1. Empty out all washer fluid. 2. Put about a cup of white vinegar in the washer container. Push spray button until the vinegar goes through system and comes out on windshield. 3. Let the vinegar in the line and tank soak overnight. Then pump it all out. Flush with clean water. Replace wiper fluid. This gets the built up lime and scale out of the line, pump, and spray nozzle. Caution: don't do this with products like Lime Away or CLR etc. Those chemicals are so strong they would damage car paint or the pump or tubing. Windex cleans printer heads, maybe its worth a shot on windshield washer tubes also. > Hi All, > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Or I wonder how fine a gauge of wire I would need to actually stick in > there, if that's the way to go. I've used a safety pin appropriately unbent for just this purpose previously. (safety pin rather than a straight pin because the "safety" part allows you to hold onto it a little better.) nate  Signaturereplace "roosters" with "cox" to reply. http://members.cox.net/njnagel >My 1998 Civic Hatch has a clogged rear windshield washer in my. There >is flow as far as the rearmost coupling on the hatch; if I unplug it, >fluid squirts from there. So the clog is somewhere in the last stage, >possibly at the nozzle itself. Nothing gets through whatsoever. > >Anyone have some tips on declogging the sucker? A thin steel wire will clean it out. >Maybe if I could hold a small rubber hose against the nozzle, and >apply some air pressure in the reverse direction. Nope, doesn't work. We've all tried that one. >Or I wonder how fine a gauge of wire I would need to actually stick in >there, if that's the way to go. Depends, start with the smallest paper clip you can find. --scott Signature"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
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