Robby

I'm having trouble w/the search engine here for some reason- haven't been able to get a search to go through last night or tonight, so I apologize if there are threads about this already...

I want to remove the windshield washer resovoir & all headlight/windshield washer parts... I never use them & would like to free up that area under the hood- I would eventually like to try to mount a supplemental fan in there or something- I remember seeing one in a 951 in a magazine years ago- might have been the infamous Graham Gillies Powerhaus car in Excellence...

I just got the factory plugs for the headlight washer nozzles- they look like screw-on plugs- are the spray-nozzles screw-on? Do I just twist them right out? Any ideas on how to plug the hood IF I remove the windshield spray-nozzles? I'm not going to remove them unless I can come up w/something- I'm afraid it might look weird w/out real nozzles, so I'm not 100% sure I'll do this...

My main concern is the resovoir- since I have the large type, it snakes down into the engine & appears to be a pain to remove- I'd like to pull it out from the top, if possible- what's the best way to remove it? I don't mind cutting it, if it would help- it has several cracks in it & is broken badly around the cap, so it's worthless... Also, I've been told the headlights & windshield washers have seperate pumps- is this true? Where are they located? Is there anything else that goes w/this whole system that I can pull out, short of the hoses? I'm not positive I'll remove them anyway. The resovoir is my main prob- any tips would be greatly appreciated- almost looks like I'll need to pull the headlight & motor, etc...

Thanks a lot,
Robby

Charlotte944

This is just my personal opinion so don't get too pissed: Unless this is going to be a track only car, this is a DUMB thing to do. Blanking off the headlight washers is Ok, but the windshield washers are actually a safety feature. Just imagine driving down the highway and some truck throws a bunch of mud or other yuck onto the windshield. How do you expect to get that crap off?

With that said, the tank comes out through the bottom. The headlight washer nozzles are threaded and are held onto the bumper with plastic nuts. You need to pull the bumper cover to get to them. To the best of my knowledge there are no blank plugs for the windshield washer jets.

ELLSSUU

Don't know about TN but in LA you MUST have windshield squirters to pass inspection each year. Even if the law doesn't require them in TN I would think for a street car they are essential. I know I use mine all the time.

Now I've been toying with the idea of moving the squirters from the hood and into the cowl area similar to my Honda Accord and old Altima. Would be a smoother look.

barelyrunshalfthetime

headlight washer pump is located towards the bottom right side of the washer tank, and the windshield washer pump is located like right in front of u on the tank when u open the hood, u cant miss it. anyways if u do get rid of the washer system, ive been looking for the washer tubing, as mine is not the correct size. im also looking for a working windshield washer pump, as mine only works half the time. anyways let me kno if u plan to get rid of those things, i would be very interested if they work and are in decent shape.

shiners780

Robby, what year is your car? On my '88, the tank was able to be removed right out the top without any problem, but I know some of the early 44's had a tank that looked different.

That's good advice to verify whether or not they are required to pass inspection. Here in NY, they are not required (or at least I have never ever heard of them being checked), and with our slushy/salty roads you would think they would be mandatory.

Robby

Thanks for all the advice & opinions... In all honesty, I couldn't care less about inpections & would more than likely hand a few bucks to the person doing the inspection to get by on something as low on the priority list as that- I've had my car for 6.5yrs & have NEVER once used them... AAMOF, I really don't remember using it on any other car really- always hated using them- sprays Windex all over, gets on hood, top, etc, sometimes overshooting onto people behind you & even leaves streaks at ends of wiper blades... I'd rather clean the windshield by hand & be done w/it... IF a truck threw stuff all over my windshield badly enough to blind me, I'd turn the windshield wipers on- if that didn't work & only smeared the mess worse, I'd pull over & clean it off w/a rag on the side of the road, or at a gas station- I use Rain X a lot, so very RARELY ever even use my wipers- I've honestly considered removing them too... they catch a lot of air as they're set up high- I've set mine as low as possible but they're still high- there are threads about people wanting to update to more aerodynamic wipers- I plan to look into this eventually. I would be slightly afraid to remove them altogether- probably be an eye catcher if inspected, although I know that several people HAVE removed wipers from street cars... Would have to ask them if it ever came back to bite them in the ***...

I've seen two types of resovoirs- one's w/the headlight washers are much larger & snake way down in there- I'm sure the regular kind would just pull out the top- actually, I would think they both would- I looked at it when my car (a 1988 w/headlight option & larger tank) was in the air recently & couldn't figure out how to pull it from the bottom w/out tons of work- I honestly expected someone here to say it was from the top- removing the headlight & motor should make plenty of room...

My resovoir's broken so I doubt anyone would want it, but the pumps & tubes should be in good shape- I'll be glad to contact you barelyruns... just need to know exactly how to do all this & we could work something out soon- don't know what they're worth, but I would sell them for really cheap since I really don't plan to ever use them again. The only times I EVER used them were when I activated them accidentally- thank God for Momo steering wheels & spacers... The wheel is way too close to the wiper switch- ironically, the turn signal is FURTHER AWAY from the wheel than the wiper switch- somewhere there's a German who, by all rights, should be SHOT...! I'd like to space my wheel slightly further but can't- if the signal were as close as the wipers, then I could get a few more mm... Not to mention, the wheel angles upward too much- some people like it, but WTF they couldn't make an adjustable steering colum...? ANYONE know how I can lower it a hair, maybe 1/2"...??? When I drove Ahmet's car in Raleigh, for just a couple of minutes, the first time I've driven one of these w/out spacer in over a year, I activated the wipers- I do not miss that at ALL!

Jim- did your car have the headlight washer option w/large tank? If so, did you remove anything to get it out the top? I hope I can get mine out the top- I just think it would be a lot less than what would have to be removed to bring it out the bottom & since I can't get the car up overhead to get underneath anyway, it really doesn't matter- I'd like to do it myself & save money, but if it comes out the bottom I'll have to pay my mechanic...

thanks a lot for all the input everyone...

The DareDevil

If you do remove the washer system, can you send the check valve my way? Mine is busted! (argh)

Robby

I might be able to....ummmm, not to sound stupid, but.... what is it...?

shiners780

No headlight washer option. They ran the wiring for it, but the tank was the shorter style, which is probably why it was so easy to remove.

Actually, my headlights have been removed as well, and the power steering is coming out this week, so that whole front corner will be empty except for the coil. Going to make oil changes and front end maintenance simple (uh, or at least easier...nothing is ever simple on these cars ).

Robby

Yes, that sounds like it would make a dif, especially the headlights being gone. I always assumed the non-headlight style came out the top while the headlight style came out the bottom, up until seeing mine from underneath the other day- now I'm starting to wonder if the whole engine needs to come out first....



Edit: WAIT a sec- something else just occured to me- what about carbon fibre & fibre glass hoods, etc.. Do they normally have provisions for windshield washers or are they normally just solid w/no holes, etc??? I know plenty of people use lightweight CF hoods on the street, esepcially in the rice world.....

Charlotte944

The washer tank comes out from underneath the car regardless of style/options.

Robby

Allright, I guess I'll have to plan on getting to it next time I have the car up in the air- I know I've heard of people pulling them from the top, though, but again, I'm assuming that was for the smaller tanks as they don't go down in there so much- I don't have one to look at nearby, so I'm only going by what I've heard & this isn't a very common project. I just don't want to start on something & either not finish it, or screw something up trying to do it the wrong way- I'm VERY experienced w/that kind of thing... I'll wait & get it from the bottom next time I'm underneath....

shiners780

Unless my car was upside down , my tank came out the top (and that was with everything in: headlight motor, PS reservoir, etc.) with no problems whatsoever, and without breaking it. Actually, I think the 1988 and later cars had a different tank configuration than the 1987 and earlier ones.

Robby

Ya see, that makes perfect sense to me, but the headlight washer style is larger & since it makes a turn going down, I'd have to at least remove something to pull it out from top- I also think it completely depends on whether or not you have the headlight washer option as to whether or not the tank is different, but I could be wrong- I haven't paid a whole lot of attention to this. But, mine is an '88 & DOES have the hedlight washer option. I know of a local '89, blue w/linen, w/out the headlight washer option & his car has a much smaller tank & I would think it would come out the top w/out a lot of trouble, but then again, I haven't looked at it closely. I just know it would be a lot easier to pull from the top than mine would....