Washer Fluid Tk Clean, Remove Rusty Fittings, Pump repair
 

My mission is to assess and repair washer function, repair carbon canister lines, and repair / rewire the Euro side marker lights (Euro fenders on 84 USA car).

( Note that there are three pumps on my car. 1) Washer pump, located just inside the right fender, mounted with three rubber pieces through the inner fender. 2) headlight washer pump, located attached to base of shared washer fluid tank. 3) intensive washer pump, located in front hood latch area below the little tank. So far, I've only fixed the headlight pump)

Not quite done yet, but to start with, here are some relatively interesting pictures that illustrate root cause of washer tank rust, as pointed-out by Mr. Merlin.

I needed to get the metal inserts out of a) the filler neck and b) the fill neck of the tank itself.
That meant an opportunity to use my favorite tool, Mr. Torch.

I cut away a little bit of the plastic so I could get a good bite on the underlying rusty tube. Once hot, I pulled and twisted slightly. Came right out. Plastic is strong enough to reinstall filler hose without this liner. That is the plan.

Major caveat here --- when working on the filler neck, in-situ, I am using Mr. Torch very close to fuel vapor lines.

I taped them first. Still dangerous. Method works if you take the extra time to remove the filler neck. I was lazy and had a twinge of death wish. Y'all will make a better choice, surely.


Also, some pictures of the rejuevenation of the headlight washer pump (mounted to the bottom of the washer tank).

The pump is a little plastic centrifugal.
The little rubber kidney shaped pieces are for dampening, they don't move.

I sprayed Pledge into it to help free it. Will flush it later before hooking it to the headlights.

Also, I used a little oil and let it seep into the motor shaft.

Ran it briefly dry with jumper wires. Worked.

You need a strong light to see into the pump to find the "flat" on the shaft, so that it can be put back together. A little trial and error is all it took.

BTW, try to save the big hose that links the filler neck with the tank. I got lazy here, too, and cut it to make tank removal 30 seconds faster. Its a straight 30mm hose. Unfortunately, neither NAPA nor Advance had anything to replace it, including hunting through dozens of molded radiator hoses looking for a straight section. $39 from Porsche. I patched mine with an insert sawed-off of an old, thin nylon vacuum cleaner wand. Not my best moment.

Good work on removing the metal inserts causing the rust.

The inserts on 'California' had rusted and disintegrated completely (you can guess where it all went - into the tank!). I'm such a Noob - I couldn't figure out where all the rust was coming from - there was no metal insert left in the tank inlet or filler neck. I ended up buying a new tank and filler neck and put them both back in. I noticed the metal inserts but didn't make the connection - just thought to myself "Hmmm, metal inserts - must be an upgrade!" Then I found out the inserts WERE THE CAUSE! I removed the one from the filler neck but the one on the tank is still in there. I've been thinking about how I might go about getting it out - your Mr. Torch trick might be the ticket. THANKS for the tip and the pics!

Often, when these inserts rust, they expand and bust the plastic around it.

Ask me how I know... ;)

Could the rust problem be eliminated with some sort of mild acid (phosphoric???), perhaps cola even, without removing everything???

I just discovered the rust water problem. Right now, only my headlamp washers work. I'm not certain yet why the windscreen washer isn't working, but I notice that one of the 90 degree plastic thigies, which goes into the hood, is broken.

Great post. Great timing as I'm about to take on this repair myself and haven't much a clue...










Nick - Hazleton, PA - 89 S4 Auto

make sure to remove the rusted metal from inside the tank opening.
some careful squeezing with some pliers around the inlet will break the crusty stuff then it can be pried out.
then a few handfuls of small stones and some simple green inside the tank and add a cup of water and shake and rinse this should get out all of the rusty stuff at the bottom and sides of the tank

Nice pliers in pic #4. <more>?

There are three washer pumps on my car.

One attached to the base of the washer tank. Its a centrifugal with relatively high volume delivery for washing headlights.

The second is just inside the right fender well, down low, near the exhaust manifold. Its a tiny gear pump. It washes the windshield with washer fluid from the big tank it shares with the headlight washers.

The third is just under the intensive washer tank near the hood latch. Its also a tiny gear pump, identical to the other gear pump (same part number). It is parallel connected to the windshield washer nozzles, using check valves to prevent the two systems from feeding each other.

The gears are brass, but they get fouled with the rust from the filler tube rusty steel inserts.

Here is what one of the gear pumps look like disassembled. If you disassemble yours, be careful not to damage the rubber shaft seal. It looks like an O-ring, so you might be tempted to hook it with a pick and pull it out. Don't. Its acually a special piece that looks like a master cylinder lipped piston seal. I damaged mine.

So, here is my resolution of all this on the 84 automatic.

This is a driver, not a resto.

So, the intensive washer tank / motor / hoses have been removed.

The circuit for the washer nozzles for the windshield is simplified. They are fed only by the single windshield washer motor inside the right fender. BTW, no heaters on these nozzles due to hood + nozzles having been transplanted from a pre-84 car.

The headlight washer motor no longer feeds the headlights. There was a broken hose under the front facia somewhere, and I am not patient or anal enough to remove all that stuff to fix it for this driver. I've redirected that piping, unobtrusively, so that a pair of tiny hoses points onto the windshield directly, driven by that high-volume centrifugal pump. Gives me ability to "flood" the windshield with washer fluid, in case nozzles are not enough. Done. Next project.

Hey Chris, many thanks! This is on my to-do list too. Big help.

On my 1987 the steel tank insert had split the plastic so after removal of the rust I replaced it with a 3/4 inch copper plumbing coupling and some epoxy. Better than new!

Brian

Ive just taken my washer motor out, the one below the brake master cylinder (UK) and the water nozzles are marked D on left and B on right, do you know which one goes from the tamk and which one goes to the actula water squirters in the bonnet?

Many thanks

thanks for this posting, I too need to attack my inop windshield washer on my 84. this saves me a lot of trial and error.

Ive tested the motor, the right side (B) sucks in the water and the left (D) blows out the water, which hose do I connect to the blower side, is it the one with the T valve?

So does anyone know an easy way to flush the system without disassembly and making a huge mess?

Also if the system is left dry does anyone know if there are any components which can potentially dry out and become a problem? I don't use mine and have wondered if the system could be left dry.