Windscreen washer nozzles blocked

[Mark Elder]

There must be a well known solution to this.

3 of my 4 washer nozzles are blocked (ie both the driver ones and 1 passenger) (have not yet checked the headlights). Quite useful having 1 still working because it confirms motor/tubes all still OK.

I've tried poking around in the nozzles with a pin but this is not clearing the problem.

Any recommended tricks for solving this.

Thanks

 

[Graham-S]

Hi Mark

I might know your problem but 1st what screen wash do you use? Is it the Porsche one?

Graham

 

[Mark Elder]

ORIGINAL: gsimons_tel
Is it the Porsche one?

Yes - is that the problem then?

I don't seem to use the washer much and I've not had to top up for a long time, but last few weeks the fluid has been looking odd (white flecks in it) - almost like milk that's going off.

 

[Graham-S]

Hi Mark

Both myself and my friend both use the porsche screen wash. That is fine as long as you don't mix it with another brand.

When i bought the car i didn't know what was in there, so i just used my Halfords screen wash. Was ok to start with but after a while the jets started to get blocked or would spray white flecks that would stick to the paint. Even happened with the headlighth washers. My friends 996 got completely blocked and we had to remove the jets and take them apart to remove what ended up looking like wax from them. Think that is due to the heated jets both on the 993 & 996.

Solultion. Take jet or jets off and and drain the washer tank either by removing the pipe at the washer tank or where you have removed the jets, rinse it completely then clean the jets out including the headlamp washers so all you get is clean water spraying out, then you can put your screen wash back in. It does take a while as the washer tank is large.

Hope this helps you.

Graham

 

[Mark Elder]

Graham,
Thanks for your help on this.

I can't believe I'm SO lacking in mechanical skills.[8|]

How do you get the jets off?

I can move them forward (toward front of car). They slide about 5mm. So I assume they slide and then pull upward??
From underneath the bonnet it's clear there is plenty of flexible hose to allow the jets to be pulled up and away from the bonnet but I can't find the trick that releases them.

Any clues welcome...

Thanks

 

[Graham-S]

Mark

It's been a while now, but I think that there are plastic clips that hold them in. Think you have to squeeze them from below to get the jets out then they just push back in.

You should see them from below from memory!

See if this helps!

You still have the fun of unblocking the jets. On my mate 996 we had to take the jet apart too. Think it was 2 pieces

Have fun
Graham

 

[Mark Elder]

Just to report back - I finally got time to do this job. But not in the way I expected.

You get the dual jet plastic blocks out by pushing them forward (direction of car) (not backward as it says in workshop manual) far enough so that the metal lug on the bonnet at the windscreen end disengages from a slot in the nozzle end of the plastic block. Then you push the block up from the underside of the bonnet.

However, this did not get me far[&:].

The power cable for heating the jets is sealed into the plastic block with epoxy resin and too short to pull the jet more than a couple of inches from the car. According to the wiring map in the manual there is a connector just above the plastic cap where the hose and cable go up into the bonnet. If I could have reached this I might have disconnected it and pulled some more cable across. But I have no idea how I'd have ever got it back! In any case I could not reach/find it.

But once the jet block was out and I could take a good look at it I realised it's a completely sealed unit (must be different on the 996 jet discussed above). So I was not going to get far even if I could remove it from car easily.

So, rather boringly, I went back to the method I'd already tried - sticking a pin up the jets and wiggling! I slightly bent the extreme tip of the pin to give me a tool to work away the mess inside the jets that was causing the blockage. Finally I have working jets.

On a 993 don't bother trying to get the jets out - it does not get you anywhere.