Replacement Windscreen Washers Mist Type

[Graymalkin]

I did this "upgrade" on my Peugeot 406 coupe. Replacing the squirty jets with a mist type washer.

If I can do it anyone can, this is how I did it on the Accord.

First of all get the old washers off. Dead easy. I used a screw driver and squeezed the front clip and pushed up and out they popped.

Second, disconnect the rubber tubing.

Done.

The washers I bought were of eBay and advertised as Genuine Citroen Xsara mist jets. They were £6.60, but could have got them cheaper at about £5 for a pair. They arrived and I fitted them but they were rubbish. See pictures below.

So I then called my local Pug dealer and got the genuine article delivered to the garage. £12.50 for a pair. Part number is 6438.v8

I fitted them in less than 5 minutes. They just pop in the hole and then the rubber tube is reconnected.

They are around 75% bigger than the standard Honda ones. So I would recommend that for silver cars they were painted silver otherwise they might look out of place. But my car is very dark and you really don't notice they are black. 

See pictures below for the spray pattern. Personally for a 5 minute job and for just over a tenner they are a great upgrade.

Painting these is very easy.

With some 1000 grit sand paper just give them a light sanding taking care not to touch the jet outlet area. I put a small rectangle of masking tape over the front of mine to keep dust out.

Quickly wash and dry them.

Mask off the tube on the underside to stop paint going up and into the washer. Mask off the small rectangle on the front where the jet is.

Spray with 2 coats of plastic primer from Halfords, this is about £6 a can and comes in red, grey and white. I advise using grey for the common Accord colours except the red cars where you would use red. Use a mask and use in a well ventilated area.

Let this dry for at least 24 hours. In the warmest spot in the house.

Rub down very lightly with 1000 grit sandpaper taking care not to remove too much to reveal the black plastic.

Then paint with your top coat can from Halfords. Again this will be about £6 for a can. 4-5 THIN coats. Make sure they are thin!!!!

Rub down lightly between coats.

Let this dry for at least 24 hours. In the warmest spot in the house.

Then apply 3-4 coats of clear lacquer, making sure the masking tape is still secure over the front jet hole. I would recommend replacing this after the primer and again after the top coat just so you know its 100% stuck down each time.

Let the lacquer dry for 24 hours and you are good to go - fit to the car and they should last ages.

[hughezee]

Great modification Rich

[Mazda Man]

Yep, excellent write up Richard, just how we like it....lots of detail and pics too!  A nice cheap modification...The forum is a great place for all these great tips for our lovely coupes. 

[Brett]

Great mod Rich and thanks for the ex right up

[Mazda Man]

Next write up from Richard will be fitting another rear fog light to the coupe I suspect.  You know the drill Rich, lots of nice pics! 

[Laird_Scooby]

Great write up Rich! Very methodical and well written! Good results on the "Genuine/Non-Genuine" pic as well, really shows the difference. I keep thinking of fitting some of those washer jets that clip to the wiper blade and have a small bore rubber hose to cacrry the washer fluid to them, similar to the Pug 406 washer jets. This brings the washer jet so it's just ahead of the wiper blade as it sweeps.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Windscreen-Washer-Jets-Conversion-Kit-JEEP-from-bonnet-scuttle-to-Wiper-Arms-/201431175048?fits=Car+Make%3AJeep&hash=item2ee63bcf88:g:~0gAAOxy14VRKhKz

Couldn't find them under Peugeot so looked in general and found them listed for Jeep - no, i wasn't looking for Jeep ones either lol! Maybe another option ........

[Graymalkin]

I didn't even realise that such a thing existed. I think that's a great idea. The only down  side i can think of is the tubing will be outside of the engine compartment so might be prone to freezing solid in winter? Where as the more normal setup the piping is all inside the warm engne compartment helping the fluid to stay liquid. But I suppose if you use concentrated fluid it will probably not freeze anyway...

[Laird_Scooby]

As you say, concentrated screenwash is the answer as it provides an antifreeze function as well as extra cleaning for the dirty winter screen. The fluid even freezes inside the "nice warm engine compartment" if you don't use screenwash and the washer jets freeze too unless they're heated. Fitting heated jets on the wipers might be a bit of a pain though!

Using screenwash prevents all of this.

[Mazda Man]

Oh what fun it is on a freezing morning driving down the M6, you pull the wiper stalk and nothing happens...except the wipers start smearing the dirt across your windscreen making it impossible to see properly.  You then panic and pull the stalk furiously and eventually, a little dribble of water exits the jets and lands at the bottom of the screen.  The wipers clear this bit and as you can't see anything except through a 6 inch portal at the bottom, you have to be a contortionist and slide down the seat to see.

Yep, super concentrated washer fluid is the way in winter.  I use Halfords Berry Fluid in mine because it still works at absolute zero, it smells nice and it's purple like my car 

[Laird_Scooby]

Absolute zero Geoff??? As in -273 Centigrade???

[Mazda Man]

Ha ha, perhaps not that low Dave but I think it's good down to -40c, which is more than enough in the UK. I think I may try this nozzle mod for Purple Haze, I especially like it because the spray on the Peugeot nozzles is wider and... even better...they look easy to fit, even for me! 

[Laird_Scooby]

Go for it Geoff! Seriously thinking of trying the "nozzle on the wiper arm" mod on my coupé and i already have a pair of genuine Rover heated washer nozzles for the Sterling. Oops! Didn't mean to let that slip yet!

I'm all for things that make life easier, better and more enjoyable and if that's a better pair of washer jets, so be it!

[Mazda Man]

Hannnnnnng on a minute....you've got some heated washer nozzles?  How are they heated/connected? 

[Laird_Scooby]

I think this is the right one, i'd have to double check by trawling various part numbers but basically it's the same as one of the Range Rovers and was indeed offered as an "add-on kit" to 800 owners by dealers. The kit had 2 jets, a loom and instructions/any other parts for automatic operation. I managed to buy a pair of jets for £12.50 + £2.50 P&P on the bay of fleas a few years back but haven't got round to fitting them yet for various reasons.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-Range-Rover-Sport-Heated-Washer-Jet-LR018834-/400895091672?hash=item5d5735a3d8:g:XVYAAOSwMmBVr7L9

Now the thing is, Peugeot also fitted heated washer jets to (if memory serves) the 406 amongst others which i'm fairly sure is the jet specified for the better spray pattern. For a few shekels more, you could upgrade to heated jets! Fairly sure with a bit of collaboration between you, me and Stu we could put together a kit to enable other members to do the same upgrade. On the Rovers, they picked up their feed from the heated door mirrors so i see no reason why that wouldn't work on the Accord (and indeed the Legends on here - in fact the Legends may need the Range Rover jets if the OE jets are the same basic design as the Rover) which would simplify installation of the electtrical side.

 

I do remember i had difficulty locating the correct "Supaseal" plug/socket to connect to the heated jets so had planned on using DC power connectors such as these :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2ps-5-5mm-out-2-5mm-into-DC-female-and-male-Socket-Power-Plug-connector-AR-/390743175634?hash=item5afa1bb1d2:m:m1S4jDhQdQ-Skb5M3jqdmFA

 

In fact that was the main reason i didn't get them fitted sooner. By the time i eventually sorted and sourced the right DC power plug/sockets, i had other things to be busy with, having just moved here, bought the coupé and a hundred million other things!

 

I'm not able to say any more just now but they will be fitted to the Sterling at some point in the near future and there will be a write up on them. Similar priniciples will apply to fitting heated jets to the Accords and/or the Legends but obviously the jets may have to be sourced from a different car.