Like many wagons of this vintage, my washer reservoir was cracked and leaking. I ordered an excellent reproduction from
@TRFarmers , along with a new grommet for the pump. I hastily installed the new unit and filled the system with water. The system had a steady leak when sitting and could not build enough pressure for the squirrels to function. The valves appeared bad so I ordered new ones.
They arrived this week so I got to work.
These are all of the tools I used to do the job.
The WD-40 will help loosen the rusty bolts and stuck on hoses. The pick can help work the straw into the hose. A pair of 10mm sockets with extensions are ideal and a good #2 Phillips.
I started by removing the reservoir, held in place by three 10mm bolts. Once free, I removed the hose with my vice like grip.
Next comes the connector, just a simple push on the snap.
Now I swapped the pump from the old tank to the new one. The old grommet disintegrated when I pulled it out so I’m glad I ordered the new one with the tank.
Old and busted versus new hotness
While the reservoir is out of the vehicle, test the pump. I added some water and connected the pump to a 12v bench power supply. The larger red cable is positive. Cycle it briefly, they are not designed to run for long.
I originally did not order the valves so when I reconnected the tank, water just leaked out. More than likely, if the valves are the originals, you’ll need new ones.
To access the valves, I removed the headlight bezels. It’s just four Philips screws, three on the corner faces and one on the top.
There’s a single electric connector, disconnecting it gave me better access to the valves.
Removing the valves was the hardest part of the job. The hoses were stuck pretty good so some WD40 worked in with a screwdriver or pick helps to break them free. For the driver side, I ended up moving the clamps back toward the valve and pulling off the squirter from the front and working the hose free that way. The hose won’t fit through the hole in the sheet metal so it made it easier to work things free by pulling on the squirter housing.
Once I got one end free, I was able to drop the line through the gap and work on the other clamp from underneath.
With both valves removed I blew some air through the hoses to clean any debris left in the system.
Then it’s just a matter of putting everything back together.
The valves are marked with an arrow in the direction of water flow. Don’t mess this up or you’ll have to wrestle the valve off again like I did.
If you’re feeling lucky, you can test you old valve pretty easily once it’s outside the vehicle. If you blow into the fitting in the direction of the arrow, you should feel resistance. Unless you have super human lungs, no air will escape from the other end. If your valves are shot like mine, air will escape from the small hole at the elbow or through the other fitting. The system is designed to only allow water to flow to the washers under the pressure of the pump when activated. Otherwise, gravity would just drain the water while driving down the road.
Plan on replacing the valves ahead of time and just order them.
Once reconnected you should be able to fill the tank and test. Do this before replacing the headlight bezels.
FYI: the headlamp washers work off the same button as the windshield washers but only when the headlights are on. I didn’t know this and went on an unnecessary troubleshooting session.
If the washers don’t activate you may have a short or ground or even a bad relay.
The relay is located behind the driver side kick panel below the fuse panel.
It’s the grey relay on the very bottom.
I had to cycle the pump a few times to work the air out of the system. The driver’s side didn’t work right away until I blew some air through the line to get things working.
I hope this inspires you to try the job yourself. It’s was very satisfying and took only a few hours working methodically and cleaning stuff up as I worked.
Edited: 5/3/22 removed duplicate photos
