Screen washers

[Geoff Butcher]

Another ten minute job turns into a nightmare! I need to get my windscreen washer jet off for cleaning or replacement. It's a twin jet nozzle in the centre and it seems impossible to remove it without releasing the wiper assembly and I can't really make out how that's held on. Advice please!

[Rich]

From memory the glass is so thick at that point there's every chance they are glued in place.

[Geoff Butcher]

There is some kind of flimsy nut underneath, but it's impossible to get spanner or fingers on it. Is the wiper assembly only held on via the nuts which retain the arms? I'm guessing this jet has been there since 1987 and was fitted before the wipers...

[DavidL]

From memory, on the Mk 3, there are the two main nuts which hold the wiper spindles in place, plus one more nut/bolt somewhere under the dash, somewhere in the region of the bracket which holds the motor.
Sorry to be so vague...

[Geoff Butcher]

Got the little varmint! You can see from the kink in the short tube how little clearance there is above the wiper bracket, i.e. none. That plastic elbow is a bit slack which could account for a bit of damp under the dasboard over the years...I might email this pic to the original builder and express my displeasure...
Now I have a nasty feeling that getting it all back will be the hardest part

[Geoff Butcher]

This has become my latest 'worst job on a Midas' but by way of consolation I now have better washers than at any time during my 13 years of ownership

[Stuart]

Who'll be the first to fit heated washer jets I wonder.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MINI-one-coop ... Swe-FU5464

[DavidL]

Who'll be the first to fit heated washer jets I wonder.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MINI-one-coop ... Swe-FU5464

I fitted heated washer jets on mine in 1986, but what I did was wrap about 6 coils of copper brake pipe around a 3/4" copper pipe, all soldered together, then plumbed the big pipe into the cooling system and passed the washer fluid through the brake pipe...

My heater was air blending, so that I could get rid of that valve on the cylinder head, and that meant the washer jets weren't affected by the heat in the car. Although I suppose that probably wouldn't have mattered.

At one time I noticed a similar system for sale in a local car accessory shop. I did mine before that, though!

[goldeneye]

what is the need of heated washer jets? why not use anti-freeze?

[Stuart]

what is the need of heated washer jets? why not use anti-freeze?

They still freeze up in extreme conditions, more from the snow or ice that forms on them than the washer fluid. I doubt many Midas owners require that feature though.