Detach hose from VW windscreen washer jets

[livewire08]

Hi all,

I'd like to completely replace my windscreen washer fluid rather than mixing. How do you detach the hose that feeds the jets attached to the bonnet? On a VW Up on the underside of the bonnet along the back is a space where the washer tubing runs parallel with the bonnet and feeds the jets unfortunately its within a metal recess and i can barely fit my hand in to touch the hose never mind detach it from the jets. The jets look like this although again they're somewhat hidden within the bonnet:


It looks as though the hose just pushes on to the tapered end of the jet looking at the image, can anyone confirm in which case i just need to give it a firm pull if i can actually reach it, reattaching it could be more difficult. Why don't they make these things easier. I assume there is no drain plug somewhere that is remotely accessible. I tried to siphon off also but couldn't get the tubing to push through the tight bends of the washer top up hose into the tank.

Thanks for the help

[steveo3002]

yeah if its like the photo they just push on , although with age the pipes sometimes go rock hard so need softening with a heatgun or lighter for a few seconds first , dont force it as the plastic bit will snap off

[TooMany2cvs]

livewire08 said:

I'd like to completely replace my windscreen washer fluid rather than mixing.

Don't over-think it...

Spray it through until the tank's empty and it sucks air.
Pour neat water in the tank. Spray it through until the tank's empty and it sucks air.
Pour the new mix in the tank.

Job jobbed.

The only time you might want to do anything more is if some muppet's poured something completely wrong (engine oil? brake fluid?) into the tank...

[livewire08]

Yeah i had thought about just using the jet to spray it out and empty the tank but thats a lot of fluid to coat your windscreen with in one go. I was hoping for a slightly less messy option. I can maybe put something over the jets to channel the fluid away from the windscreen.

Thanks

[Roo]

Doesn't it rain where you live?

One sudden downpour would put a lot more water on the screen than the washers could ever provide.

[Sump]

livewire08 said:

Yeah i had thought about just using the jet to spray it out and empty the tank but thats a lot of fluid to coat your windscreen with in one go. I was hoping for a slightly less messy option. I can maybe put something over the jets to channel the fluid away from the windscreen.

Thanks

Better than fettling with arch liners and hoses. If you do a crap job of it you may induce a leak

[Dogwatch]

livewire08 said:

Yeah i had thought about just using the jet to spray it out and empty the tank but thats a lot of fluid to coat your windscreen with in one go. I was hoping for a slightly less messy option. I can maybe put something over the jets to channel the fluid away from the windscreen.

Thanks

Couple of coffee mugs? They'll be clean afterwards too!

[miniman]

Why not just leave a hose running spraying water on the windscreen if you're that worried about it?

[TooMany2cvs]

livewire08 said:

Yeah i had thought about just using the jet to spray it out and empty the tank but thats a lot of fluid to coat your windscreen with in one go. I was hoping for a slightly less messy option.

I might have been expecting you'd wait until the tank was nearly empty before doing any fannying about with it, y'know.

[Chris1255]

Genuinely fascinated why anyone would worry about mixing windscreen washer fluid?

[miniman]

Chris1255 said:

Genuinely fascinated why anyone would worry about mixing windscreen washer fluid?

I think it is BMW or perhaps VAG who blame clagged up washer jets on mixing fluids - specifically mixing any other brand with their brand. Expensive job to replace it all.

[HustleRussell]

Majorly OTT. Why make life so hard for yourself.

[ManFromDelmonte]

If you really want to avoid mixing, and are worried about getting your windscreen wet, just angle the washers to miss your car completely and gun the whole contents onto the floor before refilling with water etc.

[TTmonkey]

Get your hose pipe and stick it in your reservoir. Turn on the water. Run for five minutes.

[f1nn]

OP, where is the washer jet pump,on your car, is it easily accessible?

The reason I ask, is that the worse case scenario by mixing screen washes is that the filter will become blocked with congealed fluid. I've had to unblock these twice in 20 years of driving, once an a Ford KA about 10 years ago, and once on a 3 series about 8 months ago.

If the pump is easy to get at, then I wouldn't worry, clean the filter out if and when it gets blocked.

[Blue32]

livewire08 said:

Hi all,

I'd like to completely replace my windscreen washer fluid rather than mixing. How do you detach the hose that feeds the jets attached to the bonnet? On a VW Up on the underside of the bonnet along the back is a space where the washer tubing runs parallel with the bonnet and feeds the jets unfortunately its within a metal recess and i can barely fit my hand in to touch the hose never mind detach it from the jets. The jets look like this although again they're somewhat hidden within the bonnet:


It looks as though the hose just pushes on to the tapered end of the jet looking at the image, can anyone confirm in which case i just need to give it a firm pull if i can actually reach it, reattaching it could be more difficult. Why don't they make these things easier. I assume there is no drain plug somewhere that is remotely accessible. I tried to siphon off also but couldn't get the tubing to push through the tight bends of the washer top up hose into the tank.

Thanks for the help

On the end of the flexible hose to the jet there should be a light grey fitting with a dark grey collar (could be the other way round, either way 2 different colours). Rotate the collar by 90 degrees this should release the fitting from the jet.

If it’s anything like my Golf MKIV & MKV the hose doesn’t push directly on to the jet.

edit
I found a picture here: http://workshop-manuals.com/volkswagen/golf-mk4/ve...

Edited by Blue32 on Sunday 11th October 20:27

[x type]

TTmonkey said:

Get your hose pipe and stick it in your reservoir. Turn on the water. Run for five minutes.

Do that and whilst it's flushing the bottle , spray the windscreen once every 2 minutes for 1 minute



Worked for me

[jjones]

Jesus wept.

[livewire08]

I'm not sure where the pump is unfortunately, don't have a tech manual for the car. It looks as though the hose connectors are the same as on the mk4 golf so I may give that a go or I'll just spray it everywhere as everyone else seems to like to do.

Thanks

[TooMany2cvs]

livewire08 said:

or I'll just spray it everywhere as everyone else seems to like to do.

I don't think many people ever "change" their washer fluid... What's the actual problem you're trying to solve here?