Headlight washer jet HELP

[Juhu_United]

Hello everyone, I have just posted this in the Southwest Forum but I thought I would post it here too

Here is my situation. I took the car in for it's MOT today and it failed. What it failed for is inoperative headlight washer jets. They were disconnected by the previous owner because they are notoriously sh*t on 182s and they leak which just drains the bottle. The garage gave me 2 options, either have them look at connecting it on Monday which will cost a minimum of £40 (labour) or reconnect them myself and take it in for a free retest...

He said that because he now knows about it I cannot just fit blanks over them which seems like BS to me, and I don't especially fancy doing that then having to pay another £35 for another MOT at another garage.

Basically I am wondering if there are any kind souls out there that might have the time to reconnect them for me or whether they can tell me whether it is an easy job for someone with VERY limited mechanical skill

I live in Penryn in Cornwall but work in Truro during the week. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated :smile:

 

[deano9621]

I would of helped you out mate ,as I sorted mine a while ago as they did not work....but I'm in Plymouth mate ...and working solid for next few days

 

[Juhu_United]

I would of helped you out mate ,as I sorted mine a while ago as they did not work....but I'm in Plymouth mate ...and working solid for next few days

Thanks any way mate. Are they tricky to do?

 

[deano9621]

I took my bumper off to do mine and replaced both washer jets as both we're knackered and only £25 from renault also check washer pump is clear and not blocked with crap...it is much easier to remove bumper and do this all

 

[Gus]

@Juhu_United
It probably will be best to have a go yourself. Its not a tricky job and will be quite rewarding to do yourself. You will find there are loads of other minor job like this you will need to do over the course of your ownership. My advice would be to pay the £12 membership and then find the bumper removal guide and go from there. Should be able to have it fixed in an hour or two. The reason the previous owner disconnected them was probably because they started weeping washer fluid so find the guide on fixing that or buy new washers. Just hope that the pipes are still behind the bumper to fit to the washer jets.

 

[Juhu_United]

@Juhu_United
It probably will be best to have a go yourself. Its not a tricky job and will be quite rewarding to do yourself. You will find there are loads of other minor job like this you will need to do over the course of your ownership. My advice would be to pay the £12 membership and then find the bumper removal guide and go from there. Should be able to have it fixed in an hour or two. The reason the previous owner disconnected them was probably because they started weeping washer fluid so find the guide on fixing that or buy new washers. Just hope that the pipes are still behind the bumper to fit to the washer jets.

Hi mate.

Thanks for the advice. I tried this today but 4 of the hex screws holding the bumper on (2 under the splitter and the 2 holding the arch liner to the bumper) are completely rounded off and I have zero chance of getting them off. Even if I do somehow I would not be able to refit them and do it up tight so the bumper actually stays on the car. Any more ideas or do you think it's just best to bite the bullet and take the car into the garage and have them do it?

 

[seanybaby1788]

The clips on the front bumper are strong enough to hold the bumper to the car. Would be a short term fix until you can source replacement screws/bolts

 

[Gus]

The screws can be a pain to get off, especially as the cars are now getting a lot older.
Perhaps it would be easier to take it to the garage. If you do want to persevere though I usually find if you get a flat blade screw driver under the screw head to prize with and then use another one to unscrew with you can get the screws undone. You will however obviously need to replace the screw and for this I would suggest getting a pack of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141725915950 which have an ever so slightly bigger thread.