Headlamp washers - quick advice needed! (now fixed)

Off topic chat about anything you like. Doesn't have to be about XMs (though they will inevitibly come up!). You can even discuss non-Citroens :o in here!
Post Reply
endorfin
Citrobics expert
Posts: 599
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2010 2:54 pm

Headlamp washers - quick advice needed! (now fixed)

Post by endorfin » Wed Sep 14, 2011 2:57 pm

One of my headlamp washers has been leaking so I found a pair from a scrap car. Spend the afternoon taking it off and fitting the replacement, imagine my dismay when that one leaked too!!

Both seem to leak from the bottom of the unit, near where you push the water hose onto. This piece also seems to have been designed to rotate around, not sure for what purpose but its the section that rotates that the leak is coming from.

Are these repairable, I'm tempted to take it apart to see if I can effect a repair but thought I'd post on here first to see if anyone knows what I'm on about.

Bits of the front end of the car are in bits, don't want to put it back together yet without finding a solution.

endorfin
Citrobics expert
Posts: 599
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2010 2:54 pm

Re: Headlamp washers - quick advice needed! (now fixed)

Post by endorfin » Thu Sep 15, 2011 5:39 pm

Fixed!

I decided to disassemble one to see how it worked, this never bodes well for me when I start messing around with things I don't understand! I prised the base off with a screwdriver and true to form it cracked.
Anyway, there's a small thin rubber O ring in the base where the hose connects to that acts as a seal, it seemed intact on the badly leaking nearside washer from the scrapyard. Couldn't see how it was causing it to leak.
The original nearside one from my car didn't leak as badly but when you turn the hose connector around 360 degrees it seemed to stop leaking but this made it impossible to connect to the hose as the connector was facing the wrong way around.

I tested the offside washer from the scrapyard & it didn't leak at all so I removed the head from my leaking nearside one (easily done, just a clip holding it in place) and clipped it on the nearside washer and fixed it back on the car.

Both units were a bit sticky when raising up, not going done properly, I sprayed some WD40 into both of them and now they work perfectly...looks quite impressive now. No leaks :-)

I've now got one wrecked washer and one that will leak if used for nearside but doesn't if its used for the offside, along with two good heads with washer covers. If anyone wants them for cost of postage to use as spares to fix theirs. Knowing my luck I'll probably lose my washer covers after I give these away!

Post Reply