The rally car needs a better windshield washer system- what's on it currently is less than adequate, and when you're stuck behind another car with them at full blast you're fighting just to see through the mud rather than being able to focus on passing. What junkyard vehicles should I be seeking out to get the best windshield washer nozzles/pump?
Dunno about tank/pump, but our late model Tahoe does a good job dispensing washer fluid with the nozzles in the wiper arm.
Pontiac Grand Am on the arm system works better than any system I have ever used.
The Snaab windshield washer makes the car look like a Navy ship deploying its water washdown system. Bugs get blasted off the glass by the spray force.
Counter point is that it goes through a heck of a lot of fluid.
The Snaab and others use a fluidic oscillator nozzle. These types really distribute the fluid well. I suspect the Saab uses a pump with higher than normal flow and pressure, though I don't know that as a fact.
foxtrapper wrote: The Snaab and others use a fluidic oscillator nozzle. These types really distribute the fluid well. I suspect the Saab uses a pump with higher than normal flow and pressure, though I don't know that as a fact.
If so, that could be a problem for finding replacement parts, most cars use the same standard pump (why can't more parts be like that?)
If you need a lot of fluid, hooking up a two-pump tank from a vehicle with a rear washer system (like most minivans) or just a pair of generic "hot rod" washer systems could work well. That would give you some redundancy too.
I always believed that the wiper mounted sprayers worked better than the cowl mounted ones. Whats does the hive believe?
I can tell you that Mazda3's have (2) 3-nozzle blasters and they get the windshield SOAKED, although I am coming from Miatas and other 90's cars that have about the same force as a mouse pissing into the wind. Ditto on finding a hatch back with two pumps in one reservoir and running one pump hose to each windshield nozzle. Then in addition to even MORE pressure, if the driver side sprayer should fail, it is an easy 2-second hose swap to put the DS hose on the other pump and carry on. Trust me it is that easy, because when my wife's windshield pump died I stuck the windshield hose on the hatchback pump and we carried on that way for a year or so :-/ Could also carry a little barbed tee fitting in your toolkit to run both nozzles off one pump like OEM if one of the pumps fails.
Limited experience here but a vibe/matrix does have a dual-pump reservoir (as well as the 3-stream nozzles so i figure any modern toyota probably does too?) with powerful pumps that run like $18 on amazon for new ones. I am sure there are others, I don't think a separate rear reservoir is common any more.
I'd think that something out of a car that has headlight washers. The pump has to put out enough spray to operate 4 nozzles simultaneously.
i vote you retrofit a fuel pump into a washer fluid reservoir and then just pick your preferred nozzle 
The 1st Gen scion xb's nozzle pattern is great for coverage. Volvo's are traditionally good as well. Some of the newer bucks have heated washer fluid tanks and nozzles which could be something to consider if you run cold weather events. Even if not cold I'd imagine that the heated fluid may do a better job at removing crud.
foxtrapper wrote: The Snaab windshield washer makes the car look like a Navy ship deploying its water washdown system. Bugs get blasted off the glass by the spray force. Counter point is that it goes through a heck of a lot of fluid. The Snaab and others use a fluidic oscillator nozzle. These types really distribute the fluid well. I suspect the Saab uses a pump with higher than normal flow and pressure, though I don't know that as a fact.
That was the only - and I mean ONLY - good thing about DW's '81 Fairmont Futura. For whatever unknown reason, Ford decided to use a single oscillator nozzle for the windshield washer. It got plenty of juice on the windshield.
I believe that cars that have headlight washers but no headlight wipers use much higher volume and pressure in the headlight washing systems. Reason is if you are only cleaning with the fluid (and not the wiper) you need a lot more volume and pressure to get the job done.
I would look into grabbing a pump and some nozzles off the front bumper of a BMW.
MAGIC VISION CONTROL! (Who names this stuff?) https://youtu.be/07AZHkkLR0k
(Summary: Fancy Mercedes washers that use fancier than usual nozzles, heated fluid, fluid dispense controlled by wipe direction, and fluid volume controlled by convertible top position.)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/07AZHkkLR0k Edit: Embedded, because not on phone.
I actually screamed a little the first time I tried the washers on the E55 AMG. Like a high pressure car wash!
Lots of Volvos in the 2002-2010 range have a high pressure pump (separate from the windshield pump) for the headlight washers. Combine that pump with arm mounted nozzles, and I think you would be golden.
RossD wrote: I always believed that the wiper mounted sprayers worked better than the cowl mounted ones. Whats does the hive believe?
They're certainly a much better idea. With cowl-mounted sprayers you can only spray in a certain number of fixed positions, with wiper-mounted sprayers you're always spraying near the wipers, which means the wipers will never have to scrape against dry crud and you can spray anywhere on the windshield.
A guy by me made DIY wiper-mounted sprayers for his Samurai, I think I'll copy his idea sometime.
Mike wrote: MAGIC VISION CONTROL! (Who names this stuff?) https://youtu.be/07AZHkkLR0k (Summary: Fancy Mercedes washers that use fancier than usual nozzles, heated fluid, fluid dispense controlled by wipe direction, and fluid volume controlled by convertible top position.)
I was going to ask if any rally guys use heated fluid. A DIY heat exchanger for a washer tank wouldn't be too difficult.
In reply to ¯_(ツ)_/¯:
What kind of car is the rally car?
The idea of a DIY headlight washer system is interesting, those would be great for offroading. Often you get your headlights caked in mud, and I've noticed that just spraying water over them with a spray bottle gets them 90% clean.
In reply to Woody:
Fc rx7.
for heated fluid.. I remember JC Witless selling kits that allowed you to wrap a coil of tubing around a radiator hose.. the idea being that it would heat up the windshield washer fluid as it passed through.
Never tried it, but I can't see why it wouldn't work
my favorite switch combo was on the German Ford/Mercury Capri. Switch and pump in one on the floor above the left foot dead pedal...
tap the ring... you get one wipe... push hard and the bulb under the ring sprays with great force (your foots pressure) fit hoses to the wiper arms and your good to go.....
I think it's time to bring this back... I added heated washer fluid to the Jeep the other day (with the Mopar coolant heat exchanger in the heater lines). But now, thanks to the extra lines, etc. the pressure has gone from "just good enough" to "not so great".
What are the thoughts on adding a booster pump into the lines to help out the stock pump and get a bit more forceful spray onto the windshield? If this is a good idea, any ideas on what pump to use?
I'm also thinking of ways to enlarge the washer tank capacity (currently 1 gallon). The only important limitation is that I don't want to lose the low fluid warning.
If I can come up with a good way to do it, I might think about adding headlight washers too, although with how fast the headlights pick up crud that gets thrown at them, I'd end up going through an insane amount of fluid to make any real difference (like a half-gallon by the time I get to work kind of insane).
The Subaru Impreza wagon and sedan use the same washer bottle. The wagon has washers both front and rear. Due to economies of scale, all Impreza (and probably Forester and Legacy) washer bottles are molded to take two washer fluid pumps. The sedans only have one, but there is a place for a second. All you have to do is drill a hole and add a grommet and pump. Then you can run some tubing, either for a second washer fluid line, or you can set it up as an intercooler water sprayer. It's really easy.
If anyone is interested, I have an extra Subaru pump and tubing.
After some researching during lunch, I think I'm going to stop by AAP on my way home from work and pick up one of these: http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/aci-universal-washer-pump-kit-199500/18910105-P
It'll get hooked in series with the stock pump (stock pump feeds this as a booster pump, then off to the heat exchanger and nozzles) and power will come through a relay triggered by the stock washer pump circuit.
No idea how much of a boost this thing will provide, but we'll find out in a few hours...
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