I dont know if all early 3rd gens have this issue, but i went thru countless pumps on my 84.You guys with the on tank pump dont have this problem though.Anyway, some years back i installed 4th gen washer & radiator overflow bottles, but the original washer pump is not very effective.So i eventually gave in & just installed the 4th gen unit.With some modifications.I only hope these pumps are more reliable!

4th gen pump/bottle

gutted the stock unit,used it to connect the
4th gen harness

gutted pump in its stock location

I also converted to a central/single washer nozzle

Not a big mod, but it sure beats the stock pump
cavitating everytime i wanna clean the windshield.

 

Interesting, I thought that it was just my car. I've had it 18 months and I'm already on my second washer pump. Is it engine heat that does them in?

 

You can also upgrade to the newer washer reservior with the pump in it. Bolts right on, no mods at all. To hook power to it pull your pump out of your wiper motor. Look up inside it and you will see two connectors. Find the one with power to it and use a crimp on connector on a wire long enough to reach your new pump motor and slip it on the one with power. Run the wire to your new washer pump, and the other wire on the pump connector run to ground. Works just like your old pump and no other changes are necessary. I've had mine this was for probably 10 years now and never had any problems with it.

 

I think its just a shitty design.

Basically what i did, but the 4th gen is still newer than the later 3rd gens.Plus no ugly yellow bottles after a few months.

 

how did you get it around the hood latch bar? i've seen several ways. i dont want to cut mine

 

If your refering to the tank contacting the brace.I marked the area on the tank hitting the brace.With a heat gun i softened the plastic.Then with a spray can i created an indentation on the tank.Took several attempts, but i finally got the tank to just clear the brace.

The spray can is used to create an inward curvature, but you can use any cylidrical object.

 

Agreed, the 4th gen is much newer. But 10 years ago 4th gens weren't around in the U-Pull-It yards. It's just been the last 3-4 years that 4th gens are showing up here in the yards. This was easy and it worked, and I have no reason to change it. Great mod though............if it was now that I was doing it I'd probably do the 4th gen thing. Also not sure how this would work with my TPI intake setup.

 

84, in your pic in post 4. what are the 4 plugs on each side of your car next to the nose/bumper cover?

 

You mean the silver things in front of the tank?Those are the xenarc HID ballast.

 

thats what i wanted to know, tnx.

 

Thank you very much. That seems like a lot better idea to me than cutting the brace and welding in around it. Now to track down a pigtail for my pump as mine is missing from the harness...

 

do you know if this will work in an 88 GTA
thanks

 

Well, there is a problem with Firebirds. The Firebird has a metal cover over that area, so you'd need to find a way around that. Also, with an 88 there isn't near as much reason to do this, your pump should be mounted on the reservoir.

 

The metal cover easily unbolts & comes out BUT......

The hood latch bolts to that, so once it is out, the hood latch is free & hanging by the pull cable. If the 4th gen piece will fit under there, and I suspect it will since the Camaro vertical hood latch mount isn't there to begin with, it would just be a matter of mounting the 4th gen piece & making the appropriate hole for the filler neck.

 

Way back when i first did the rad/washer bottle swap i posted a thread.Other members posted pics with their GTA/FB washer bottles mounted.I forget the details, but its been done.

 

I just used a 90 Transam washer bottle and pump and wired it into my 83 electrical system. same style pump as the 4th gen, but the washer bottle fits in the stock holes and it looks 100% better (not yellowed).

 

They're only white for a short time.Then they turn yellow.Partly the reason for using the 4th gen item.

The later 3rd gen on tank pumps do differ from the 4th gens though.I compared them this weekend i was at the JY.So they cant be switched.

 

When I got my 87 IROC back in January of this year.. My windshield fluid wasn't spraying when I hit the switch. I found out there was a connector that seemed to go somewhere in the engine bay near the pump. To this day I still can't get my pump working.