Hi all. First time poster. Be gentle! Please?

I've asked at another board, and only got arrogant and incorrect answers. Hopefully I'll get a little further here.

Ok, my washers don't work. It's an '87 IROC, 350 auto, and I've had it for about a year, and the washers have never worked.

One day while checking fluids, i noticed a 1"x3" black plastic tube by the washer fluid bottle. It has a tube going in from the bottle, and one out, and has a 12V line in, and a (currently broken) ground strap.

What is this?

Now, I would normally assume that it was a pump. A pump with a broken ground! I've fixed the problem! So, I try to ground it by hand, and then go hit the washer switch.

I'll be darned, but there's a pumping noise from the firewall. So, a little looking, and some reading, and yes, that's the washer pump living in the wiper motor "box".

Since my digital camera has no batteries at the moment, i'll write a picture:

(bottle)---(fender pump thing)---(washer pump on firewall)---->

Connecting the pump that sounds like it's pumping directly to the fluid bottle doesn't spray. Grounding the fender pump doesn't spray. Swapping lines on the firewall pump doesn't spray.

I have to admit, I don't get it. I'm not too familiar with the car, however, I'm not quite as stupid as my questions make me sound.

Suggestions?

Thank you.

 

ok, after digging through some more of this site, i'm seeing that i'm not the only one with washer pump issues.

I'm seeing people with a pump on the firewall, and one by the resevoir, but no one with both.

anyone seen a car with both? Which should I be trying to get working?

Any tips on priming a washer pump would also be appreciated.

Again, thank you. Now off to google to see if I can answer my own questions yet...

 

ok well if you have one inside your wiper motor and one on your resivoir, you can get rid of one, id say you get rid of the one on your resivoir...chances are that it was modified.

first bypass the motor on the resivoir, if your trying to suck water through a pump thats not moving, it wont work, if thats doesnt fix the problem then move on to the pump at the wiper motor. its held in by a little clip, then is pulled directly out. pulling it out will be difficult because the clips inside hold it on tightly. chances are that the motor is dead, meaning that it makes noise, but wont suck anything (it works like a turbo, but it becomes worn out and no longer has the efficency necessary to move water). go to your local parts store and ask them for one. it should be like 20 buks or less. and installation is reverse of removal.

 

yeah, the earlier cars suck for windshield washer motors. I think 89-up (maybe 88) moved the washer pump from the wiper motor (on the firewall), to the washer tank, so the pump sumps directly into the fluid. This works waaayyy better. I have an 87, and had a crappy pump, and also, as luck would have it, broke the little retainer tab hold the motor in (locks in place with the two power wires), so the motor was hard to keep in. I found a later model washer pump/tank unit in the junkyard, and put it in, and ran two wires from the wiper motor, over to the new pump, and now they work great! I would suggest it, you can probably even buy the new tank for really cheap from one of the vendors here, or yearone, or classic industries. possibly GM. I forge which wire is which, i think I hooked it up and tested it to see which polarity pumped the fluid out.

it also sounds like someone re-wired the car, becuase the pump motor should be part of the wiper motor assembly, and not in the fenderwell. Also, as the previous poster mentioned, you only want one pump, otherwise, the fluid will have a tough time getting out, so bypass the one on the firewall.

if you do that, you can simply try the pump you have on the fenderwell and see if it works. It might be worn out and or broken, but you can buy a universal type one at the better auto parts stores. I told you about the 89-up thing in case you were interested in keeping the car stock-looking, but there is nothing wrong with having the external one as long as it works!