Club 80-90 Forums

Hi all, newbie Steve from Swindon, Wilts here.

I picked up my 1989 1.6 TDS the other day & it drove faultlessly during the 200 odd miles back home.
I ran it at 60 mph on the flat & 55 up hills; I'm very pleased with it so far & got 36-37 MPG.

It's a "pocket money" camper I got off Fleabay, good things are an engine bottom end rebuild in 2001, new head, injectors & gearbox in 2005, a full history of every penny spent since new, full service history, all old MOTS ... bad things are a tatty but recoverable interior (a lot of work & imagination, but little money needed) & the van could be added to the Wiki to show prospective buyers all the places they rust from.... oh, and it's had a quick & dirty purple respray!

As a proud new owner, I've been working my way through all the little jobs that need doing & service tasks, so I tried to refill the washer bottle from the passengers floor... only for it to immediately empty it's contents onto the road under the car! I tried Halfords, etc, but no one has a Haynes or other manual in (I have got one on order now) & i searched Wiki / Forums to no avail , so I need to know how to get at the water bottle for a good look, so I can assess what needs doing, as it doesn't seem to be visible under the front / wing of the car & can't get at it through the front grill.

Thanks in advance,

Steve

P.S. Congratulations & respect to everyone who contributes on here, what a wonderful resource you have all built.

It may have been full already and it is the overflow that you noticed!
There will be rusted solid bolts holding it to the chassis underneath - it is quite obvious when you are underneath the top up position.

Ayup mate...congrats on your new van.

This was one of my first jobs (4yrs ago) same issue as yours.
From memory..like I say it was a while back, the washer bottle comes in two parts, the washer bottle neck and the washer bottle itself. And the seal between the two...this is what leaks.
I think mine just needed refitting with some dum dum or other mastic type sealer.

Can't remember it being too hard to get to. underneath the N/S/F..

Martin

Brickwerks have the seal between the filler pipe and reservoir - http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/shop?page=s ... gory_id=57" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for the pointers & the welcome guys.

I assumed it was empty, as the washer didn't squirt when driving & there was no sign of water in the filler .. I guess it could be the motor / wiring / blockage tho. Thinking about it, it might pay me to take a step back, borrow a neighbor & see if we can hear the motor going first, as could well be overflowing not leaking.

The bit confusing me is I looked directly underneath & around under the plastic filler tube & expected to see a plastic bottle, but I could only see (& feel) metal, couldn't see the filler neck, etc as large & rusty metal "boxes" in the way ... will have another look tomorrow, it's gotta be me being thick!

Good to know the seal is still available if I end up needing one, thanks.

This will be good practice for my next job ... replacing the burnt out heater blower.... I've not got my hands dirty (apart from motorbikes) for many a year, the last one I self maintained was a Hillman Imp (when they were current models)!

Cheers,
Steve

I cut my teeth on things like BSA 500 side valve singles - 1939 and 1940 models!

Respect due to you there then Oldie.... The oldest & best bike I owned / worked on was an early 70s (if memory serves me right) lightning twin, most of mine where smaller 70's / 80's "Jap crap" & just finished a 50cc Aprilia water cooled (top / bottom end & carb rebuild) .. it always amazes me how well a modern pop pop performs.

I did go through a stage a few years back where I restored a couple of 1960s caravans & a late 1950s mechanical grave digger of all things, good fun, but vans are a different kettle of fish!

Cheers,
Steve

Hi Steve,
I'm in a similar situation - bought my T25 in September (1985 in red)...Plenty or rust & bad oil leak etc but heater blower & washer pump were both working!!

First the blower stopped then this weekend my windscreen squirters stopped squirting!!!

Getting to the heater blower looks tricky - I'll tackle it one day!...I've had a go at sorting the washer pump, after checking this site for tips..I removed the steering wheel and cleaned the contacts, then removed the washer bottle & checked connections (3 bolts hold the bottle under the front of the van, easy to remove)...Still not working and theres no noise when I try the squirters so I'll buy a new pump (under £20) & see if that works...My main problem - a mass of wires under the dash - some original , some not, some not connected to anything (some redundant I'm sure) - & I'm hopeless at electrical work....

Anyone about who knows their T25 electrics ?? Can I visit you for a tutorial ??

I had a BSA A65L also (Lightning) Clocked myself at 110 mph alongside a police triumph - from his speedo reading so I knew it was accurate. Twin 30mm carbs that were a pain to set up. Definitely was one of the best bikes I had. It was great, very little traffic on the roads, no 70 mph speed limit then, I wouldn't like to be back on a bike on today's roads though.

I guess it could be the motor / wiring / blockage tho.

Starting to sound like an advert for Brickwerks here!! They also sell a replacement pump for the washer bottle if that turns out to be what you need. http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/shop?page=s ... gory_id=57" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I had the same problem, a new pump and replacing some rusted crimp connectors. There's 3 self tapping 10mm ( I think) bolts just under the front chassis (the triangle shaped members) the bolts are fitted in j nuts and mine were rusted solid.
Does anyone know where I can get replacement j nuts/bolts?
Give the washer bottle a good clean too, mines covered in mould, and use a washer additive to prevent in bacteria future ( for health reasons)
Keeps us updated on progress

I've removed the bottle and pump - I'd like to test the pump to see if it works before buying a new one (brickwerks ones have different connections, I dont want to modify my connectors unless I need to)...

Do I simply connect some wires from the vehicle battery to the terminal on the pump & see if it pumps???

Any advice on testing please??????

I tested mine using a 12v power supply, battery charger, you can use the van battery just make sure your + positive feed is fused!
The motor should spin and you will hear it, as its a dc motor I don't think it really matters which way you wire it (i may be wrong?) But always best to put positive/red wire to + battery and negative/ black or brown to - battery.

To test your wiring use a mutimeter or if you don't have one a low cottage 12v bulb (5watt) and wire to the pump wires, press the washer stalk and 12v should appear on the meter or bulb should light fully, if nothing then its a fuse/ wiring fault.
Hope this helps a bit.

bertnuggit wrote: I dont want to modify my connectors unless I need to

Make a short loom to adapt from one to the other ... or go to VW and assume the position

Ian

Cyrus wrote:
To test your wiring use a mutimeter or if you don't have one a low cottage 12v bulb (
Hope this helps a bit.

This site is going rapidly downhill - people should be very careful as to what they misspell!