• olaaf
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  • From: New York, NY
  • Registered: 2010-11-05
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Topic: Windshield washer- keep tank & pump, or strip it?

Hi All

Just wondering what other people do around here, do you keep the system or ditch to save the weight?

thanks-
olaaf

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  • From: WPB Fl.
  • Registered: 2010-10-27
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Re: Windshield washer- keep tank & pump, or strip it?

leave it, use it.

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  • From: Lost in the Rockies
  • Registered: 2009-10-06
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Re: Windshield washer- keep tank & pump, or strip it?

In light rain, schmutz from the track can make the windshield pretty grimy, but I've never felt a need for both wipers + washer. I think one or the other suffices.

If you're going the Rain-X route and removing the wipers & their motor, washer would be nice.
If (like us) you keep the wipers, ditch the washer & tank.

[For us it was a no-brainer...we yanked our washer 'cause it didn't work anyway.]

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  • ronman
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Re: Windshield washer- keep tank & pump, or strip it?

I'd think the washer with a working pump and good blades would be a real asset on the track if things got shitty. You'd have to get clarification as to whether or not methanol-based washer fluid would be acceptable on the track...

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  • sergio
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Re: Windshield washer- keep tank & pump, or strip it?

All takes is to follow a car that's leaking water or burning alot of oil to fudge up your windshield. We raced without wipers/washers for one race. Guess what? It rained on the second day. Guess what else? RainX is good if you are going fast, 60+, during cautions grime builds up. Then when it goes green again it takes a few laps for the water to rinse off the grime. Til then you can't see very well at all.

How much does a wiper motor, washer pump and resvoir weigh? 10 lbs?

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Re: Windshield washer- keep tank & pump, or strip it?

sergio wrote:

How much does a wiper motor, washer pump and resvoir weigh? 10 lbs?

Maybe half that.

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  • ronman
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Re: Windshield washer- keep tank & pump, or strip it?

Figure most reservoirs hold around a gallon. That's around 7lb of liquid; the plastic tank weighs ounces, and the pumps I've played with typically are around the size and weight of a D-cell battery. So, probably around 8lb for the lot...

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  • Spank
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Re: Windshield washer- keep tank & pump, or strip it?

Put trans fluid in the washer bottle and put the tube down in the carb/intake. When you are about to get passed by someone, hit the washer and instant james Bond smoke screen. I did this with my 66 ford falcon street car back when I was in my teens.

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  • From: Wheaton IL
  • Registered: 2009-05-01
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Re: Windshield washer- keep tank & pump, or strip it?

We have wipers only, and have been in the rain at 2 of our 3 Lemons.  It was not an issue not having the squirter.

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10 Reply by Sir Thomas Crapper (edited by Sir Thomas Crapper 2011-01-14 05:05 AM)

  • From: Gilbertsville, PA
  • Registered: 2009-12-22
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Re: Windshield washer- keep tank & pump, or strip it?

Or, wire the washer to the brake switch, move some lines,and use it for brake cooling...

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  • From: INDIANAPOLIS
  • Registered: 2010-01-31
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Re: Windshield washer- keep tank & pump, or strip it?

I would take wipers over the washers. We just leave both functional. At autobahn we could not keep our windshield from fogging up. Had fog-x on it but no dice. It would clear up on caution laps but as soon as you would pick up speed on green it would fog over. I am putting a dryer vent on the next car so i can point it at the windshiled if it rains.

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  • From: ny
  • Registered: 2009-05-15
  • Posts: 525

Re: Windshield washer- keep tank & pump, or strip it?

who needs wipers anyway.  the one rain stint i had the wiper crapped out after about five minutes and all i saw was the faint blur of tail lights.  maybe Lemons needs a f1 style rain light (no, not really)

but really, how much weight are you saving by nixing the system?  not as much as how it'd save you when you really need it

  • Serj
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Re: Windshield washer- keep tank & pump, or strip it?

Keep both the wipers and the washer tank. If either don't work; fix'em. It's a safety issue when visibility becomes a problem, and if you're serious enough that the weight matters, you should probably remove your windshield anyway. Not that you're supposed to be that serious in Lemons...

  • From: Rockville, MD
  • Registered: 2010-12-15
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Re: Windshield washer- keep tank & pump, or strip it?

Take a douchebag (the medical kind) and connect it to the nozzle tube. Fill it up with some water - it'll work in a pinch smile

We're keeping one of the wipers. The tank is out - ours has two pumps, and it was making AC removal difficult. Don't forget that you also get to remove associated wiring, switches, and brackets. The bracketing for tank and wires was a good pound or two. It adds up pretty quickly, especially on an older car - the Saturn didn't have anywhere near the number of brackets that the Stanza had.

We're certainly not keeping the back wiper/nozzle, there's not much to wipe there anyway.

But then again, we don't know how well it'll work out.

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  • From: NH
  • Registered: 2010-01-20
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Re: Windshield washer- keep tank & pump, or strip it?

Sir Thomas Crapper wrote:

Or, wire the washer to the brake switch, move some lines,and use it for brake cooling...

surely you're not suggesting that people spray their brakes with liquid? Shocking a hot disk with fluids is a great way to crack them....

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  • Serj
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Re: Windshield washer- keep tank & pump, or strip it?

TheEngineer wrote:
Sir Thomas Crapper wrote:

Or, wire the washer to the brake switch, move some lines,and use it for brake cooling...

surely you're not suggesting that people spray their brakes with liquid? Shocking a hot disk with fluids is a great way to crack them....

...which happens anyways if the race is rainy and you hit a puddle... Cheap chinese rotors will crack, Brembo/Wagner/Raybestos rotors, not so much. Maybe warp.

  • From: NH
  • Registered: 2010-01-20
  • Posts: 3,299

Re: Windshield washer- keep tank & pump, or strip it?

when it's rainy there is typically a constant wetting of the disks, so you're not inducing a sudden shock, or at least not one of as great a value. Hitting the disks when they are dry and hot is much much worse.

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18 Reply by Sir Thomas Crapper (edited by Sir Thomas Crapper 2011-01-17 07:21 AM)

  • From: Gilbertsville, PA
  • Registered: 2009-12-22
  • Posts: 3,251

Re: Windshield washer- keep tank & pump, or strip it?

TheEngineer wrote:
Sir Thomas Crapper wrote:

Or, wire the washer to the brake switch, move some lines,and use it for brake cooling...

surely you're not suggesting that people spray their brakes with liquid? Shocking a hot disk with fluids is a great way to crack them....

Surely I am...

And stop calling me shirley.

I know people who have actually done it, but well before the time we were sourcing rotors from china.

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