Windshield WASHER assembly…

[yoh!!!]

Hi,

I need to get my ’74 914 State Inspected in the next week, but my windshield washer is not working, due to brittle water hoses. I replaces some today with the result that I could pressurize the tank and pump a good amount of water in the cockpit. Apparently there are some more dead hoses….
Who has some experience swapping hoses on the 914’s with washer valve on the steering column??? (Seems easier to do on the older models) How do I get there??? Is it a good idea to use the clear vinyl hoses sold in hardware stores as a replacement for the black rubber stuff???
Thanks for your help!!!

Patrick Koch

[Rob-O]

Hey Yoh!

I'd replace all those hoses. You're right, they're usually all in kinda bad shape. Some do run up under the dash on some models (75 & 76 for sure, I think, not positiv about the earlier models). If your column switch is okay, i would think the reason you're getting water in the passenger compartment is because one of the hoses running into the cockpit have rotted or fallen off the steering column switch. Poke around in there and the problem should be readily visible.

Or...being in Texas myself, my advice is to find a shop to do the inspection that doesn't really fail the car because of something like that.

[Rob-O]

Well, you'll most likely have to pull the steering wheel. Not a hard thing to do. You won't need a puller, but you will need a 22mm or 24mm socket (can't remember which).

After that, there are four little screw heads behind the wheel that will need to be pulled out. These four screws are fairly long if I remember correctly. Once the four screws are pulled, the turnsignal/washer assembly pulls out. The washer tubes would have been connected to the ends of the tubes on the washer assembly. You'll see when you get it out.

Three things I highly recommend doing while you're in there. First, check your horn contact. If the contact on the turnsignal/washer assembly is worn through, get yourself a new one. The contact is a little copper strip about 2.5 inches long.

Second, look into replacing your steering bearing. If your steering wheel wobbles a little bit, this is usually the culprit. There are two methods of repair. The first is to get a steel sleeve that you bang into the bearing. Basically you destroy the worn out plastic sleeve with this method, leaving behind your banged in steel sleeve. The other is to press the old bearing out and press a new one in. This solves the wobbling steering wheel problem.

Third, pull your lock cylinder out. It should be easy to figure out how this thing comes out once you've got the turn signal/washer assembly out. There is an allen head bolt that I think you need to remove that is accessible from a hole in the black metal housing that makes up the steering column. Lay on your bad and look up under the steering column. You'll see the little hole right near where you insert the key to start the car. Anyhow, get teh ignition cylinder out, pull it apart from the electrical end piece, disassemble it and soak it in some thinner or other suitable solvent. Regrease it, reassemble it and reinstall it. It's always a good start to a drive when the key slides nicely into the cylinder.

Let me know if you have any other problems...

Rob-O

[yoh!!!]

It is almost done ...
... all the hoses have been replaces... the pressure test was succesful... unfortunately my washer jets gave up when I tried to remove the hoses... they just crumbled into pices like the rest of the hoses...
But the difficult work is done...
Who ever is following Rob-O's excellent instructions, pull the conectors of in the back of the switch assembly before you try to remove the whole thing.

Thanks,

Patrick

[Rob-O]

Uh, yeah, I did forget that part didn't I...