Wiper Mod

[ladyfire]

I'm a truck driver. One nice thing about big truck wipers is that the washer fluid is routed thru lines attached to the wipers themselves. There are little nozzles mounted to the wiper frame that spray directly on the windshield as the wipers wipe. It's both effective and efficient.

Has anyone tried this on a 4Runner? I've seen mods to get mist but nothing like this. Thoughts?

 

[MN4runnerman]

I haven't done it. So I'm just gonna toss out ideas. As far as I know it's a nut that holds the wiper arm onto the linkage so if you could find a wiper arm off of a GM vehicle like a suburban, Silverado, and possibly a s10 blazer(not entirely sure if they had those kind of wipers but suburbans and silverados do) it could probably be done.

 

[StreetCreeper]

I'm a truck driver. One nice thing about big truck wipers is that the washer fluid is routed thru lines attached to the wipers themselves. There are little nozzles mounted to the wiper frame that spray directly on the windshield as the wipers wipe. It's both effective and efficient.

Has anyone tried this on a 4Runner? I've seen mods to get mist but nothing like this. Thoughts?

As an ex-trucker I know what you mean. I've never given it much thought but I'm guessing it's that way because the hoods tip to the front and there isn't really a cowl to mount the nozzles to, so it's probably easier to just plumb the lines right to the wiper. Which is great until the nozzles get old and start to clog, then you get that inconsistent wetting and start making a mess out of all the bug guts.

Plus it sucks when it 3 degrees outside and the lines have frozen because the dipshit mechanic at the yard did a PM on your truck and filled your washer reservoir with the wrong stuff. If it had all been under the hood, the engine heat might have kept it liquid.

 

[shootmymime]

Plus it sucks when it 3 degrees outside and the lines have frozen because the dipshit mechanic at the yard did a PM on your truck and filled your washer reservoir with the wrong stuff. If it had all been under the hood, the engine heat might have kept it liquid.

My bmw filler neck is in under the hood. drops down, back up, then down to behind the passenger fender. i had -20 in it and it froze in the filler neck bend. That sucked.

 

[SpidermanGeek]

I'm a truck driver. One nice thing about big truck wipers is that the washer fluid is routed thru lines attached to the wipers themselves. There are little nozzles mounted to the wiper frame that spray directly on the windshield as the wipers wipe. It's both effective and efficient.

Has anyone tried this on a 4Runner? I've seen mods to get mist but nothing like this. Thoughts?

A lot of GM cars were like this. I had a 3rd Gen Cavalier that had this type of system and frankly, I hated it. The nozzles would get clogged so easily because of how exposed they are and it's a PITA to try and break the ice off of the wiper arms to clear the path for the spray.

And typically, if you're using a good -35/-45 washer fluid, you wouldn't have an issue with the stuff freezing in the exposed lines (that go up the wiper arm), but if you even remotely have a little condensation or water in the line, you're screwed.

I always found the Japanese/Import "2 nozzles on the hood" system to be much better than anything else. Just an opinion though.

I also had a 1st gen Cavalier that had (like most GM's of the 80's) the washer nozzles in the cowl. These were inefficient too as there's not enough heat in an around the cowl to properly defrost the system.

Whereas on both my Toyotas, I've "powered through" and the fluid de-iced the nozzle itself and shot right through the few inches of snow/ice built up on the hood. Plus, those nozzles and lines are right above the engine so it doesn't take long for surrounding snow/ice to start melting and free up the system.

 

[Unner]

If you change it you would still either be left with the nozzles on the hood, or two holes in the hood where the nozzles were that you would have to fill. I don't think there is really any gain to doing this.

 

[infamousRNR]

I'm a truck driver. One nice thing about big truck wipers is that the washer fluid is routed thru lines attached to the wipers themselves. There are little nozzles mounted to the wiper frame that spray directly on the windshield as the wipers wipe. It's both effective and efficient.

Has anyone tried this on a 4Runner? I've seen mods to get mist but nothing like this. Thoughts?

You should look up the "Rav4" sprayer mod...

They have more nozzle holes & spray more fluid onto the windshield... this may be the best solution instead of retrofitting nozzles onto the wipers themselves.

 

[ladyfire]

Thanks for your collective wisdom; that's why I posted here!
Guess I'll consign that idea to the trash heap.