Big Car Club - MPV and SUV Forums

Hi friends, sorry to bother you with a topic that isn't about an Alhamb but I have a mk2 Ford Focus and the washer jets have suddenly stopped working and you are all so friendly and kind and knowledgeable I thought you might kindly help. The pump runs and the garage says it's slime around the filter. The jets aren't blocked. I get a burst of water for about a second and then it stops to little more than the slightest of dribbles.

What could this be do you think? The garage says slime and it will take about 2 hours to change the tank. I have put a jet washer down the filler hole to try and swish stuff about, I have used my oil extractor to try and slurp out any gunk, and I even poured a bottle of Cillit Bang in there and added a Milton sterilising tablet and left it overnight. All to no avail.

Maybe you know some tips for this sort of thing? My friend said drain it all out and try to let it dry out, that might make the slime shrivel up and clear the filter a bit.

Any useful tips so I don't have to pay all that money to the garage would be so helpful.

Thank you all!

You can't do it on the car, you need to remove the wheel and wheel arch liner to remove the tank and pump.
The pumps easy to clean but unless you get all the muck out of the tank you will keep getting problems with it.

Thank you, what you say is sensible so I will look into removing it and doing it properly  :)

Theres usually a rubber bung that acts as both the seal and a basic filter where the washer pump sits in the bottle. The usual failing is that the gunge in the bottle clogs that filter up.

It could also be a kinked hose, though if both front and back are doing the same thing probabbly not.

This is the first photo that came to hand off ebay showing the usual type of Ford setup - may not be exact for a mk2 focus but you should get the idea

Incidentally, most aftermarket pumps tend not to have the mesh part if they come with a new seal, just the outer bit.

A decent dose of screenwash I find usually stops anything gunging the bottle up, provided you fill it with clean water if needed to dilute (not a dirty old watering can or similar). Plus has the benefit of being less likely to freeze at low temperatures, and if it does doesn't tend to break the pump in doing so.