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JK Rear Liftgate Washer

4K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  dja110 
#1 ·
Hello All! I just had a strange issue with the rear liftgate glass washer on my 2017 JKUR. When I tried to wash the rear glass, the washer fluid just sprayed into the cargo area of the jeep and dripped down the inside glass. Nothing sprayed on the exterior of the glass. Great, the nozzle is plugged....or so I though. I decided to take a look at it and it appeared the fluid was spraying out of the fitting that the tubing connects to. Maybe it froze and cracked...
I eventually took the whole assembly off of the rear glass and was able to blow air through the fitting and out of the nozzles. No blockages. Further inspection and disassembly revealed that the brass tube that extends through the wiper motor arm had broken off inside. Looking online that part is not replaceable. Dealer stated that I needed to purchase a whole new rear wiper motor which included the washer and nozzle for $116.00. After some fiddling I discovered that the tube had broken because it was corroded and fused to the interior of the wiper arm shaft. I was able to drill out the stuck part of the brass tube and insert a new piece of tubing, connected the interior end to the hose barb fitting on the inside and the spray nozzle the on the outside. Everything seems to be working well now.


I am curious, have others had a similar problem with this? I was told by the dealer parts dept that there is also a note on the part that the washer part of the assembly is nor replaceable/repairable and requires purchase of a whole new assembly. I wonder it fabbing a new part that is more durable and less susceptible to corrosion would be worth it, maybe even a 3D printed version. I am envisioning a single plastic piece including the hose barb end and then plugging in the spray jet nozzle. I think may people assume the jet nozzle is plugged and maybe it something similar to my issue.


Any thought and ideas are appreciated!


Thanks for reading!
 
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#2 ·
Having just put on my replacement hardtop Tuesday, I haven’t attached the power plug or the washer fluid tube. I’m frankly not sure that i will need either since it stays garaged and I typically wont need the defroster here in N. Texas since I’m now retired. I’m sure i’ll hook the plug up at some point just to check the power connection. I have kept the plug and washer tubing tucked upright in the the left rear roll pad.

I’m glad you were able to get yours repaired.


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#4 ·
I ended up replacing the drilled out brass with some silicon rubber tubing. It works great for a while. Just recently it started spraying inside again. I’m going to purchase an whole new unit this week and install. I think that’s the best way overall. If you find another way to repair I’d certainly be interested in what you did. Best of luck!


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#5 ·
Had this happen last year (2019) in out 2013 JKUS. Same symptoms of the rear window sprayer spraying into the rear cabin :(

Bought a whole new unit and installed myself (with the wife helping). Researched a fix on the internet, but only solution seems to be replacement of the whole motor unit unfortunately.

Took about 25 minutes to swap out.

Had to buy a puller, hardest part was having it 'grab' the wiper to remove it. This is where having a second set of hands was helpful. I am sure that there are better 'pullers' but the $10 unit I got from the local car part shop worked just fine.

Wish I had read about your solution.
 
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