New forum member Norwich UK

Hi,
I am a bit late to the forum having owned my van for about 8 years and had three others before this one.
Current one is a 95 LH123V Composer 2.8 diesel automatic.
It has a pop top with a roof extension at the back so that we can stand up in the ‘kitchen”, sink, gas hobs and a fridge with 240v hookup.
It has sailed through the last 5 or 6 MOTs with only advisory problems. This year it actually failed.
Main problem was a rotted exhaust. Looked all over for one and was told they are no longer made so ended up having a custom stainless one made for what I thought a very reasonable £288 for the rear half inc collector box.

Only thing stopping me getting a retest is a blocked windscreen washer jet. Tried clearing with wire and compressed air but blockage must be in the pipe. The only way I can see to remove the washer jet is to take out the dashboard first. Anyone else had to do this and have any tips?

Hello D4 and very welcome to the forum.

Nice van and I’m sure you have a wealth of knowledge and experience.

Klarius (look them up) are the biggest UK maker of aftermarket exhausts (apparently) and have exhausts for both the turbo and N/A Hiaces. You have to register with them (but it’s simple) to get access to their extensive catalogue. My local parts place deals with them and Klarius themselves were super helpful. A Hiace that no longer has its OEM exhaust probably has a Klarius one.

Mind you, your custom stainless will likely outlast any aftermarket one and was very good value.

I’ve read a few posts on here where people have said they’ve replaced the washer jets as a precaution (they seemingly get crumbley). You might be able to search the forum to find these posts, but searching on here is not easy. It’s often easier to google etc with the forum name.

I seem to remember someone saying there’s a none return valve that might be in the jet or in the pipework, but it could make life difficult.

As you’ve tried wire and air it might be worth seeing if you can pressurise the system from the reservoir-end of the tube (with the flow), but I suppose you have to be mindful that air from either end could dislodge a hose connector, which will be bad news. Something else to try might be to try to vacuum from the jet. A vacuum cleaner or vacuum pump and hose etc might unblock this. You might also be able to feed a wire or filament in from the reservior-end. You’re basically trying to unblock a kidney stone so maybe ultrasound might be another option? Who knows, anything that fixes it is better than having to remove the dash!

Final method might be to take the dash out and replace the jet. The dash is out of my van and I’ve just taken this picture of the inside of the front. This picture was taken using an endoscope as it’s a bit of a nightmare in there. Sorry it’s not better, but hopefully you can make it all out.



You can at least see how the hose feeds through the front and how the jet is retained (by its base with a clip). I can’t see a way to non-destructively remove the jet with the dash in place, sadly.

Hope this helps and do say how you fix this. It’s an interesting and difficult problem

Good luck!!

Hi there. I’m afraid I can’t offer any help with the washer, I’m just saying hello from Norwich!

Just a thought, is it one jet that’s blocked or both? If one, which side? If it’s just one, then depending which one is blocked and the side the pipe work comes from, you may be able to narrow down where the blockage is

Hi, thanks for the replies.
Klarius was the only exhaust option that came up when I searched. Luckily I still had the sticker with the part number attached to the old collector box.( TY364C if anyone is interested) but the only stock I found was for delivery at the end of December. Very pleased with the stainless replacement though and not that much more money than a Klarius.

That photo shows how awkward the washerjets are to remove.

The blocked jet was on the passenger side (left hand in the UK), but enough for an mot fail as the water would not even reach the screen.

I had the idea yesterday to tackle it from below and detach the hose from the water bottle under the front step and try sucking the pipe clear. However I found a parts diagram on jp-car parts.com that suggested there may be one way valves in the pipes.

This morning I went at it again with a syringe I got from the chemist, it came with a plastic cone and the end was just the right size to fit over the washer jet ball, so I could force water down through both holes. 20 minutes of squirting and sucking back out but nothing looking like a blockage came out. However, when I tried the washers again, the jet went over the van roof.

I quickly rang the garage and booked a re-test. They got me in a couple of hours later and I got a pass

So all Road legal again for another year.

Hey D4 nice van! We have a 92 Composer! Just saying hello really.
Glad you got the sreen washers sorted. Looks like a faff!

Hi - just adding something that I read in an Australian Hiace facebook post - and which may be useful if someone runs in to this in the future. Is that is the washer jet nozzles can be removed from the outside by twisting them 90-degrees.  The guys saying it is a Hiace mechanic. He posted a link to OEM nozzles and in the pictures, you an see that the lip the clip behind the front panel secures against does not encircle the whole end - and has two flattened sides that should slip through.

Hi g00se, very interesting. I did manage to twist the washers 90degrees when I was trying to pull them off, but obviously did not pull them out hard enough.
Wondering how that clip is secured inside, if if falls down when the washer is removed that is another world of pain.
At the moment I am squirting them once a week to ensure they are clear but I know it is only temporary.

I've got a cheap endoscope thing that's been useful chasing lost bolts and panel clips. I've got to take the front of the dash off soon - together with the gauges, radio and heater controls - to change some bulbs. I'll see if I can do what LH119V did and see what's going on with the clips. I'm hoping the clips fix to the front panel - and the jet nozzles secure against that. Rather than the clips just fixing to the back of the nozzles.

I'm in Norwich, so PM me if you want to borrow the endoscope yourself. You'll need an android phone for it to work.

Superb insight g00se.

It makes sense that the jets twist off and leave the clips in place. I didn’t tug at the clips and I thought they might work like a clip on a brake pipe union, say, but it’s very likely the clips are glued in place. It certainly makes changing the jets a lot simpler if they are.

Now who’s going to be the one to test?

Great work!!

LH119V wrote:

Now who’s going to be the one to test?

I've got enough to do on the van, so I'm not adding anything that might give me more work right now!