A Question About Washer Fluid

[Renaissance Man]

Greetings all!
Very shortly after getting my Expedition, I discovered the previous owner hadn't bothered to add window washing fluid in a VERY long time! A gallon of Wal-Mart's cheapest, and it was spritzing all over the windshield in short order. The rear window....not so much. Obviously the washer pump works OK, but presuming the line to the rear window was dry, I kept trying and trying to get some washer fluid to come out, but without success. I'm sure there are many reasons why this might be, BUT assuming (for the moment) the only problem is an empty tube, can anybody give me an idea about how long I may need to run the rear window washer before I ought to get some sort of result?

 

[Hamfisted]

You don't see any washer fluid running out of the passenger side rocker panel area right ? It's a common failure point for the rear tubing to rot and break apart along that rocker panel cavity and siphon off all the washer fluid from the tank. You might do a quick check and access the tubing at the rear spray fitting and blow into it and see if there's resistance, like the line is still intact. But it shouldn't take but a few seconds for washer fluid to reach the rear sprayer.

 

[JamaicaJoe]

I have been unable to find the proper rubber line for washer systems at auto parts stores but find that Home Depot and Lowes sell rubber drip irrigation line of same diameter. What is everyone else using?

 

[Bruce Mitchell]

I had the same issue with my rear window washer. The shop fixed it when I had the rear wiper motor replaced; their note: "washer hose was off, fixed it."

 

[GaryH]

Probably the same thing that happened to my 2003. Do you seem to have to refill the washer reservoir more often than necessary? Mine would go empty without using it all. What Hamfisted said in post #2. Check out this thread. https://www.expeditionforum.com/threads/washer-fluid-drained-overnight.53282/ If you remove the bottom sill panel on the passenger door and it's full of washer fluid, there's your problem.