Hey guys, when it gets real cold (15 and below), my windshield washer fluid must gum up at the spray tips. The fluid in the resevoir is good and not freezing or gumming up, but what a pain in the *** when your going down the road and get stuff on your windshield and then cant do anything about it because nothing will come out. Usually will only happen when driving as if I am stopped for 5 to 10 min the engine seems to unthaw and will work then. I have resorted to keeping a spray bottle of fluid in the truck when driving thru the mountains, yes that was me! I have thought about just putting vodka in there to see if that works better. Anyone else have this problem?

 

I live in Northern Ontario Canada and we regularly get -25-40C temps. I have never heard of such a problem. What kind of washer fluid are you using?
Up here most washer fluids are rated at -40C. I would check you temp rating on the fluid using an antifreeze tester. You could also try running a bit ethanol thru the system to clear out any residue.

hope this helps

 

do you guys not have winter washer fluid

 

I used to have this problem going back to 2002 when I bought a Lincoln LS. There's nothing you can really do about it except wait for the engine to warm it up. The problem is not because you haven't used the winter washer fluid, but general condensation or rain/snow getting in there too.

 

I am not sure where your washer fluid line runs, but if it is close to the radiator hose to the heater core you can put a longer fluid line on and coil it around the heated core line. This will provide you with warm washer fluid sooner. I have also heard of it wrapped around your main engine radiator hose. One word of caution to this would be hot fluid on a cold window could cause possible cracking.

 

i live here in jersey but rarely we go below 0*f but i have -50* fluid in mine it works great. the fluid is orange and its about 4$ a gallon but you shouldnt have to worry about it freezing up

 

Same for me, 2015 xlt ecoboost, fine when it's warm, but as soon as you hit the highway at -8 or more, it freezes over, and yes, using -35 with deIcer

 

I'm from northern ontario as well and same issue with deIcer and -45

 

There is a tsb for a updated washer fluid line that runs from beside the fuse box underneath the Cowell to the Jets to prevent it from freezing

 

IIRC there has been a previous discussion on this, and the solution was to locate the check-valve(s) located in the line from the pump to the nozzles and remove it. Doing so allows any fluid that might be in the lines to drain back so that it doesn't freeze at the nozzle tip. I haven't done it to my truck, although now that it's cold again I am seriously considering it. The only downside is it will take longer for the fluid to begin spraying when pressing the button.