Winshield Sprayer Nozzle Adjustment

Anybody have an exact size wire idea or trick for adjusting. Seems I got the passenger side perfect but the drivers side nozzles seem to keep bumping past where I want them. I've used a baling wire sort of wire that was a somewhat fit but having a tough go still.

What year is your car? A needle doesn't work? Mine ('03) are not adjustabe by design. Half of my spray is blocked by the edge of the hood

Year is 99. Things look non adjustable buy the metal ball spins in the socket. Maybe if I'd lube the things they wouldn't lurch past what I want. It's an exact thing wanting a short burst to have all of the wiper wet instead of having to hold for a couple seconds till it will clean the lower left section.

Quotes source post: 10202971

Yea, on 99 they are adjustable. Usually a sewing needle is all you need to rotate these metal *****.

Quotes source post: 10203061

Yep, this works.

Thanks. guess I'll find a heavy duty one with the right temper. Pin gauges would great but the coast is too much.

Quotes source post: 10204857

AND are like using micrometers for C'clamps WRONG USE FOR DA TOOL

Quotes source post: 10202868

Ahsai, 3 year old thread I realize, however I was wondering if you ever were able to adjust your nozzles? I just spent the afternoon trying to adjust mine as they also hit the edge of the hood. Mine are the non-adjustable (newer type) even though mine is a 1999 MY. It's odd that they would switch to ones that aren't adjustable. On my Mercedes and Audi you can stick a pin or rigid piece of metal and aim the little metal jet up/down/left or right. What I have determined is that adjusting them can be done ways. 1st is to actually tilt the plastic cowl piece that the nozzles attach to the car down. I tried this as there are 2 screws that secure this cowl down right behind where the battery is. I removed the screws, put in 1 inch spacers to raise the base which will tilt the entire cowl and therefore the nozzles down. However you can only tilt it in the center as the cowl is attached at the ends also. This actually twists the cowl up putting some stress on it but it still tilts. Bad news is loosening the screws and adding the inch spacers does not tilt it enough. 2nd is to attach a block of rubber or something to the underside of the frunk, where when the frunk is closed these blocks would push down on the cowl just in front of the and to the side of the nozzle enough to push the nozzle down. Bad news is this creates a ugly and very noticeable gap between the cowl and the frunk and again doesn't push the cowl down enough, still hits. Tomorrow I am going to try attach a hood/funnel to the nozzle like a sort of awning which would channel the fluid low enough to miss the frunk egde. Even though some fluid does reach the window, it is frustrating that 80% of it hits the frunk edge and is wasted. My nozzles are clear and spray nicely. I am assuming that new ones wouldn't help since its not that they are clogged but that are not aimed correctly. I assume new ones would be aimed the same as the old ones. Wish I would have taken pictures to post here as I was doing these possible fixes but didn't think of it. Anyway, who else has this problem and were you able to fix it somehow? Thanks

I haven't tried fixing them yet and surely it's annoying as hell. I checked the WSM and it looks like a ton of work to change out the nozzles so I'm living with the problem for now. What puzzles me most is like you said the nozzles are not adjustable and they are NOT clogged. Why one day they decided to spray with a different pattern at the same time??

Quotes source post: 13802417

I've only had mine a year now so I don't know if they ever worked right or when they went bad and for what reason. Curious...do you ever remember yours working properly? From what I saw Ahsai, replacing them should be quite easy. Removing all the battery area covers you can get under the window cowl enough and unhook them, assuming they just clip in. Or perhaps the window cowl has to be removed all together which may be a pain. But from what I saw it looks like the nozzles could be un-clipped from underneath with just the 3 battery covers removed. This is assuming that they can indeed be un-clipped. I would imagine they just have tension/pressure snap/clips holding them to the cowl. I didn't really consider replacing them since I believe mine are spraying fine. Do they just start spraying higher one day for no reason. Because for them to work properly the actual nozzles need to direct the fluid at a low angle to miss the frunk. New ones would snap into the cowl just as the old ones and at the same angle which is why the cowl angle is what needs to change. It's kind of like cutting out an entire ceiling in a room in your home and angling that ceiling to adjust the angle of that ceiling light. A mystery why Porsche decided to make them non-adjustable. Which brings up the question...can we put the adjustable (old style) nozzles in? And, are they available to purchase?

Quotes source post: 13802464

Yes, mine used to work fine and that's why I'm puzzled why they changed one day. From the WSM, the cowl has to come off but there may be short cuts, who knows. Let me know if you happen to fix them or remove them. It's pretty low on my list so it'll prolly a while before I work on them.

Think out of the box, get out the dremel and grind a "C" section out of the hood to allow the water jet a clear shot at the window.

My theory: Since they must have worked when new and since the angles and the way it is connected can not change due to aging unless the cowl itself warped significantly or cracked, the only thing that can change is the nozzle. I am guessing that over time sediment forms in the bottom of the nozzle. Calcium build up, debris, etc. Not enough to clog or dramatically alter the volume of fluid that can spray out, but enough of a little ramp of debris that the fluid hits as it exits that causes it to shoot higher than normal. I snaked my nozzles with fishing line today. Now that I think of it I should have used some CLR also. When I was looking at how they might be removed, I noticed there was what looked like an electrical connection to the nozzle as well as the rubber tube supplying the fluid. Anyone know for sure. Maybe Ahsai you could post the work shop manual instructions you mentioned. I have a feeling there are a whole lot of 996's out there with this problem, but the owners just don't know it. Cause enough fluid does find it's way on the windows especially at speed. It's not high on my list either, but given there is nothing else on my list, it's high by default. Come hell or high water (pun intended), I will figure it out. New nozzles at www.autohausaz.com for $25 each. It shows an electrical connection and states that "electrical connection modification may be necessary."

I tried to find the steps I saw (or I thought I saw) but couldn't find them anywhere! The WSM only talks about the two types of nozzle - adjustable pin hole type and our non-adjustable type. It says the non-adjustable have to be replaced if not spraying the right pattern.

I found that also. I do notice that it looks like the adjustable ones were used on the boxster and only on 996's produced as 1998 models. They changed over to non-adjustable ones for 1999 and older. Which is why mine have the non's. I did see in the WSM how to get to the wiper assembly and it says only the wiper arms need to be removed and the 2 screws behind the battery for the cowl to come out when doing the wiper assembly removal. Over the weekend I'm gonna remove them and clean them and if that doesn't do it, I am going to order 2 new ones. I'll get them from www.autohuasaz.com . I will ask them if we can replace them with the old style adjustable ones since they sell both kinds. If they say they will fit, I'm going with the adjustable ones. And if they don't work, they will pay for me to return them since I asked them before ordering. I will update when applicable...

For cleaning out and adjusting spray tips buy a torch tip cleaner. Find the wire that fits the hole size. Don't go overboard with cleaning as the tool is abrasive but should remove any calcium/dirt from sprayer tip. The tool cleaner tool is also great for adjusting as the wire is strong and does not bend easily. I have used these on other cars all my life. Never messed with the Porsche's as have only used the sprayers once when got bombed by what must have bee a California Condor! That time I wasn't even really sure how to turn them on.

Quotes source post: 13803018

Good to know, however FYI the service manual specifically mentions to never insert anything in the non-adjustable type nozzles.

Found this in another forum for taking of cowl... You will need to: 1. Remove the wiper arms 2. Pop the cowl bolt covers up (small flat section next to wiper arms) 3. Remove 2 torx head bolts 4. Diconnect washer nozzle from cowl There is a rubber seal on the leading edge of cowl. Last time I checked the cowl was around $46.00 and the rubber seal was about $9.00. I will try to get pictures up describing what I am talking about...latter.

Quotes source post: 13803156

Yeah, some engineers think their design is faultless, which it always isn't. Many don't comprehend the real world of dirt, calcium deposits and residue from washer solvent.

OK, update. Turns out taking out the windshield washer nozzles is embarrassingly simple. At least on my '99. I realize later models may have a different set up so there's that. Simply remove all 3 battery covers, follow the rubber hose coming from the drivers side where the fluid is filled. This leads to a "Y" connector. 2 hoses from that lead to each nozzle. Disconnect these hoses from the "Y" connector. Then disconnect the electrical connectors from each nozzle. These electrical connectors are located on the firewall behind the battery. They just pull apart while squeezing the 2 tabs. Then just reach under the windshield cowl and push each nozzle up, there is a plastic tab which releases the nozzle. Each nozzle takes 20 seconds to remove. So it turns out it's not removing the nozzles that is the hard part. It's determining if they can be repaired or need to be replaced. Because each new nozzle costs just over $20 bucks I decided to experiment, worst case is I replace them both. Here's what I did and why. Just a reminder, that problem I was having is that the nozzles were spraying the fluid to high and it was hitting the edge of the hood. And since the nozzle fits into the windshield cowl by just snapping in and does not allow for any adjustment there is really no way to reposition the nozzle base. This is unfortunately the case. So I did exactly what the WSM says not to do with the non-adjustable nozzles. I pushed a small metal rod into the hole. I simply pulled it down as if the nozzle tip was adjustable. Turns out this worked, not because it is adjustable, but because I actually deformed the plastic by the amount of force I used. Now by "this worked" I mean it did direct the stream lower so it now misses the hood completely and hits the window perfectly in the center. It took several tries with each nozzle but by trail and error they now work. However the stream of fluid does not spread out in the fan shaped pattern any more. It is a much more centered stream but at least it hits the window perfect and all the fluid hits the window. So I'm pleased. If your bored by now, this is all you really need to know to do it the way I did, for those fellow OCDer's, I'll continue this epic journey. I did first try to clean the nozzles. They do come apart almost completely and to my surprise there was no dirt or calcium build up. All the plastic looked new, nothing worn or deformed. Just to check I did run CLR (calcium, lime, rust remover) through the nozzles dozens of times using a medical syringe and let them soak several hours. I'm 100% sure neither was clogged with anything. When I put them back on after just washing them they were still bad with no change. Mine were not clogged, they seemed to be in perfect condition when I disassembled them, and yet they were spraying high. So why is this? Here's my best guest. I believe at some time the cars which this happens on, are, or were exposed to freezing conditions . I believe water gets in the nozzles and freezes, expands, and after many cycles of this it deforms the nozzle. I bought my car a year ago from a private seller in North Carolina, it snows there. The nozzles were like this when I got it. At least I think they were. I say "think" because some owners may not realize there nozzles are hitting the hood because A.) tight a$$ clean freaks such as myself never use the nozzles and don't know there is a problem. B.) some fluid does hit the windshield and most owners may not realize they are out of adjustment. So likely mine were like this when I shipped it to Florida and at some point realized there was a problem. Even though most owners would use a non-freezing fluid, rain water can still splash into the area of the nozzles. There are no moving parts to the nozzles and nothing to wear out, so this is what I think causes the nozzles to change there spray pattern, repeated freezing and thawing. It would be interesting to know from those of you following this (long a$$ and boring) thread if you have experienced this issue and most importantly, if your car was in freezing conditions either while you owned it or the previous owners. Ahsai , you said your car has this issue. Any history of exposure to freezing conditions? I will put up with the way mine spray now, but I think it's best to just replace them. I just wanted to experiment and play around with things on my car. I have no life

the crying emojis were supposed to be after "I have no life"

Thanks for sharing your findings and everything was what I expected except the easy removal part. Mine may be harder but I really haven't spent much time looking around to see how to remove then. Your feezing theory is interesting. I can't recall my car has ever been in freezing temp though. Most likely not but it's possible I just dont remember it (e.g., parked outside at night in winter time).

Just wanted to see it thru...and share. I also discovered that the adjustable ones were used in the boxster from their start and used up until the 1998 MY. Then in 1999 they discontinued the use of the adjustable ones and went to the non's for the both the boxster and the 1999 996's. I believe the adjustable ones will fit 1999 and up 996's if you can find any. Most sellers show the part number but indicate that they were discontinued and no longer available. I'm 50, stopped working when I was 42, because I could. Lots of time on my hands and a big reason I bought this 1999 C2 cab. was as a hobby. I love when it's 100% sorted, but when something breaks I enjoy learning more about it and how it's put together and the challenge of sorting it out on mine own. Dead horse beat.....

adjustable nozzles available here http://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-p...section=904-10 $24.16 ea.

Quotes source post: 13806865

I called Auto Atlanta and they are not sure they have these since they were discontinued. He is calling Porsche and finding out. If they are available, I asked him to verify that they will fit in cars that came with the non's. Thanks for the heads up. I'll report back. FYI, I've called 4 parts suppliers that show them as available on their web site already, only to find out that they are not.

Quotes source post: 13807774

Bummer! Needless to say my car has the "aim problem" as well... I find that if I'm going 30 or 40 mph it's all good...

Hazet makes a took to adjust the nozzle position, and to indicate where ir should hit the windshield: http://www.rmeuropean.com/Products/48501-MFG970.aspx I have no idea if this is the correct tool for the adjustable Porsche nozzles, but it has worked well on my other cars w/ adjustable nozzles.