Mitsubishi Spacestar Driver's Window Switch

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For my next trick, I have to remove steering column surround and replace the wiper stalk.

I have got a pair of sun visors as one is busted (repaired with sparkies tape) and the other is following it.

The rear wash is still blocked. I have ordered a can of air and I'll disconnect the rear pipe under the bonnet and give it several blasts through from the rear washer jet. If this doesn't work, I'll have to order a new jet - can't find any OE on ebay - and work out how to get the old one off....

Gotta polish the headlights which are fogging up, that's a bit of a fag.

There are some rubbing strips on the front bumper that are very tatty, but a pair on ebay (second hand) are >£60, so sack that!

There are some rubber stops on the inside of the two front doors that are missing; can't find those on ebay...

And the o/s wiper is hitting the windscreen surround. Have removed and repositioned the wiper arm on the spindle, but it does not cure the issue. There is a little wear in the motor that allows the arms to move a little: perhaps it is this free play that is allowing the arms excess movement which is why it is hitting the surround. Hoping that it does not become terminal - I don't fancy changing the wiper motor. Done it before on a Rover 820 and it was a real fag!

After sorting that lot and a service (gotta check the cambelt.....), we should be good to go.

 

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Spent most of the day tinkering. I am creaky and very slow, but who cares?

I wanted to tackle the rear wash. So I started at the reservoir. Once I'd filled up my jug and trudged home, most of the day was gone.

(See what I did there?)

I unplugged the pipe going to the rear and there was a healthy squirt so no issues there. Tried running it for 10 seconds and it was all good, clean and yellow (I put Prestone in the reservoir).

I then dismantled all the trim en-route from front to back and found in the boot a short length of washer pipe that was trapped and squashed. Someone had removed the offside trim panel in the boot and trapped the pipe on reassembly.

Having sorted that, I found just a bubbling dribble at the washer jet, so took out the high level brake light and fiddled with a small driver until I managed to release the washer jet from the inside.

Removing the jet, I found it blocked so used some canned air to blast it through: fine. Reattached it: slightly better than bubbling dribble.

I then found that the washer jet was attached to a short piece of hose then a hose connector and a longer piece of hose running towards the front of the car.

I figured the connector (being narrower) may be a pinch-point for crud, so took it off and blew it out with canned air. A load of what, if I were a gardener, I would call humus shot out of the side of the connector where I had inserted the thin canned air pipe. But nothing came out of the other side.

Curious, I looked at it through my smartphone's magnifier and could see what looked like a tiny silver ball bearing in one end of the connector and nothing in the other side.

I connected it to the reservoir and operated the wash switch and no water came out, confirming my suspicion that it could be a one-way valve. Reversing the direction of the connector produced a good steady stream.

I double checked I had a good flow through the pipe before reconnecting the jet. Then I checked the jet was working both off and on the car. We had a rear wash. Yay!!

Then my son came out and I got him to check all lamps working. They were.

Just to impress I asked him to check the rear wash.

NOTHING. Grrrrrr.

So, pipe was kinked and jet blocked. Then unblocked. But if it is blocked again, the res. or pipework must have gunk in it.

This reservoir is fitted in the wheel arch, with just the neck poking through.

So I will need to remove the F/O/S wheel and wheelarch liner to get at the reservoir and give it a damn good washing out.

But I suspect there may well be more gunk in the pipework.

What's the best way to rinse out these small bore tubes? Remove the tube from the res at the front and the jet at the back and flush through with a garden hose adapted to fit? I thought flushing through using the pump would be sufficient but it appears not.

What surprised me was there was no gunk filter on the filler neck. I guess it either does not have one or the one it had was detachable and got detached.

I may get a new connector and jet in case the old are partially blocked and prone to jamming up.

 

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Just thinking about this logically, which I should have done earlier....

If the gunk was coming from the bottle, it would jam up both sets of jets/ pipes, but it is only blocking the rear so I think maybe the gunk is in the rear system. But there's no harm cleaning out the washer bottle.

Is there a good reason why the connector has a one-way valve in it? Could I replace it with a bog-standard pipe connector?

 

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Flushed through the system today and it appears to be working. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

 

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Worked on the front wipers yesterday, trying to get a fix that means the o/s wiper does not smack the windsreen surround; tricky when the mechanism has a bit of freeplay, but I got there in the end.

This morning, I are mainly been replacing the wiper stalk. Bit apprehensive, as last time I did this sort of work, when I got the column shroud off, the ignition switch fell apart.....
you know that sinking feeling when something like that happens!

But it was an easy case of three screws under the column and two smaller ones hold the stalk assembly to the column and a multi-plug on the rear. Now you don't have to hold the stalk down to engage the contacts for the faster wipe.....

Calculated that if I had bought all the parts I have got new, I would have spent over £253. Second hand but fully working parts in VGC from a certain auction site cost me just under £59.

That's what I call Hubnut!

 

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PS The rear wash still works! YAY!

 

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[Burnerman]

I get the feeling you are really enjoying this, Secure!
The valve on the washer just means you get a deluge without a delay in the water delivery, and regarding the wiper blades its not unknown for longer ones to be fitted in error.
Good luck with it, and keep the updates a comin’!
John

 

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In the middle of washing the car. Son was very keen at first, but now not so!!

I still need to get the wipers sorted. The play is not in the motor but the wiper linkages: there are kits of clips that prevent excess play, but I have yet to be brave and access the wiper gubbins. It doesn't look straight-forward to get at.

Meanwhile, in the hot weather, the rubbing strip has partially peeled itself off on the o/s rear door. In the interests of safety, I have completely removed it. It is an odd beast, consisting of three separate strips which interlock with each other. I'll have to get the self adhesive strip off the door and the gunk off the plastic strips before reapplying new sticky stuff and refixing.

 

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Trying to work out how this three-strip side rubbing strip is supposed to go back...

I suspect it has been off before and bodged because it was held on with lots of DDS tape..... and was still hanging off at the back!
Anybody any ideas, please?

 

[Burnerman]

Looking at the door or whatever....Are there any holes drilled or plastic clips evident?
If not, maybe its just self adhesive.
John

 

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Yeah, the door has nothing on it but remnants of DS tape.

But....THREE separate strips? WHY???? Think I'll just put it together as I think, use lots of tape and cross my fingers....

 

[Burnerman]

A million dollar question matey!
Often, one strip is permanently stuck to the body and the others lock to that with a dovetail action.
You can probably buy rubbing strip off the roll as a replacement, rather than faff with the original - for sure you'd need strong double sided adhesive tape anyway.
John

 

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You're right. I can get lengths of it, but it wouldn't match. The manufacturer no longer sells the strip for that car and the only way to buy it second hand would be attached to a door!

I've got nowt to lose but a roll of DST, so I'll try sticking the old one back on. Wish me luck!

 

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Took my slow brain a while, but I worked out how to put the pesky three-piece rubbing strip back together.

Looking at the bottom picture, the middle piece slots into the top piece, then the thinnest strip (moving to the top picture) sits with the grubby looking portion (on the top side of the strip in that picture) just showing on the top side of the thickest piece (it looks grubby but was in fact silver when it was new). The grubby/silver portion of the thinnest strip fits in the recess of the thickest strip between where the moulding kicks up at either end.

If that makes sense....

No. 1 son seems to have lost interest in fixing and cleaning up the car for now. To be fair, he has gained interest in a girlfriend which I seem to remember from my dim and distant youth trumps everything, even mechanical things.

I'd still like to fix the wipers, fit some brighter lamps in the headlights and some decent all-weather tyres, all in preparation for the winter, but have run short of funds!