talizman
13 July 2003, 00:47
I have wondered for a while if it would be feasible to add a rear windscreen wiper/washer to my UK Impreza like the JDM cars.
I searched the web, and to the best of my knowledge no one has done it so far. Many people "in the know" have stated that it was far too expensive, with figures of £1000 - £1500 being banded about!
Everyone seems to settle for a "liberal coating of Rain-X".
Not me.
Well, today, I did it, and it was a doddle! The following is what you need to know and the parts required.
1) Wiper motor and arm. (with relay)
2) Rear washer bottle & motor (unless you wish to utilise the front bottle)
3) JDM rear windscreen with hole.
4) Some common sense and balls! ;)
Prices -:
If you call a windscreen specialist and ask them for a price to supply a JDM rear screen for a 93-01 Impreza they will laugh at you. The reason? £800 is the reason! Ridiculous but true. (try it if you don't believe me) This is probably why people advise against it but there are other routes at a crossroads! ;)
Grade A Subaru (http://www.gradea-subaru.co.uk) supplied a rear screen, on next day delivery for the small fee of £100 + VAT.
The screen was immaculate and all it required was the Jap tint film removed to clean it up. Also, don't worry about it being delivered, as it is packaged really well and fully insured against damage.
Grade A also supplied a wiper motor, arm, relay, washer bottle and all associated wiring and plugs for £50 + VAT. Result.
Now, in order to fit it, you first have to look under your rear shelf and find a circular hole in the metal (about 2.5" diameter). This is where the motor goes through, so you require to cut a hole in the parcel shelf. This can be done with a sharp blade/stanley knife as it is only hardboard with cloth cover.
Next, get on the phone to one of the windscreen companies (Autoglass or RAC Windscreens are recommended) and tell them you want a removal-refit. This should cost about £60.
The fitter will take your old screen out and replace it with your new one with hole. Whilst doing so, he will bolt the motor in place to ensure the glass is positioned correctly. The motor is bolted to the underside of the rear shelf with 2 x 10mm bolts. Once in place the seal is fitted and arm connected.
Cosmetics finished.
The motor then requires to be wired up, which I will cover later, and add photos too.
The washer can either be taken off the front bottle (this involves adding a secondary pump and routing washer pipe through the car, either the floor or headcloth to the rear) or, fitting a rear bottle, made specifically for the car. This fits underneath the rear o/s tail light, and may require a couple of holes to be drilled for mounting. This simply requires a power wire and switch wire.
Finally we need a switch to operate the wiper and the washer.
Since the Jap cars have the wiper stalks on the left, we cannot use one of these, so you must obtain a switch with 3 positions...
0 - off
1 - wiper (continuous)
2 - wiper + washer
For this, you will have to do a search of your local scrappy, for a car with such a switch. Some Toyota Corolla's have what we need.
Try and find a switch that can be located on one of the Impreza blanks, either next to the "bright" switch or beside the fogs to the right of the cowling.
Full photos as well as wiring diagrams will be added as soon as I can be ar$ed to post them and take some pics! ;)
Never say never! :D
Questions re this are more than welcome!
I will post full instructions on my website (http://www.geocities.com/scooby_impreza_turbo) very soon.
I searched the web, and to the best of my knowledge no one has done it so far. Many people "in the know" have stated that it was far too expensive, with figures of £1000 - £1500 being banded about!
Everyone seems to settle for a "liberal coating of Rain-X".
Not me.
Well, today, I did it, and it was a doddle! The following is what you need to know and the parts required.
1) Wiper motor and arm. (with relay)
2) Rear washer bottle & motor (unless you wish to utilise the front bottle)
3) JDM rear windscreen with hole.
4) Some common sense and balls! ;)
Prices -:
If you call a windscreen specialist and ask them for a price to supply a JDM rear screen for a 93-01 Impreza they will laugh at you. The reason? £800 is the reason! Ridiculous but true. (try it if you don't believe me) This is probably why people advise against it but there are other routes at a crossroads! ;)
Grade A Subaru (http://www.gradea-subaru.co.uk) supplied a rear screen, on next day delivery for the small fee of £100 + VAT.
The screen was immaculate and all it required was the Jap tint film removed to clean it up. Also, don't worry about it being delivered, as it is packaged really well and fully insured against damage.
Grade A also supplied a wiper motor, arm, relay, washer bottle and all associated wiring and plugs for £50 + VAT. Result.
Now, in order to fit it, you first have to look under your rear shelf and find a circular hole in the metal (about 2.5" diameter). This is where the motor goes through, so you require to cut a hole in the parcel shelf. This can be done with a sharp blade/stanley knife as it is only hardboard with cloth cover.
Next, get on the phone to one of the windscreen companies (Autoglass or RAC Windscreens are recommended) and tell them you want a removal-refit. This should cost about £60.
The fitter will take your old screen out and replace it with your new one with hole. Whilst doing so, he will bolt the motor in place to ensure the glass is positioned correctly. The motor is bolted to the underside of the rear shelf with 2 x 10mm bolts. Once in place the seal is fitted and arm connected.
Cosmetics finished.
The motor then requires to be wired up, which I will cover later, and add photos too.
The washer can either be taken off the front bottle (this involves adding a secondary pump and routing washer pipe through the car, either the floor or headcloth to the rear) or, fitting a rear bottle, made specifically for the car. This fits underneath the rear o/s tail light, and may require a couple of holes to be drilled for mounting. This simply requires a power wire and switch wire.
Finally we need a switch to operate the wiper and the washer.
Since the Jap cars have the wiper stalks on the left, we cannot use one of these, so you must obtain a switch with 3 positions...
0 - off
1 - wiper (continuous)
2 - wiper + washer
For this, you will have to do a search of your local scrappy, for a car with such a switch. Some Toyota Corolla's have what we need.
Try and find a switch that can be located on one of the Impreza blanks, either next to the "bright" switch or beside the fogs to the right of the cowling.
Full photos as well as wiring diagrams will be added as soon as I can be ar$ed to post them and take some pics! ;)
Never say never! :D
Questions re this are more than welcome!
I will post full instructions on my website (http://www.geocities.com/scooby_impreza_turbo) very soon.