PDA

View Full Version : NA Fitting a washer bag.



BlitzWing
09-13-2014, 09:58 AM
WARNING: All the info in the following article refers to a RHD Eunos for LHD Miatas some self discovery might be needed.

Ok with the warning out of the way lets talking about adding a washer bag to replace our washer bottles. Firstly why? Well Like many people here I'm slowly building a SC/turbo build and the factory water bottle can be a problem for some kits such as the Sebring/Jackson racing kit as the intake section needs to pass thought the space that's currently being used by the water bottle. One popular fix is to move the OEM bottle one bolt over to the right sharing a bolt with the wiper motor however I found this to look a bit ugly and you need to widen the bolt holes in the bottle to make it fit. Another option is the popular NoPro/Suzuki washer bottle as well as many Alloy bottles that sit behind the fire wall. Down side with these is cost. Even in the UK where they actually imported the Cappuccino finding a bottle is the best part of £80 same price goes for alloy bottles. I've also seen the Moss relocation kit and I cant say it did it for me.

Pro's:
Cheap. The whole kit cost me £11 ($17.89) with shipping. I'm sure it could be found for less in the states with some hunting.
lots of options for placement and customizing.

Con's
not that nice to look at (but as you will see later that's not a big problem)
Its a bag so its prone to damage and heat over time.
The motor is a little weak but it does the job fine.
If you plan to hide the bag keep in mind its going to be a pain to fill.

Lets start by looking at what you get in the box. You really get all the kit you need to make a whole system however we only care about the bracket, bag (12v pump was pre-fitted) and the wiring
http://i.imgur.com/QBM4SXh.jpg

OK so lets begin. Sorry in advance for some photos I was basically recording my progress as I was figuring out the best way to fit the kit so a few steps are missing but I will do my best to fill in the gaps.

Step 1: removing the OEM water bottle. On the RHD Mx5 its a simple case of removing 2 bolts and disconnecting the pipe and unplugging the pump. The it can be wiggled free of its stand. Cant see it being much harder on the Miata.
http://i.imgur.com/A8Xnw2k.jpg

Step 2: finding the right spot for the bag. If your lucky and you don't have AC you can actually fit the bag in the OEM location using the supplied bracket.... I did not have such luck however here is a photo of what you would expect to see. (just ignore that AC pipe :( )
http://i.imgur.com/yoFK0bv.jpg

For my install I want to hide as much as possible so I'm going to hid it away in the front bumper. I did originally want it in the front wing but with the Eunos MX5 turn signals its a bit too tight to fit a bag.

Step 3: Testing. So before we start bolting things in we should really test the system. Its quite easy to hook this up connect the pipe to the pump add a little water and plug the 2 wire ends into the socket for the OEM pump (we will property connect them later). With any luck when you hit the switch it all went off nicely If not check the connections and make sure that the Blue wire from the kit goes to the OEM yellow and blue wire and the Red goes to the OEM blue and red.

Step 4 Wires. quite easy chop the plug off the old pump add about 150MM to it and then crimp it to the plug in the new kit. If your going to wire tuck it its a good idea to add spade clips or feed the wires to the right location before crimping and insulating the wires.

Step 5: piping. As you can see in my photo I fed the old hose down into the wing, then with the plastic arch lining removed I connected the new hose and feed it to the front. Its a good idea to zip tie it to the existing wiring that goes along that side of the car as well. I then refitted the plastic lining. Tip you might also want to remove the wheel but its possible to do with outdoing so you might just find yourself having to turn the wheel to be able to get your hands into the small areas.
http://i.imgur.com/ts2ODOR.jpg

Step 6A: Fitting the bag. It took me about an hour to find a spot that felt right to me but this is ultimately down to how you want it. I put my bag in the passenger side of the front bumper. When fitting the bag its a good idea to put it at an angle that wont let it flop into the path of the wheel. here is fine but keep in mind it will move around.TIP: for better light and acces remove the reflector and turn signal.
http://i.imgur.com/hxGTehQ.jpg

Step 6B: securing it. So this part took ages, I wanted to make this just a simple bolt-on and something I could reverse if I didn't like it. The holes I've used might differ year to year so you might need to play around.

The bag has 2 holes we want to use both to stop it from swinging out of control when the car is moving. The first location I used is a hole directly under the passenger side headlight. You can see the 10mm bolt I've used, on the other side is a washer and 2 bolts to keep it secure.
http://i.imgur.com/MFknos7.jpg

the 2nd hole requires us to "modify" the kit... with a hammer. take the bracket and hammer if flat. you might have something sitting around you could use to do the same thing but this was quick and easy
http://i.imgur.com/NgfDu5E.jpg

with the turn signal removed fit it like so. Now we have our second mounting point for the bag.
http://i.imgur.com/DtSCIIB.jpg

I used a long bolt with 2 nuts to act as a spacer before adding the bag, a washer and the final nut to secure it like so.
http://i.imgur.com/T1Qoozr.jpg

Now the bag is secure :)

Step 7: lets double check everything is plugged in , enjoy our work and have some tea :)
http://i.imgur.com/ZRkPBd1.jpg

BONUS: I've not finished this but the idea is simple. If filling the bag is a pain get some generic hose and some silicone sealant and make a tube to feed into the engine bay. I'm going to feed in front of the rad and secure it to a bolt currently being used by the horn.

Agent☣Orange
09-13-2014, 08:43 PM
Thanks Blitz!