Washer Hose Replacement

Test

I spent an hour or so removing the top of dash from the bus tonight.  I needed to replace the hoses that feed the windshield washers.  They were old and cracked and were leaking water all over the fuse block!  I could not figure out how I was going to do this without removing the dash, so I just gave up and started removing parts.  There were 8 screws along the windshield that were covered with plastic caps, There were 6 nuts along the rear edge of the top of dash panel, There were two additional nuts holding the grab handle in place.  To get to these screws, I had to take out the glove box, loosen the instrument cluster and lay it against the steering wheel, I then had to remove the sheet metal heater tube covers on both sides.  this let me remove the heat/demist ducts that feed the outer top vents.  This let me get to the two nuts on the outboard edge of the top of dash panel.  It's hard to see these, you just have to feel for them.  I then removed the wiper arms, wiper assy mounting nuts, and the single wiper assy mounting bolt under the dash.  This let me pull the wiper assy rearward so I could get to the hose that feeds the drivers side at the spray nozzle.  This all sounds much worse than it really is.  Not knowing what I was doing, it took about an hour to get everything out.  It will be quite easy to replace the hoses now.  I picked the new hoses up today at Auto Zone for about $15.  that should be enough to do the whole job.  With the top of dash removed, I can sand an repaint the escutcheons and the top of dash also.  They really needed it. 
It may be possible to do this job without removing the top of dash, but I bet it would be a real pain in the butt.

I didn't realize, when I bought the bus, how the windshield washer system worked in a bus.  There is a tank behind the dash panel that you fill with washer fluid.  So far so good.  The deal is that it works best if you fill it just a bit past half full.  The reason for that is that you need to leave room for the air!  Thats right, you need to pump up this little bottle with a tire pump or an air compressor to about 35 lbs ish.   I think is says no more that 43psi or something.  This puts the whole system under pressure and when you push ther wash button, which turns out to be nothing more than a valve, the fluid squirts out onto the glass.   Works great as long as there are no leaks.  My new repair job was still pressurized this morning!  I will keep checking over the next few days to see how long it stays pressurized!