How-to: Upgrade 2004-2009 Mazda 3 windshield washer nozzles to wide fan spray nozzle

[Yasmar]

Last year I became the primary driver of our 2008.5 Mazda 3 (was my wife's car previously, she now drives the new CX-5), and after a horrible winter constantly cleaning road splatter off the windshield, I discovered I hated the OEM wiper nozzles on the 3. The CX-5 has nozzles that shoot a fan-shaped spray of washer fluid all over the window, so I decided to look into replacing mine.

I know there are aftermarket kits out there that have the fan spray, but the bottom of the nozzle (where the hose connects) on those ones points straight down. The 2004-2009 Mazda 3 has a 90 degree bend in the nozzle bottom, so the hose connects from the side. If you use one of the nozzles that point straight down, you would need a few bits-and-bobs to connect the hoses. I read one thread (somewhere, not sure which forum) where someone recommended cutting holes in the under-hood insulation layer where the hoses attach to the bottom of the nozzle, so that nothing kinks afterwards.

To simplify the process and keep things as clean under there as possible, I decided to look for a fan-spray nozzle with a 90 degree bend in the bottom part facing the same direction as the Mazda 3's. I finally found one: the 2008-2012 Ford Fusion nozzle is virtually identical to the 2004-2009 Mazda 3 one, except it has the fan-shaped spray pattern.





I bought them through the local Ford dealership for about $10 each.

[Edit: if someone can tell me how to make images show up in my post, instead of just a blue hyperlink, please tell me. All I'm seeing are the blue hyperlinks you have to click on to see the pics...]

The steps to replace the nozzles follow...

 

[Yasmar]

The steps to replace the nozzles:



To access the washer nozzles from the underside of the hood, you must remove some of the retainer clips holding the under-hood insulation layer to the hood. I just removed the circled ones first, then changed that nozzle, then re-attached this half of the insulation layer with the clips, then repeated the process with the other side. In other words, I never removed the insulation layer entirely, just took enough clips off half of it to reach that side's nozzle, then re-attached the insulation layer and repeated the process on the other side.

To remove the retainer clips, you can use a special tool that's made for it, like these:






But I just used a hammer:

 

[Yasmar]

The hammer worked fine. Some of the clips will possibly break, but in removing 10, I only broke 1. You can re-use the ones that don't break. To replace the one that broke, I found a new one at PartSource for $1.



Once you have the insulation layer out of your way, you can reach the underside of the washer nozzle, where the hose connects. Disconnect the hose. You may have to work at it, twisting a bit and using your fingernail... It's on there tight...




The nozzle is held on with tabs you squeeze to allow it to pop up through the hole...




I used pliers, but you may be able to do it with your fingers...

 

[Yasmar]

Pull the nozzle off the rest of the way from the top... Please ignore my dirty car...




This is the shape of the hole. Clean the area around the hole before installing the new nozzle, just to make sure there's no dirt or grit under the new nozzle where it contacts the hood.




And this is the new nozzle installed. Perfect fit! Just pop it in and reconnect the hose underneath, then re-attach the under-hood insulation, and do it all over again for the other nozzle.




Here is a video of the two spray patterns, the Ford Fusion one on the left, and the original Mazda 3 one on the right. The Fusion spray pattern is perfect... full coverage with no overspray.

I hope this is useful to somebody out there. In my searching, I couldn't find anyone referencing the 2008-2012 Ford Fusion nozzles as a direct replacement for the 2004-2009 Mazda 3 nozzles. I just discovered it by doing an image search for windshield washer nozzles, and looking for one that looked similar to the Mazda one, then trying to discover what the spray pattern of it was like. Even that was a crapshoot since I couldn't find any discussion of the spray pattern of the Fusion nozzle. At first I just bought the one to make sure the spray was a fan-type. I installed it and discovered it was exactly what I wanted, so went and bought the other one. They were about $10 each at the Ford dealership.

 

[Phoenix42]

Awesome find! Thanks! Wish this could be done on the rear nozzle