Washer resevoir - stupid timing!

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

gtc

Full Access Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2008
Posts
235
Reaction score
0
Came back from a ~1000k mile trip last Fri-Sunday with a broken washer resevoir. Doing roughly the same trip starting again tomorrow (long story), and the local dealership didn't have any replacements in stock. Given the amount of snow we have right now (travelling from SW Ontario -> Montreal, Québec) wiper fluid is pretty critical on the hwy, so I decided to patch things up, cross my fingers and hope for the best - unfortunately I was in a bit of a rush and only had time to snap a couple of shots with my cell phone, however here are the basic steps for removal:

1) Remove both headlights - very easy, just slide the 2 clips/bars up on either side of each headlamp and pull straight out. I used a big flat head screw driver for some extra leverage.

2) Remove front up grill - 4 upper tabs, 2 lower tabs to need to be pinched and the entire peice slides off easily.

3) Remove fendor flares - 3 or 4 clips under each wheel well and a screw at the front of the wheel well need to be removed along with a torx screw that is located inside the headlamp space that screws into the back side of the fendor flare. The flare then peels off easily from back to front - there's a slotted peice of plastic in front that should be removed last, rather then first. A bunch of clips help hold it in place and snap off fairly easily.

4) Remove bumper cover - 6 hex bolts on the top, 4 torx screws on the bottom, and 2 regular screws that attach to the wheel well covers. I managed to shear off all 4 lower torx screws - will need to drill 'em later, but may just wait until summer, since my garage isn't huge and isn't heated! They intially started to unscrew with relative easy, then got harder - I suspect that the screw/bolt passes right through the threading/nut and out the other side and gets corroded. I did liberally dose them prior to attempting to unscrew, but same thing with each one.... Also couldn't get one of the screws out of the wheel well cover, so I just left it on and didn't fully remove the bumper (see pics below). Another thing to look at come summer, or if I have free time on my hands... (not likely!)

5) I had 4 bolts holding the resevoir in place - some write ups only mentioned 3. Three of them where 10mm and 1 was 12mm. 1 of the 10mm bolts is in a rather awkward spot and was only accessible by using a bendable socket wrench adaptor (I'm not sure what the peice is called).

6) The resovoir has 1 inlet (obvious, from above), 3 outlets (1 with a clamp, 2 just stuck on) and 3 electrical connectors. It can't be fully removed without disconnecting everything, but each disconnection gives you a bit of room to rotate it to gain easier access to the next connector.

I'd suggest pulling the bumper right off before taking out the resevoir (remember to remove the connector to the fog lights, if you have 'em as well) - it was a pain in the a** to get all 3electrical connectors off with the resevoir wedged in there - my hands just didn't fit very well!

I'd rate this job as 2/5 with the right tools - I found it much easier then changing brakes, though would have preferred doing it in the summer, or in a larger heated garage!

Here are a couple of shots - first is the bumper off (supported from below) with the resevoir location circled in red, and the second is a shot of the front/underside of the resevoir (all connectors are on the back), all gooped up - in this case, the cracked area is circled in red.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20101206_215704.jpg
    IMG_20101206_215704.jpg
    66.7 KB · Views: 57
  • IMG_20101206_221925.jpg
    IMG_20101206_221925.jpg
    38.6 KB · Views: 60
Last edited:

KyRover

Active Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2007
Posts
43
Reaction score
0
Thanks for posting, I was wondering how hard this was to do. Currently on reservoir #3 and no longer in warranty.
 

Latest posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
36,274
Posts
218,155
Members
30,499
Latest member
Vintage99
Top