The bottle that holds my windshield washer fluid has started leaking and I need to replace it. Can someone please explain to me the easiest way to change it out. I read that in order to get to the lower part out, I am going to have to remove the front bumper cover. I am trying to learn how to do all the maintenance & repairs on my car myself and not always running to my mechanic friend. Ladies can do repairs too!!!

 

I reckon the reason no one has picked up on this is, it's such a rare thing to need to replace the washer bottle, probably no one here has done it.

Yes - you're right. The JTIS procedure is to remove the front bumper!

This doc has a good graphic of the washer layout showing the screen wash reservoir and associated parts:

JTIS - X Type 2003 - Wipers & Washers.pdf

Here's the procedure for removing the screen wash reservoir:

JTIS - X Type 2003 - Windshield Washer Reservoir.pdf

And here's how to remove the front bumper:

JTIS - X Type 2003 - Front Bumper Cover.pdf

That sounds an extraordinary amount of work to change a screen wash reservoir.

Hopefully anyone who has had the bumper off an X-Type will jump in and say whether you have to do all this or if it's possible to get to the reservoir without removing the bumper.

Graham

 

carlinasj, do you have to remove the bumper to get the bottle out, probably not. Are you going to be cussing as you are scratching your hands, squeezing them into a tight spot? Oh yes. You are looking at either removing the bumper cover or trying to get the wheel well liner out. Believe it or not, getting the bumper cover off is not that big of a job really. If you know what you are doing, it takes about 30 minutes to pull off. If you need a step by step, let me know. I have pulled the bumper covers off of my X-Type quite a few times. The big "trick" is knowing where the hidden bolt is on each side behind the headlight. Once you figure out how to get your hand there to get the bolt out, the rest is a cake walk.

If you want to try going in through the wheel well liner, then that is pretty straight forward. Place the right front wheel in the air (supported on a jackstand), remove the wheel, remove the fasteners holding the wheel well liner in place (should be about 10 fasteners). From there, if you look just in front of where the tire should be, you will see the bottle bolted there to the frame rail. As I recall, where you see the bolts on the side facing you, the bolts are in the same spot on the front of the bottle. Remove the bolts holding the bottle in place and slide the bottle out. Install is just the same process in reverse.

 

Carline,

Thermo has given you the options for 'bumper off' or 'squeeze and scratches' methods.

When you've done the reservoir replacement, please come back with a post to say which method you used and any advice for others who come along in the future with the same issue.

Graham

 

Ok, before I take on this endeavor. I purchased the car like the first part of June. It didn't seem to have any leaks in the beginning, except for the condensation from the air conditioning. All of a sudden I started to notice a leak on the left hand side of the car(passengers side when facing car). That would evaporate and leave a blueish color stain. So thats how I know its from the washer fluid. What I am not sure of is, could it be from the washer fluid pump, or an o-ring or something like that. I dont want to purchase a washer fluid bottle if that isnt the reason for the leakage. Is there any way that I could narrow it done to try to find out exactly where the leak is coming from.

 

@Thermo, I very well may need the step by step instructions on removing the front bumper. Thats the good thing about me being a petite female, I have small hands to get into small places :-)

 

When the washer fluid bottle on my X-type started leaking, the puddle that I noticed was on the ground between the wheel well and the front right corner (passenger side) bumper. The leak inside the cabin (yes, I had that problem too) was from water (rain, car wash) sipping through a loose front windshield cowl. I think that if you fill up the washer fluid reservoir and it doesn't start leaking on the ground, then it should be okay.

 

carlinasj, to remove the front bumper cover, you will need a 10mm ratchet or wrench, a T-27 torx bit, and a T-20 torx bit. You will start off using the T-27 torx bit and removing all the fasteners holding the plastic tray that connects the bottom of the bumper to the frame of the car. While you don't have to remove this tray, it is just a few more fasteners and the whole tray slides out of the way. Remove the tray, just easier all the way around. Next, using the 10mm socket, remove the 4 bolts (2 on each side) near the headlights that are holding the bumper cover to the headlights. Now, using the T-20 torx bit, remove the 3 screws in each wheel well edge (the face of the bumper cover facing the front wheels). Finally, locate the side marker lights, on the back side of the bumper cover, half way between the marker light and the edge of the bumper cover where you just removed the 3 bolts, you will find a 10mm bolt back there. There are 2 fasteners on each side. One has a flat face, the other has a threaded piece sticking out of it. You want to remove the flat faced bolt on each side.

At this point, the bumper is only being held in place by the friction clips just under the seam between the quarter panel and the bumper cover. Get some old towels or a blanket and lay that under the bumper so you can protect the paint on the bumper cover. Preferably with the help of a friend (granted, you can do it yourself), pull on the back top corner of the bumper cover and pull it straight out the side of the car. You may hear some popping, do not worry, it is just the clips letting go. Release one side, then the other. If doing it by yourself, release one side, push the cover forward like you were going to remove it and let it rest on the blanket/towels on the ground. Repeat for the other side so now the entire bumper cover is sitting on the ground.

At this point, you can probably slide the bumper cover forward some to access the washer reservoir. Just beware that there is still wiring connected and you can not push the bumper too far forward without adding some more slack to the wiring. Should be able to pull some wiring out of the clips holding it on to the bumper cover to give you the room you need. Worst case, you remove the lights from the side marker lights, unplug the fog lights and then remove the wiring harness off of the bumper cover. From there, you can move the bumper cover where ever you want.

You will have full access to the washer reservoir. From here you can figure out how you want to attack things.

Something that you might find helpful is removing the side marker light from the bumper cover. This will give you a view hole to see where your hand is going. Granted, if you have short arms, you may not be able to reach in and look through the hole at the same time. For you, you may find it easier to lay under the car with your eyes just beyond the edge of the bumper cover. That should allow you to look up and see the 2 fasteners I am talking about. Not a lot of room up there. So, once you get the bolt broken loose, I find it easiest to pull the socket off, put that on the bolt and then turn the socket. This gives you more leverage to spin the bolt out. Otherwise you are going 1/8 turns with the socket.

I wish you live closer to me. I would invite you over and we could get you done in no time. But, take your time, have a cold beer handy to keep your whistle wet and learn as you go. While it sounds challenging, once you do it, you will have no fear for the next job that you are told "remove the bumper cover".

 

I also had a leak from my washer bottle. I removed the front right wheel and wheel liner. (As Thermo said) and the bottle was right there. Turned out to be leaking from the rubber grommet where the hose went in. I just cleaned it off good and put some RV Silicone around it and left it dry overnight. The next day I filled up the bottle and there were no leaks. It hasn't leaked since and that was months ago.

 

Hi folks,
As one post said, remove the right front wheel and liner. You will have a perfect view and good access to the bottle. Mine was leaking where the 90 degree plastic elbows snap on to the pump. I removed both elbows and rerouted the hoses enough to push them right onto the pump itself. It's perfect now!
I love this forum, lots of good info and pics here.

 

I have a 2002 x type with a washer tank (top part 03 04 05 06 07 08 ) that has a tapered opening at the bottom. what connects there . Is there a diagram or pix of the system??

 

The 'reservoir' appears to have two container areas, the 'filler neck' and the lower reservoir tank. There is a rubber grommet between the two of them. Mine is leaking where the two come together. Is there an adjustment to add more pressure to the grommet so it doesn't leak? Anyone else had success stories on how to fix this?

 

clsimmon, odds are, your best bet will be to get a new o-ring to slide into the filler neck and go from there. There is no adjustment to make things tighter.

 

Thanks. For this o-ring repair, would you recommend pulling front bumper or wheel well liner to get to it?

 

To get to things, you are going to be pretty much forced to remove the bumper cover. The first time removing it is going to be a little challenging as you don't know where the 2 hidden nuts are. But, after doing it once, it will be a piece of cake later.

 

I've been trying to take off the wheel wall liner. But the screws on the inner part by the wheel has a clip/retainer. It doesn't allow the screw to be removed. It turns about a centimeter than doesn'tbudge

 

Is there something I'm doing wrong.

 

I've been trying to take off the wheel wall liner. But the screws on the inner part by the wheel has a clip/retainer. It doesn't allow the screw to be removed. It turns about a centimeter than doesn't budge. Is there something I'm doing wrong.