How to clean out the water bottle ?

Post by **CitroJim** » 05 May 2011, 08:45

mongoose100 wrote:How hard is it to remove washer bottle? Mine loves to leak out if above 1/4 full

It's an interesting job Regan...

The front bumper has to come off and then it's held by two nuts under the wing.

It's a good idea to drain it first by easing out the pump along with it's pipes.

Then drop it down, being aware that if the car has headlingt washers then there'll be a few electrical plugs to disconnect.

mongoose100 · Post by **mongoose100** » 05 May 2011, 09:30

Oh. Excellent news

Might just find a way of slapping some kind of sealant around it while in place

VertVega · Post by **VertVega** » 05 May 2011, 09:49

CitroJim wrote:
mongoose100 wrote:How hard is it to remove washer bottle? Mine loves to leak out if above 1/4 full
It's an interesting job Regan...

The front bumper has to come off and then it's held by two nuts under the wing.
...

I have removed mine without front bumper removal

- Remove front right wheel
- Remove corner piece of plastic cover (3 screws)
- Remove front right headlight (3 Torx screws)

From headlight gap disconnect/connect jobs of,
- top hose and breather hose
- headlamp washer motor connector

Upper (and bigger) motor for headlight jets,
Lower motor for windscreen and tailgate washers
Also water level sensor is seen in above pic.

Ozzie Kuma · Post by **Ozzie Kuma** » 05 May 2011, 10:47

that is what I needed to know,..how to get the bottle off.

Too late, I had to lateral think,.. it turned out that I had about 1lt of green/grey "growth" in the tank, almost like moss.!

Couldn't see, just smelt it & in all the attempts to hose clean the bottle had broken it down a little so little bits came out from the main hose which connects to the bonnet.

In frustration I drained the tank as much as possible & got out the wet & dry vacum cleaner, fashioned a thin enough hose to go down the inlet point & sucked out the most disgusting stuff I have ever seen to come out of a car.

Oh how this car has been ignored.

Several rince throughs with baby bottle cleaner was next & presto !

Thanks all.

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 05 May 2011, 11:51

On the subject of bleach, Waitrose do their own brand in a yellow bottle with a red cap, 99p, and that stuff is bloody amazing!

No need to scrub the toilet bowl, just squirt it around the rim.
Our downstairs loo's sink had been neglected by the owners, so the plug hole was black. Splashed some of the bleach down there and it's good as new.

mongoose100 · Post by **mongoose100** » 05 May 2011, 11:54

Interesting with the level sensor, I wonder if this is where mine is leaking from - assuming it'll have a bung in place instead

Pulled dash out to look for the so called washer level light a few months back, seems our spec cars have a CAT CONVERTOR warning lamp in place of the level light (Top left).

Can someone confirm this please?

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 05 May 2011, 12:14

Cars without headlamp washers have a smaller bottle so no bung.
Trying to wrack my brains, but I seem to recall that the smaller bottle has a air lock pipe, which normally gets pinched (hence why you still get air locks filling it up), and may have come off of yours allowing the fluid out.

AlanNurse · Post by **AlanNurse** » 10 May 2011, 13:30

I too have smelly washers on my XM, ideally it would be best to remove and thoroughly wash out the reservoir, but what I do (similar to Jim's post) is to dissolve a (baby's) sterilising tablet (cheaper than Milton if you use Boots own brand) in top up water before topping up the reservoir-works a treat! The smeell does come back but if you can't be bothered to take off the bits...

Alan.

MikeT · Post by **MikeT** » 10 May 2011, 14:03

A tip I picked up;- To stop the smell occuring in the first place, dilute the screenwash as little as possible. I chose ones that can be used neat.