94 Q45: Any shortcuts to replacing the windshield washer tank?

[myf16]

My windshield washer pump broke. Then I broke its bracket trying to remove it. I bought a junkyard replacement tank assembly.

I have the service manual describing full removal of the front bumper. The last step is to remove the windshield washer tank.

Are there any steps I can omit, since I only want to replace the washer tank and I don't care whether or not the bumper comes all the way off?

[lexcrob]

I cant answer that question but i've take off hundreds of bumper "covers" its simple. Just knock it out just clips and 10mm bolts im sure.

[elwesso]

For some reason I think you might be able to access it mostly by taking off the passenger side fender liner and/or the passenger side headlight. It sits pretty much up underneath the headlight. The bumper isn't too terrible to remove but like anything this old you have to plan on breaking all the fasteners and clips and replacing with new, so I'm with you, if there's a way to avoid it I would..

[Q451990]

Wes is right, I have been able to access mine with the headlight and lower covers off. And one in a junk yard, although I was just going for the electrical connector, so I wasn't really gentle with that one.

[myf16]

For some reason I think you might be able to access it mostly by taking off the passenger side fender liner and/or the passenger side headlight. It sits pretty much up underneath the headlight. The bumper isn't too terrible to remove but like anything this old you have to plan on breaking all the fasteners and clips and replacing with new, so I'm with you, if there's a way to avoid it I would..

I finally tackled this job today. I followed your advice and removed the screws holding the front bottom of the fender liner. I bent it down for access. I removed the fog light. I removed the headlight. I unscrewed the 4 bolts holding the tank assembly. Then the fun began.

This thing almost fits through the gap under the headlight. Almost. Soooooo close...

I removed the horn to give space for the filler end to move down and toward the driver's side. But the tank still wouldn't fit through the gap.

Finally i used slip joint pliers to bend the sheet metal which separates the headlight from the turn signal light. I needed to rotate the lateral tab 90 degrees toward the front, then bend the bottom of the fore and aft section 1 cm to the side, opening the gap by 1 cm. That was just enough to extract the tank while tilting the filler neck down. It's nice to have an old car so you don't feel guilty taking shortcuts like this!

Inserting the replacement tank was equally tricky. Bending the sheet metal back was fast and easy. I took the opportunity to glue some cracked plastic brackets on the lights. I needed more glue to seal the filler neck on the replacement tank. Even if that glue doesn't seal the leak the tank will hold water up to the filler pipe, which should be plenty.

I also needed to poke a solid wire down each outlet nozzle to clear out the accumulated crud. A needle alone was not long enough.

Total elapsed time was about 2 hours, but I'm slow. I could do it in 35 minutes with what I know now.

It's nice to have working windshield washers. Thanks so much Wes! I've had that replacement tank in my garage for several years, and I wouldn't have had the courage to try this without your post.

[myf16]

Remounting the lights this morning I discovered that the headlight assembly contains a bubble level for quick and accurate adjustment of the aiming height. Wow. I've never seen that on any car before.