DIY: P2 S60, V70 2.5T Washer Fluid Reservoir and Washer Pump Info"

StickyPocket · Post by **StickyPocket** » 21 Oct 2019, 09:42

Hi all,

Tried to replace some windshield washer fluid, got a big puddle on the floor of the garage. Took it in for some unrelated work and asked for them to check out the reservoir. I need to replace it - the leak is coming from near the top of the bottle. Pretty sure this is the part:
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... 0-30655661

Everywhere I look it says it doesn't include the high pressure headlight washer. My car has headlight washers - is this part fine or is there some kind of reservoir that has the headlight portion I need (I assume that i'm just keeping an old headlight washer part and putting in the part from the link).

Post by **SuperHerman** » 21 Oct 2019, 22:30

You can try to repair your bottle by either heat welding the crack with a soldering iron or using some Permatex Black Plastic Welder - better would be to do both. Just clean the area well - solder the crack and then go over it with the Permatex.

The bottle is what is leaking - that is all that you need to replace. You will be moving all the other parts over from the original.

Post by **cn90** » 21 Oct 2019, 22:39

As much as I fix a lot of stuff myself...

This part is critical (imagine you lose all the juice when it is dirty in the winter and you need to see?).
Any fix is a temp fix once the reservoir cracks.

Best is to verify what you have in the car first, then buy that reservoir.
Get the Volvo Genuine tank as shown in the link.
Also, make sure the juice is rated for winter. The reason the tank cracks is that people put "summer juice" and it freezes in the winter, causing cracks.

For $50, it is not expensive at all.
You will never replace the reservoir again.
Might want to install a new Denso washer pump.

PS: re loss of juice: I de-commission the HL washer system by squeezing the hose feeding the HL washer system and d/c the electrical connector, so the mini wipers do not operate.
This way you save a lot of juice.

The P80 cars did NOT come with HL washer system.
I personally dislike the HL washer system in Volvo and BMW b/c it wastes a lot of juice for a marginal benefit.
Whenever the HL glass is dirty, I stop the car at gas station and clean it manually.

Post by **cn90** » 21 Oct 2019, 22:46

Most of the work is in the bumper removal.
Search youtube for bumper removal (sometimes it is part of HL assembly replacement youtube video).

Below is a good video on reservoir...

StickyPocket · Post by **StickyPocket** » 22 Oct 2019, 08:28

Thanks for the info, all. I'm thinking someone must have backed into the front right bumper at some point leading to the crack. It also seems to be near the top of the reservoir, as it still holds a good amount of fluid. May just fill it to the crack and see how that goes, unless it gets worse. I'm now thinking it's been like this for a while and i just never noticed it leaking on the street (have a garage now).

Post by **SuperHerman** » 22 Oct 2019, 09:42

If you can see the crack and have enough space to clean the area up, I would try repairing the crack first. It is a 14 year old NY car and taking parts off causes more issues in broken tabs, bolts ...

Try to grind, sand or carve a channel along the crack so that you can get a good amount of material to join and fill, keep the washer fluid level below your work area, and then fill it with your repair glue of choice.

If you have some JB Weld Epoxy that will work. If you shop for a plastic welder, make sure it works with the type of plastic the washer bottle is made of as some products don't work on some plastics. Some welders say they are good for all plastics. You are looking for a product that will bond to the plastic and fill the crack - not specifically a glue that bonds two pieces together (like super glue a plastic glue).

EngineeringBloke · Post by **EngineeringBloke** » 31 Oct 2019, 14:28

I saw I was low in washer fluid, topped it up and saw a huge puddle quickly form. My headlight washer pump had rusted and failed. My mechanic just clamped the hose to that pump and removed the pump.

I plan to put in a new pump at some point but have not really missed it.

Post by **MoVolvos** » 31 Oct 2019, 16:22

EngineeringBloke wrote: ↑31 Oct 2019, 14:28 I saw I was low in washer fluid, topped it up and saw a huge puddle quickly form. My headlight washer pump had rusted and failed. My mechanic just clamped the hose to that pump and removed the pump.

I plan to put in a new pump at some point but have not really missed it.

I left the cooling system overflow reservoir / tank on my 03 Odyssey sitting in the engine bay detached from the bracket. Forgot about it, started the engine and the power-steering pulley rubbed a slit in it. Not wanting to put any money into a Van that I keep thinking would die any day, that was 3 years ago, I tried using the hot glue gun. Actually worked for awhile but started leaking again. The second time around I sanded the surrounding area and used 99% alcohol to be sure it was clean and dry before gluing again.

The $54 eBay radiator lasted over a year so no warranty but the tank is still holding coolant 3 years on. Give it try as the windshield washer fluid tank is neither hot nor under pressure. Do this indoors so the glue gun is nice and hot. Clean and sand and clean again. The hot glue should melt some of the sanding marks to create a good mechanical bond with the hot glue. Just don't apply the glue till it is very hot.

Post by **justanotherhumanoid** » 02 Nov 2019, 20:26

Just something to check - I had a similar problem where I'd get a puddle on the ground only when I filled the reservoir up to the top. I went to the trouble of pulling a junkyard tank, testing it and checking for cracks, and installing it, only to find I still had a leak when I topped off the reservoir!

It turned out the leak was from the front right headlamp washer hose, which, when the tank is filled, had enough fluid/pressure from gravity to leak at a small crack and flow back along the outside of the hose to the bottom of the reservoir, making it appear that the tank was leaking. I left it installed, cut the cracked hose end off and reattached it to the headlamp washer and all is well.

But point is you might want to check those hoses and the source of the leak a little more closely before you dive in and replace the reservoir tank like I did - might save you some trouble.

Post by **chrism** » 02 Nov 2019, 21:46

I’ve had two different W/W reservoir leaks. One was the rubber grommet where the filler neck is inserted into the top of the tank - only leaked if I filled the reservoir up into the neck. The other was the seam where the upper and lower halves of the tank are bonded together. It turns out that the deer I hit on Christmas night did more damage than the broken grill and headlight as I had initially thought. Had to pull the bumper skin loose to replace it with a junk yard tank.