SC430 - 2nd Gen (2001-2010)

leaking washer reservoir

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Old 09-22-19, 04:17 PM
  #16  
VVTiBob
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Hey POST #3000 for me. It’s coming up on my 10 year anniversary in December. With a couple of years off for health reasons.

The PDF in post #3 above has you covered for disassembly of the front end. Just a lot of clips and screws...then the big bumper cover. Sometime you can get away with just loosening it enough to get minimal access and sight all the components. And sometimes it easier from the underside after removing the under covers. But I’ve never had to deal with any issues with that end of the washer system. But I can tell fixing Nozzles on the hood aren’t any fun either.
have you asked a dealer for a repair estimate?

Last edited by VVTiBob; 09-22-19 at 04:21 PM.
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Old 09-22-19, 04:20 PM
  #17  
Raven01750
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Sounds to me like the hose running from the drivers side headlight washer to the passenger side headlight washer has come loose. Pull the bumper and the problem should be obvious as well as the fix.

Paul
Old 09-22-19, 08:19 PM
  #18  
GmanSC
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Originally Posted by Mazor1
Thank you for that. OK, so here is what I've learned today. I first filled up the windshield washer fluid tank with about 1.5 gallons of summer fluid and water. I put a huge sheet of cardboard under the entire front of the car, and after 3 hours, even after running the car in place for 10 minutes, Nothing. Not a drop seen underneath the car. So, I decided to go for a drive and see if
that made any difference, but sadly I didn't even make it out of the driveway.

At the end of my driveway I noticed a trail of wetness following the path of my car as I backed it out. So, I pulled forward back into the driveway and when I got out to investigate I noticed
a "pouring" (it was much more than a drip) of water coming from the Passenger side of the car, coming from the edge of the bumper. I must tell anyone reading this that my car was parked
and the 1.5 gallons of fluid were added in a spot on my driveway where the car was tilted slightly to the drivers side of the car. But now the car is on essentially flat ground and it looks like
a river of fluid has now dripped out. I aborted the drive, no need to do that any more, but surprisingly the "check windshield fluid dash light" has not yet come on.

So to all you knowledgeable fellow owners of this great car..... Obviously I have a leak, probably something at the very bottom of the reservoir itself. But why do you think, or better yet how
do you think more than a gallon of liquid managed to leak out without a single drop showing itself before I actually moved the car? And finally, most importantly, has anyone else here on the Forum taken the steps to remove all the parts that need to be removed in order to access this stupid plastic tank so that it can be replaced or repaired?

My wife had a great idea, she suggested that I just carry a can of Invisible Glass with me in the trunk and then whenever I need to clean the windshield just use that first. Great idea, don't you think? I mean, who really wants to disassemble the entire front end of the car just to be able to spritz a little bit of water on the windshield from time to time? All ideas and thoughts welcome.
Easy fix. You have a leak at the end of the headlight washer. Just re-clamp the hose to the tube.
Old 09-23-19, 12:05 PM
  #19  
Raven01750
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Originally Posted by VVTiBob
Hey POST #3000 for me. It’s coming up on my 10 year anniversary in December. With a couple of years off for health reasons.

The PDF in post #3 above has you covered for disassembly of the front end. Just a lot of clips and screws...then the big bumper cover. Sometime you can get away with just loosening it enough to get minimal access and sight all the components. And sometimes it easier from the underside after removing the under covers. But I’ve never had to deal with any issues with that end of the washer system. But I can tell fixing Nozzles on the hood aren’t any fun either.
have you asked a dealer for a repair estimate?
Bob, Congratulations on 3000 Post here at Club Lexus. I wish I would have known about this forum a long time ago. But you and all of the other moderators have helped make this place a wealth of information for our cars as well as a fun place to come to and talk about our cars. Thanks.

Paul
Old 09-23-19, 01:54 PM
  #20  
Mazor1
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Originally Posted by GmanSC
Easy fix. You have a leak at the end of the headlight washer. Just re-clamp the hose to the tube.
Thank you GmanSC... I think that I agree with your assessment 100%. Now I just have to find the time to remove the grill, then the bumper cover in order to get to the hose running
between the two headlight cleaners. There doesn't seem to be any other reason that all of the fluid would be dripping from that side of the car. I'm really not looking forward to doing
this myself. I have a friend in the body shop business and maybe its worth an hour or so of his time to let him take the front end apart and locate and fix the source of the leak. Ugh!
Old 09-23-19, 02:26 PM
  #21  
Raven01750
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Originally Posted by Mazor1
Thank you GmanSC... I think that I agree with your assessment 100%. Now I just have to find the time to remove the grill, then the bumper cover in order to get to the hose running
between the two headlight cleaners. There doesn't seem to be any other reason that all of the fluid would be dripping from that side of the car. I'm really not looking forward to doing
this myself. I have a friend in the body shop business and maybe its worth an hour or so of his time to let him take the front end apart and locate and fix the source of the leak. Ugh!
Hey Mazor1. You don't have to remove the grill. It's part of the bumper cover. Just know that the bumper is kind of weighty and awkward. When you do remove it, the Headlight Washers are attached by a single hose on the drivers side to the tank with a finger compression clamp that needs to be disconnected to fully remove the bumper. At that point, when you set it down, due to the weight distribution, it wants to roll face down on the grill so make sure you have something to protect the bumper from scratches when you set it down. At that point you will see the headlight washers attached to the bumper and the hose running across the bottom.

The first time removing the bumper cover is the most intimidating. After that you realize that its not all that. One screw at each wheel well that keeps it snug, four or five plastic push type pins on the top and the screws on the bottom connected to the front Engine Undercover I believe. 10mm Socket and a plastic panel tool is about all you need.

Paul
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