Last week while wrestling with some vacuum lines under the hood, I noticed that the windshield washer bottle was empty. So I filled it to the brim. It promptly poured out the bottom of the car. Damn.
Two easy access bolts released the bottle. It had a massive crack on the outboard side, not the side exposed to the engine heat. Go figure. Some knucklehead before me had tried to patch the crack with tape. No way that was going to work. The crack was about 4 inches long and a 1/2 inch wide.
I'd heard that these bottles were difficult to find. But after an evening on ebay.com, caddydaddy.com and a few other sites I use for parts, I found not one.
Plan B. Stopped by Pepboys and picked up a fiberglass repair kit. The kit included the fiberglass cloth, resin, a stir stick and a plastic pan to mix the resin with some hardener. Easy enough.
Two layers of fiberglass later and I was VERY happy with the repair. The resin even cured to a color very similar to 44 year old washer bottle plastic. I filled the bottle and let it sit on the counter overnight. Unfortunately, it seemed to weep a bit, although I couldn't really tell from where.
Two more larger layers of fiberglass later and another overnight soak. Zero leakage.
Overall, a very easy repair. If the crack wasn't as large as it was, I don't think you'd be able to even see the patch. I'm very happy.
Now to clear the fumes from the house before she gets home.
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