How-To Stock Washer Bottle Relocation

Hello everybody!

Today I shall be sharing one of my endeavors that I experimented with while modding my car over the last 2 months.

Due to my change of a TMIC to a FMIC, I faced the challenge that many of us are confronted with in having to remove the stock washer bottle from its OEM location.



Sadly this becomes a sacrifice that a group of us must accept in a search for higher power.

In many cases there’s a swap to a smaller reservoir with a relocation to the opposing side of the bumper, but in my case(because I’m complicated/insane), I wanted to add another small pump for an intercooler/radiator sprayer.

Link for the washer pump kit I got for the sprayer here:


(Yes, the IC sprayer became a plan only because this kit has a red button in it. I like buttons to press for dumb things!)

Anyways! I decided I would find another location for my stock bottle. Because I’m a cheapskate... Thus I found a way to move it to its new home!



Ta-Da!!!

And I plan on explaining my steps for remaking this insane monster I’ve created!

Tools Needed:

Ratchet
14mm
10mm
Straight Pick
Flathead Screwdriver
Wire cutters/strippers
14 gauge wire
Butt connectors
Terminal connectors
Heat shrink
Electrical tape
Zip-ties
Spare bolts/Nuts/Locknuts
Washer tubing
Tubing connectors
Knife/Cutting tool of some sort
GRIT!!!

Optional:
Wire covering(the weird flex kind)
Plumbers tape
Possibly band-aids

———————————————————
Let’sa Go!

Step 1:

Remove your washer pump! Obvious. Assuming you’re implanting a FMIC, you’re gonna have to take it out anyways. Boo.

Note- I’d recommend plugging the fluid nipple(hur hur. Nipple), or letting it slowly drain into a collector. Inevitably the fluid will have to come out as it will make the install easier. If your tank is full, make sure you have 2, 1 gallon jugs. It holds quite a good chunk of fluid.

Step 2:

I think this step may vary depending on personal preference, but as for myself, I followed the connectors for the pump and snipped them both at the highest connection in the harness.

Sadly I don’t have a picture for this part, BUT make sure you cut the correct pig tails. There’s about 5 I think around there for the marker and fog lights, plus the horn, and the washer plugs. If you mess up, just splice the other wires back together. Best option is clip them before tank removal if you have doubts.

Step 3:

Reroute the washer line. This process can be a little tedious, but is very useful in the long run. This requires the removal of your windshield wipers, as well as the windshield cowl.

If I remember correctly, the wipers are held on by 14mm nuts which are accessible under the caps. Once the nuts are removed, apply a little elbow grease and the wipers come off(usually nice and easy).

The more annoying part is the cowl which is presented here:



Now, if I remember right, I believe that all of the red circles are simple clips. Relatively easy to remove, all you do is grab a pick and simply push the middle of the clip. A little pin will push down and release the clip. Remove the clip and just push the pin back up and it’s reset.

There is a clip in the middle under a block held on by the rubber seal. That little block is a pain in the keister. Just be patient with it and it should remove itself with some work.

Odds are you will also have to remove the seal at the top! It’s all clipped on with weird pokey thingies. Little bit of tugging around them and you should be fine. Just be careful not to rip any of the holes!

Once all the clips are removed(and possibly the 10mm bolts. I can’t remember if they’re actually holding the cowl down as well), pull the windshield side over the wipers while leading the cowl towards the front of the car. Should come off pretty easy, BUT BE WARNED!!! It is meant to be 2 pieces. Like a drum and thigh deal from KFC. Your washer hose will be holding on under the cowling for dear life! So just be easy when flipping it over.



Your tubing will run similar to this piece, same with a nipple on the end that connects to the hose running to the washer pump.

Now... simply tug the washer line on the edge of the cowling out of the fender so you have a loose hose hanging out. Once you’ve got that handled, work on reversing the line to output on the driver side instead of the passenger side. It won’t quite clip back, so find a way to stick it in place. I went with the age old zip-tie(obviously for the extra horsepower).

The last part of this section is to sneak your hose into your cab. My method was finding a small hole in the right side of the metal cowling. If you fish it just right, you can route it through this hole into an itty bitty crevice right above the wiring harness. There are other ways you might be able to run it, like creating a new hole and hitting the cab from there, just be careful with sharp corners as you don’t want to slice the rubber!

After deciding your route, run it and replace your cowl and wipers.

Note- Sorry this section is so long, there’s just a lot to do in this area. Plus the small description of removal. Be patient with everything here. If you do break any clips, I just replaced them with short bolts and nuts. They’re all through holes as far as the clips are concerned, so there are many ways to fix it back into place. You also don’t have to remove the screws in the pillars. Save yourself the headache.

Step 4:

Create a through hole in your firewall! This step is also annoying... Can be done in different ways, but I found utilizing the harness hole the easiest. I used a portion of a tapered elbow I broke while doing my OCC install. I found that it worked wonderfully for running my washer hose/electric wires without any binding.



Here’s a view from the driver side footwell. As you can see, the lines run nice and easy. The tube makes life easier!

Step 5:

Find the hot wires for your pig tails at the fuse harness. Some may choose to do this differently, but I shall explain my method here.

The two wires I had were both blue, but different accents. One was a blue white, the other was a blue orange.



Here I have the two wires cut already, but you can see more of where to find them and the color scheme. Make sure you get the solid blue white, not the blue white with the red dots! It’s a little annoying digging in the rats nest, but you’ll find the wires eventually I promise!

Once you locate the wires, simply clip as close to the bottom as possible like the picture above.

Step 6:

Destroy your interior! Partially...

By this, we’re gonna make it easier to start squeezing the wires through the car.

We’ll start with the easy target of the floor sills.



Driver side is presented here, but the rear passenger works the same. Pop a couple caps... clips. Couple clips.

*Cough* Next comes the rear seat. Easy couple of tugs around the bench and it slides forward. Be careful not to go too far!

After the seat has been removed you can maneuver the bolster to catch the little sucker holding the side in place.



This bugger! 14mm me thinks? Anyways, get it out! It will allow your seat side to move a little more freely and give you a direct line to the trunk!

Oh yeah... strip the trunk!

Step 7:

Strip that trunk! I want it empty! Nice and carpetless!

Simple mission.



POP DEM CLIPS!



Pop the ones on the rear!



Pop the ones at the end of the trunk!



Pop all the ones on the driver side!!!

Pop ‘em! With all the clips out, take out the driver side carpet and the floor of the trunk.

With the carpeting out, you will find the new resting place for your reservoir in the little pocket behind the rear wheel fender. Stack the reservoir in just so, and you’ll find it almost fits perfect!

Except...

Step 8:

Trim up the reservoir! It may take a little persuasion, but with proper “smoothing”, it’ll fit nice and neat. DON’T REMOVE THE WEIRD PLUG ON THE RESERVOIR!



At least for my case. I rotated the tank so the plug would face the driver side of the car. Then I drilled a hole(half inch maybe? Maybe a little bigger. Can’t quite remember. ) and it slid into a nice hugger to help keep it still.

Step 9:

Run the wires and hose! I ran on the safe side and just used 14 gauge wire because I didn’t want to play this game again. Haha. Find your easiest path! I went engine bay in, through the firewall, down the interior fuse box, into the floor sills(even under the terrible B-pillar), up the seat side with the other harness passing into the trunk, all the way to the pump. Luckily you only do this with 2 wires and the hose. You will definitely need more hose. 3/8 I think is the size, but grab some spare hose and however many extenders you may need.

Optional!- Cover all your wiring with a covering. I decided to try and keep things clean looking by using wire covering. It kept everything bundled together pretty well, and makes it look secret!

Step 10:

Do the splicing! I went with some butt connectors, covered in heat shrink, covered in electrical tape. Never wanted those connectors to come apart!

So! Match the wires to the proper pig tails. They are both blue so double check the accent colors!!!

This will provide your power and signal from your car to the pig tails you previously already had in the stock spot! But now it’s in a cool place.

To complete this step, check all your connections and your wiring route. Make sure you’re connectors are all sealed together and that everything is kept in place all nice and neat. Or not because most of it is gonna be covered anyways.

Step 11:

Connect the grounds. Just as it sounds, splice your grounds on your pig tails(and add some extension if needed), to a new ground in your currently naked trunk.

Step 12:

Mount the tank in its new home!

“Hello Honey! I’m home!!!” - Your washer reservoir

Find the best way to secure your tank in place. This means tighten it down for horizontal, vertical, lateral, parallel, gravitational, midichlorians, etc. types of forces.

The last thing you want is for your tank to explode fluid all over your trunk. Not a fun time. My solution was plumbers tape, bolts, locknuts, and zip-ties. Solid placement. Find whatever works for you!

Note- Be careful working with this in your trunk. If you, like me, decide to sit in your trunk to more easily run wires/mount your pump, be cautious of the wing nut holding the spare tire! IT WILL RIP YOUR PANTS RIGHT WHEN THE DELIVERY DRIVER PULLS UP WITH CHRISTMAS THINGS!

Step 13:

Depending on how you’ve mounted your tank, assess the carpet replacement. I kinda just went buck wild with the knife and sometimes that’s how it is.

Your side carpet does run on part of the trunk flooring. Your trunk flooring may have to tuck under your tank. Try and account for this as best as possible! Although my carpet isn’t terribly set, it definitely could have been better. Patience is the key thing!

———————————————————
All that’s left of this situation is to restore what you have removed. Almost like the purpose of this mission! Also plug in and refill your washer! Without these key things it won’t work! If done correctly you will have a working stock washer pump in your trunk!

So far I haven’t experienced any kind of drag while trying to use my pump. It is quite a push for the pump, but it seems to keep up pretty well.

I’m not sure if anyone will find this useful, or whether they’ll wish to attempt this, but I’m happy to share my knowledge/experiment outcome.

If anyone has any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! If anyone needs anymore specific pictures, I shall do my best to accommodate!

Thank you all for your time! Happy modding!

 

This might be something I tackle when I go FMIC! But it’s def a lot of work!! Great write up!!

 

Definitely takes a little time, but I figure with everything getting moved around and taken off for an FMIC, why not? Lol. Thank you! Let me know if you need any help if you give it a shot!

 

Nice work! Tossing a Metal Member extension your way.