Leaking Windscreen Washer Water Bottle

[BlackShadow]

How easy is it to replace the windscreen washer bottle on a Audi S4 2.7? The bottle, or maybe one of the pipes from it, is leaking. I pour 4.5 litres in the top and approx 4.0 litres runs on to the road. The annoying warning sign keeps coming on, and this weather you need to use the washers frequently and they've got not a lot in them.

I'm not super gifted in the spannering department, so if its difficult, I'll take it to the Audi garage.

[wazza]

It has been spoken about before here. [img]images/graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]

[BlackShadow]

Many Thanks BiTurbo for guidance again. I'm quite impressed, this website is full of useful stuff.

[martian]

Same thing happened to me but the water p***ed out from underneath the bumper- they had to remove the bumper and parktronic just to reconnect the hose (apparently) [img]images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

[BlackShadow]

Yeah, I had the inner wing off last night. It is not leaking from anywhere near the bottle or any of the connecting pipes. It is p***ing out from under the bumper. The guy at my local independent Audi garage said the pump often leaks and needs replacing, which requires taking off the front bumper/air dam thing. I shall be giving the car to them to sort that out, and my malfunctioning external heat sensor reading.

The garage concerned is Audi Specialists in Burwell, Cambs (www.audi-specialists.co.uk). Anybody got any previous experience with servicing by them? Their hourly rate is less than official Audi dealers. Those chaps seems to charge a rather steeper rate. I phoned Bishop Stortford Audi, and I'm quite suprised that the guy managed not laugh when he announced that they charge 82 squid an hour [img]images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif[/img].

[Carps]

Another common fault that can cause the bottle to empty is the hose on the headlamp washers comes off. This is due to the very high pressure at which they operate. I believe this can be checked and rectified without removing the bumper, so it may be worth a look at that first...

[BlackShadow]

Any idea where to look in the front bumper or under the bonnet to find this hose on the headlamp washer?

[Dippy]

I'm quite impressed, this website is full of useful stuff.

Yeah, the active search mechanism (a.k.a. Biturbo) is particularly good [img]images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

I'd advise you to look on AudiWorld too. The forums are rather tedious (and purile) but there's some excellent technical info there. In particular (as I implied in that other thread), the washer bottle problem is as common as muck in the US so you might find some excellent guidance information on AW.

[wazza]

Yeah, the active search mechanism (a.k.a. Biturbo) is particularly good [img]images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Dave your fiver is in the post as we speak [img]images/graemlins/acclaim.gif[/img]

[martian]

I shall be giving the car to them to sort that out, and my malfunctioning external heat sensor reading.

I've had a little 'dispute' with my dealer over the heat sensor issue. I know it's been discussed in other threads but it would be really handy if you could give me a clue to your particular symptoms, diagnosis and remedy.
Cheers

[BlackShadow]

Ahh, bit of a late response here, but I did get the outside temperature sensor repaired under (independent) warranty. Basically the sensor had come loose. The dealer said it might have been cut off by the fan? Anyway, it was remounted and now it works normal. "Normal" on a S4 seems to mean that moving along the road, the outside temperature reading is fine, but stop in traffic for a while and the outside temperature reading will rise. I guess this is to be expected, given the heat being generated by the engine. If you've got a big RS6, I guess this would mean more engine heat.