My mom just gave me a call and she wants me to fix her 740 wagon. When she fills up the tank with washer fluid, it leaks out somehow, but only if she fills it up a lot (she's not overfilling it though). I'm afraid that there is a hole in her reservoir, so I was wondering if anybody knows:

1. Is there some sort of compound that you can pour into the reservoir that will fill up a hole and do it easily and also well?

2. If not, as I suspect there isn't, is it difficult to take out the reservoir and replace it with another one or patch it when it is out of the car? Does anybody have experience taking these out? Could you tell me your advice? I only know my 82 242 and I'm not that great at mechanics yet anyway but I'll try anything.
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Light blue 1982 242 DL with 202,000 miles

While the lower screw-on cap may be loose, it may also be cracked (I've lost two this way, the result of cheap plastic.) You may need a new cap.

It's a lame design - just begging to cause headaches. Mine's either loose, cracked, or just won't seal because of ??? gasket????? Whatever, I've just been filling it to the "shoulder" (more often than I'd like too of course.)

The leak could be due to the fact that the filler neck has separated from the top of the reservoir. Just push the tube back in to fix. If not, here are some other thoughts....

1) Dont add anything to try and fix the leak, any Sh*t you put in will gum up the system and leaves a mess.

2) to remove the Reservoir, you need to remove the air box to get at the winshield washer - definitely not a tough job. If you find that there is a crack in the tub try to caulk it with some silicone first since you might end up with a quality free repair this way.

Hope this helps,

Tim.

you have to remove your airbox. that's really not too difficult of a job, especially if you have the easily removable airbox. i was not so fortunate with my airbox. mine has these annoying little "only goes in, does not come out" rubber mounts so i ended up ripping one apart by mistake. the other one is still fine. once the airbox is out, it's clear sailing from then on to remove the reservoir.
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Kenric Tam
1990 Volvo 740 base sedan (B230F)
My Volvo 'Project'

Hear that Invar!!!

Those dumb a$$ nipples are a real pain but it is possible to get the box in & out. It some takes patience and may ruin your day though!!

Tim

Thanks a lot gents, I read the first two pieces of advice- crazy brick and invar- and I fixed it in 5 minutes. Turns out the mechanics at the garage hadn't tightened the cap on the lower part of the reservoir. In case I just messed something up, let me know, but I just tightened it (after taking out the airbox with ease).

Again, thanks a lot for your help guys!
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Light blue 1982 242 DL with 202,000 miles