Jump to content
Click here if you are having website access problems ×

Washer bottle in the boot?


Black Sheep

Recommended Posts

Hi,

My first post on here. My Caterham 360R kit arrived this week and I'm cracking on with the build, but I'm stuck with what to do with the washer bottle.

The manual, and every blog, says it goes in front of the passenger foot box, but on my kit the washer cable and washer pipe are very neatly fastened all the way from the scuttle to the boot. It pops out by the fuel pipe.

There is also nothing to fasten the bottle to on the LHS at the front of the car. I'm stumped.

Has Caterham suddenly decided to put the washer bottle in the boot? Seems an odd idea.

I've pinged Derek, but he's off for the weekend and my plan had been to pop the engine in tomorrow.

Cheers

Stephen 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is the wiring for the washer bottle pump also in the boot?  That may be a clue to a change in location.

The wiring is normally in the lower engine bay LH side. The connectors are pretty clear as they don't match with anything other than the washer pump,  The bottle mounting bracket should be pre fitted at the factory to front of the passenger foot box (low down) and bolted to the foot box skin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has Caterham suddenly decided to put the washer bottle in the boot? Seems an odd idea.

They may well have done, although I'm not aware of the change.

Mind you, the boot would be logical, given that the usual mount on the front panel of the pax footwell often led to pulled rivets and torn ali.  That's what happened to me.  The first time, I simply bolted the bracket through the footwell panel, but when the panel eventually split, I went for something more robust:

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp140/trog65/Washer%20bottle/Aluminium%20reinforcing%20plates_1_zpsmwhczg3w.jpg

The plates are 130x100x4mm, and they fit one each side of the footwell panel.  I painted them with Hammerite Satin Black to match.

JV

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the replies

Jim, I've attached a couple of pics, which show the pipe and the wiring in the boot. The pipe is well fitted all the way to the outlet on the scuttle.There's nothing near the footwell and nothing in the boxes to fit on the LHS.

Anyway, going to press on with the engine, even if it means some contortion to fit the water bottle later

If I'm making some fundamental new builder error, someone please shout!

Cheers

Stephen

 IMG_0488.JPG.ef45a1f44df328681db27ac739ce43aa.JPG

 IMG_0489.JPG.49fc8eacdc74bcff2e9c54c47550f2a3.JPGIMG_0492.JPG.ff32d6ef323f0db80e3fb4471deef464.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems to be a sensible change to me. In a S3 chassis with a Duratec, there is so little space, just filling the water bottle is nigh on impossible with it mounted in the engine bay. Another bonus would be a slight improvement in weight balance front to rear ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To add some detail to my earlier post , the cover to the petrol filler pipe now has a hole in it down near the carpet , put the rubber gromet through that and pass the plastic pipe through it , this then fits on to the bottom of the bottle . The wire for the in bottle pump passes through the same grommet .

Make sure you dont pinch or squash the plastic pipe when you fit the filler pipe cover in place . 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

CraigyB,

A lot easier is to reposition your washer bottle the scuttle rather than the boot ! On your car I did this when I had the change to RBTB's and used existing holes.  No extra pipe or wire .

​If you want a photo of mine I can send you one 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

John,

I used one of the encapsulated nuts and the bracket has elongated slots so the water bottle sits on the shelf where the airbox used to be , and the scuttle is not weight bearing .

I have seen others fitted to the heater box where my battery is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The boot mounted washer bottle is much smaller than those in the photos above . less likely to pull out the fixings when fixed to aluminium panels 

In reality how much water do you need to carry around in a Caterham ?  , they dont generally get driven that much when the weathers really bad and in reality the wipers are so poor as to make effective windscreen washing a bit of hit and miss affair .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...