Upgrade to 5.5 litre washer fluid tank ?

fitzski

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2004
Location
Ottawa
TDI
Uh... hmm... Well, none...
david_594 said:
Since this is complain about the amazing mods week.... I must say I have 1 major gripe with the 5.5L washer tank.

So the low washer fluid light comes on and I buy my 1 gallon jug and fill it up. There is still a ton of room of room in the top of the washer tank for more fluid. I feel bad that I am not filling it all the way. It could easily take close to another liter.
Oh, come on now! That's just being petty! ;)
 
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tongsli

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 31, 2000
Location
Baltimore, MD
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI, 2004, Jetta Wagon TDI PD
Finished installing the 5.5L tank into my wife's 2004 PD. I removed the upper intercooler hose and the hex-head bolt holding down the PS resevoir.

Since I was changing the fuel filter at the same time, I removed that bracket for good measure.

Didn't remove the headlight but just took out the top two screws so that there was some flex in the headlight.

Worked like a charm. On the newer PD's you have to remove a plastic wire guide which will be in the way if you leave it in place.

Otherwise, perfect fit and just in time for winter! Very good upgrade.

Lito
 

Gothmolly

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Joined
Feb 3, 2005
Location
Providence, RI
TDI
2002 Golf
I'm trying to add this to my 02 Golf as we speak (damn, should be at the CT GTG for this) and the hole in the 5.5 tank for the washer fluid pump is too large for the grommet on the OEM tank. Was this obvious and people just got a new grommet, or did I get a bum tank? The pix at tdiparts.com and Impex (where I got it) look just like the one I have, so I'm wondering how people got around this.

Any ideas (car currently in pieces)?
 

david_594

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 28, 2004
Location
Cheshire, CT
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2000 Jetta GLS Silver
You sure you got the right hole? THe pump goes in the hole in back from what I remember and the plug goes in the hole in the front.
 

Gothmolly

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Joined
Feb 3, 2005
Location
Providence, RI
TDI
2002 Golf
Wow, just call me a dumba$$. There's the hole I was looking for.

Of course, out of context, this post and your reply to my original sound really, really bad. Where's Zippy when you need her. I have a new sig now.
 
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GCMarx

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Joined
Aug 13, 2004
Location
Slumerville, Taxachusetts
TDI
Shoes, the bus, the T
I did this on my PD yesterday. There's a plastic thing to which a lot of the wiring stuff is taped. Removing that makes the mod a lot easier...as does removing the front bumper and right headlight. I'll have a picture of the plastic thing soon.
 

fitzski

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Joined
Oct 13, 2004
Location
Ottawa
TDI
Uh... hmm... Well, none...
It's all in the directions:

fitzski said:
16. Remove the wiring harness clipped more or less below where the tank sits (pull straight up) - there is a vertical moulded piece of plastic that must be cut off. Remove the electrical tape and make it such that the harness will lie flat; make sure there are no sharp edges. Reinstall.
 

tongsli

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 31, 2000
Location
Baltimore, MD
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI, 2004, Jetta Wagon TDI PD
No bumper removal for me

fitzski said:
Fitzski,

On my wife's PD, no front bumper removal was necessary. All I did was loosen the the headlamp by removing the top two bolt/screws and it flexed enough to get the upper intercooler pipe out.

Very easy, much less work.

Lito
 

fitzski

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Joined
Oct 13, 2004
Location
Ottawa
TDI
Uh... hmm... Well, none...
Thanks Lito; I'll update my post with a note to that effect. Others have commented as well, but I wasn't sure if it mattered if you were working on a PD or a non-PD - seems it's not required for either. Maybe it's still a necessary step on the Golf, though (PD or non-PD).
 
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Nothern_Sky

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Joined
Nov 25, 2004
Location
Monterrey, NL, MEXICO
TDI
Jetta A3 97, Jetta A4 2001, Jetta A5 2006, Jetta A4 2010
My toughts

Well, yesterday I installed the OEM Headlight Washers and my toughts on the 5.5L tank installations are these:

Remove de Upper Intercooler line, BUT only loose the line that goes to the IC, no need to remove the complete line.
Loose the cooler reservior.
Remove the brackets that hold the Fuel Filter.
I removed the Headlight cause I need it for install the Headlight Washer Kit, but no need to remove that one.
There are some wiring under the old tank, need to route it outside.

You may need 2 hands for complete the job, but other than that is EASY;)

If you want to test the Headlight Washer (not yet doing the OEM wiring or the Hella), run the 2 cables near the battery, connect pin 1 to Ground and Pin 2 to 12V+, you will see some action :D

Some pics of the installation:






Gus.
 
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GCMarx

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Aug 13, 2004
Location
Slumerville, Taxachusetts
TDI
Shoes, the bus, the T
I'm a big proponent of dropping the bumper and taking out the headlight. It's not necessary, but knowing what I know now, I could do the install in about 45 minutes to an hour with no stress whatsoever.
 

ARBY

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Joined
Feb 10, 2004
Location
Royal Oak, MI
TDI
2011 Golf Sportwagen - really want a F-150.
I really want to do this mod, but have one question: how close does the larger tank come to the elbow of the upper intercooler hose? I have both my boost guage and boost valve tapped at this point; both come off at a 90 degree elbow. I don't want the larger tank coming into contact with these two fittings.
 

fitzski

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2004
Location
Ottawa
TDI
Uh... hmm... Well, none...
ARBY, does this pic help?


Basically, all the extra capacity of the tank is in the wheel well.
 

tongsli

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 31, 2000
Location
Baltimore, MD
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI, 2004, Jetta Wagon TDI PD
Fitzski is right,

No interference towards the engine. All the expansion is outward into the wheel well.

It should NOT be a problem. Again, great, great modification.

Lito
 

ARBY

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2004
Location
Royal Oak, MI
TDI
2011 Golf Sportwagen - really want a F-150.
Yeah, it doesn't look like it will interfere. I'll go ahead and order one later today. Thanks!
 

mtltdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2003
Location
Canada
TDI
2003 Golf GLS, Indigo Blue
Be careful when slipping the intercooler hose back in, I almost wore a hole in my new washer tank as the plastic is soft and my boostvalve is tapped in that area.
 

HeAvYfUeL

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Joined
Oct 7, 2005
Location
Gatineau,CAN
TDI
2009, Golf Variant, DSG
Installed the tank yesterday. It was real easy.
Only eased back the bumper a bit to remove the headlight. After that.
Piece of cake.:D
 

scurvy

Good Ol' Boy
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
Chicago IL USA
TDI
2006 Golf
Got my 5.5 liter tank installed in the Golf today. I wouldn't exactly describe it as "real easy" but it wasn't difficult. Didn't need to remove the bumper cover or loosen the headlight at all. Taking the c-clip off the boost hose to the intercooler was the most difficult part... wound up looking at the clip for about 10 minutes with a mirror before figuring out where to stick a flathead screwdriver to pop it off, then it was easy peasy.

All in all took about 1.5 hours total start to finish, with at least 30 minutes necessary to put the car up on ramps and drop part of the Dieselgeek skid plate to retrieve the flathead screwdriver. :D Rerouting the wires was easy - I left out the vertical plastic part and just routed everything around the tank once it was in.

When all was said and done I poured in almost 1.5 gallons of Prestone bug cutter washer fluid... light green with a refreshing citrus scent. Looking forward to being able to dump in an entire gallon once the low light dings on!

scurvy
 

unL33T

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Jan 23, 2006
Location
Eden Mills, ON, Canada
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'01 Jetta GLS TDI
For headlight sprayers couldn't you just pick up a generic washer sprayer kit from an automotive parts store and connect it to your tank?

They go for under $50 I think.

Although last time I had the bumper cover off I did notice that the bar under the bumper cover (I guess this would be the actual bumper) doesn't have any gaps in it that would make mounting a sprayer on top of the bumper (aimed at the headlights) very easy.

I want to add these since last winter my headlights got so dirty that the dirt trapped light and heated up causing the plastic front to melt slightly.
 

weasel

Deactivated Member Account
Joined
Sep 12, 2000
TDI
None.
You ca get a washer kit like that at Princess Auto. ~$20 I think ...
 

unL33T

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Eden Mills, ON, Canada
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'01 Jetta GLS TDI
I thought so but since I'm on dialup I don't have time to download the catalog. I think I got a flyer in the mail the other day though and saw it on there. Perhaps I'll have to pick it up.

Damn, I have so many mods on the go and I never finish any of them.
 

unL33T

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Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Location
Eden Mills, ON, Canada
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'01 Jetta GLS TDI
Has anyone that ordered the 5.3L tank installed it yet? I just want to verify that it fits before I order one.

I see no point in getting the 5.5L tank when the fluid is sold in 4L jugs here.
 

DPM

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Mar 16, 2001
Location
Newtownards, N. Ireland
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2019 Rav4 AWD Hybrid, Citroen C4 BlueHDI
Headlamp sprayers are WAAY more powerful than windscreen ones tho. You won't blast many bugs off with a normal washer spray...
 

unL33T

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Jan 23, 2006
Location
Eden Mills, ON, Canada
TDI
'01 Jetta GLS TDI
Oh ic. I don't really want to blast bugs off so much as just spray a little snow/salt/dirt off in the winter. It might take care of a few bugs and some dust in the summer.
 

s1iver

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Sep 30, 2009
Location
Canada
TDI
2000 GTI GLX VR6
Just an FYI to any new people wanting to do this, I got the 5.3L tank, and while I do have a VR6, it was still a pain in the ass to install, had to remove the bumper, headlight and disconnect the secondary radiator to move the hoses around.

The biggest PITA is the PS hoses and the belt tensioner, but once it slides in there properly, the hoses slide into the side of the reservoir and fits in perfectly.

Had one issue, where i couldn't disconnect the washer pump from the hoses, so i left the washer pump hooked up and just stuck the grommet into the proper spot and slid the pump in when i was done, well i tested and had washer fluid spill out... looked and the grommet got pushed into the tank from the pump, luckily it was easy to retrieve and fix up.

Can't wait to test it out on the horrible fall/springs we get and no more stupid bottles bouncing around in the back from the 3L tank!!
 

ocshaman

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Joined
Nov 13, 2006
Location
Frankfort, Kentucky
TDI
none
I'm sorry to necropost here, but this seemed like the best place to post my questions.

What size (inch or mm) are the holes in the tank for pump and low level sensor?

Is the electrical connector for the windshield washer pump the same as the one for the headlight washer pump?

I contacted world impex, but the info they sent me didn't get me anywhere.
 
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tongsli

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 31, 2000
Location
Baltimore, MD
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI, 2004, Jetta Wagon TDI PD
I'm sorry to necropost here, but this seemed like the best place to post my questions.

What size are the holes in the tank for pump and low level sensor?

Is the connector for the windshield washer pump the same as the one for the headlight washer pump?

I contacted world impex, but the info they sent me didn't get me anywhere.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=352387&postcount=36

Headlight pump hole is larger than the windshield washer hole. Keep in mind, it's probably the MIDDLE of the rubber grommet that is different IIRC.

The answer back from 2002
 

tongsli

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 31, 2000
Location
Baltimore, MD
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI, 2004, Jetta Wagon TDI PD
OK, here is some more information to add to the general body of knowledge about this upgrade.

First, as I said earlier, this 5.5 liter tank does fit into the standard North American TDI without any problems. I saw a 2002 Golf TDI with the same smaller (North American spec) engine in the showroom of my dealer in Konstanz, Germany last week, and it had the 5.5 liter tank in it.

Below are photos of the tank, front and back sides, and also of the second, larger pump that is used to supply pressurized fluid to the headlight washer assemblies. The second pump fits into the front of the tank assembly. The existing pump that is supplied with the North American cars (windshield pump) fits into the rear of the tank, using the existing pump, wiring, and sealing ring.

There are three holes on the tank, one each for each of the two pumps (front and back) and one on the front of the tank for the fluid low level sensor.

I won't have time to install this tank into my 2002 Golf TDI for about 4 weeks, due to a busy work schedule, but when I do install it, I'll take the usual photos and post them here.

The prices indicated on the photos are in Euros, they are the net list price that I paid at the dealer in Konstanz in February 2002. Note that the sales taxes (about 20%) are not included, and note also that if the parts are purchased in a different country (e.g. the UK), the prices may be higher.

For those of you who do not plan to retrofit the headlight washers, my guess is that you could just purchase the sealing ring for the front pump (costs about a dollar) then install a stainless steel bolt and nut in it, to plug the hole. Be aware that the sealing ring for the hole on the front of the tank is a different size and different part number than the sealing ring for the hole on the back. I don't think that the front side sealing ring is available from VW parts departments in North America, but I have not checked this.

Front view of 5.5 Liter Tank and Front Side pump assembly (headlight washer pump)


Rear View of 5.5 Litre Tank


Second (front side) pump used to supply headlight washer system
ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR: IIRC they are the same part. The part number is listed in the graphic
 
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