Washer cover and JB Weld to the rescue

[EenyBear]

Hi,
As has happened to so many people, my driver's side washer cover popped off and landed on a piece of carpet in my garage. Better there than in a ditch somewhere.

I thought of buying a new one.... but someone in the threads muttered "... blah blah blah JB Weld blah blah..." as though everyone should know what it is. I didn`t... but I quickly saw that it might be just the thing to solve the problem.

By way of background, it seems there is a design flaw in one of the tabs on the driver`s side cover - a mold-seam that can crack/break resulting in the loss of the cover.

So... without further ado, here is my successful repair

Photo1 - the break and a bit of roughening for what happens next
Photo2 - mask the face and edges
Photo3 - make a little cast-form out of duct tape (half sticky to adhere to the stump, and the top half folded over to provide a smooth surface for the JB Weld. The toothpicks keep it from rounding out
Photo4 - mix JB Weld as per instructions, drizzle it it, use a toothpick to poke around and remove any air bubbles
Photo5 - 24 hours later, remove the mold (that's not tape left behind, just an impression of the tape) and use the opposing hole as a guide to drill the necessary hole
Photo6 - another shot of the hole

What I learned:

• It takes a bit of tricky finger work to pull the washer head up out of the bumper through the hole
• It is easier to remove the little pivot joint from the top of the nozzle and then put it on the cap and then reassemble from there
• The little four-point pivot joint doesn't bend so I dremelled a notch in the repair side to let it slide in.... then I drizzled a little more JB Weld over the notch to lock in the lip without letting any "weld" touch the pivot - another 24 hours to set but no risk of breaking.
• JB Weld is amazing! I was able to drill it and then file it with a jeweler`s file to ensure a perfect fit
• There was no need to shape the repaired tab any further than what you see here... although I had planned to do so There is lots of clearance all around the assembly.
• The little tabs on the top of the nozzle easily flex sufficiently to click the four-point pivot into place. Be careful, but it's easy once you commit to try.

If I were to do it again, I would use a spring clamp to hold the nozzle away from the car while reattaching the cap. But I was extremely lucky with my two-hands-are-nearly-as-good-as-three and it clipped right in during the test fit.... which is why there are no further photos. And, also why I decided not to mess with success and make the repaired tab any prettier than it already was.

Cheers.

[bucko521]

Now that is a true DIY!

You should send this into the company....they love stories like this!