Screenwash reservoir cradle

Yes, from personal experience I can tell you that one is a PITA. I know exactly what bolt that he is talking about. I was tearing down the car and was able to put a set of vice grips on it. All of the bolts were rusted, but that one apparently gets more water damage than the rest.

At that time I was thinking how glad I was that I was not replacing it.

Mazda moved the reservoir down there on ABS-equipped Miatas to make room for the ABS control box. They did not plan well with easily rusted bolts in an area that receives a lot of water during the rain. It is also an easy area to overlook because of where it is located.

I would be tempted to drill it all the way through and re-thread it, probably using hardware from my marine set to attach it this time.

Pat

Sounds tough... maybe a universal joint just above the socket? You could wrap the UJ with duct tape and get a slight angle to hold, but still allowing flex for when it starts turning. Another idea, somewhere I've seen an extention that was basically a long spring, which allows for some angular slop.

miker

suggestions?

Thanks, guys. Very interesting.

Getting the old nut out was a beggar of a job on its own, even after several soakings with Plus Gas. The flats were completely corroded off, so it just laughed at even an undersize socket. Vice grips wouldn't budge it. Fortunately there was a small piece of the old cradle for me to hit very hard with a hammer and long sharp chisel. I had to continue chiselling it hard for a full turn before it began to ease.

My serious advice to anyone who has this reservoir set-up is to free those bolts NOW, and grease them well. Even better, replace with stainless steel!

Tony

Congrats! Sounds like my kind of solution.

Very good advice. I would have done this on my last Miata when I bought it with 10K miles on it if I had known how prone the bolts in this area are to corrosion.

Pat