September 25: A stowaway . . .
Read MoreThe customer concern for today didn't seem all that bad at first glance: Customer States windshield washer inop. I've replaced many washer pumps, reservoirs, and lines in the past on our fleet of old vehicles to the point where we keep these items on the shelf. But the odd part of this scenario was that the vehicle in question was a new truck, a 2011 Ford F150 pickup. I verified the concern, (ALWAYS the first step in any repair), and found very little fluid being pumped from the washer nozzles.
The first thing I did was to make sure there was washer fluid in the reservoir, (I've seen this happen before !), and it was full. I also made sure all of the washer tubing lines were hooked up and not leaking. I don't expect a washer pump to fail on a new vehicle. But anything is possible which means I needed to do some digging. I removed the reservoir and dumped its contents out only to make an interesting discovery.